Pacific Journalism Review (Pacific Media Centre, School of Communication Studies, Auckland University of Technology)
Not a member yet
1090 research outputs found
Sort by
Different strokes for different folk: Regulatory distinctions in New Zealand media
Get PDFFor much of the past century there was broad acceptance of the stark contrast between the state’s involvement in the regulation of the content of broadcasting and its laissez-faire relationship with the columns of the press. The ‘failed market’ argument that substantiated regulation of the airwaves was difficult to counter. Fundamental changes in technology and media markets have, however, rendered the rationale open to challenge. Some aspects of the ‘failed market’, such as frequency scarcity, simply do not apply in the digital age. This article examines the nature of media regulation in New Zealand, noting its similarity to the dichotomous approach in Britain, Canada and Australia but also its divergence toward a more neoliberal market model that largely limits statutory oversight to matters that fall broadly into the categories of morals and ethics. It argues that, given the New Zealand government’s decision more than 15 years ago to forego regulation of ownership or the mechanisms that would serve the public good aspirations of a Reithian model, the continuing role of the state in regulation of broadcasting is questionable. A replacement model could be based on an effective regulatory body already present in the New Zealand media industry—the Advertising Standards Authorit
A case study in ethical failure: Twenty years of media coverage of Aboriginal deaths in custody
Get PDFAustralia’s media accountability systems (M*A*S) include the Australian Press Council, broadcasting self-regulatory schemes, public broadcasting charters, the Media, Arts and Entertainment Alliance (MEAA) Code of Ethics, journalism education and training programmes and organisations devoted to critiquing and enhancing the media. The explicit or implicit purpose of these systems is to enable the media to play its role in representative democracy, ensuring citizens can obtain information and communicate. So it is against these broader democratic goals that M*A*S and journalism itself must finally be evaluated. One way of doing this is to look at the end product—the media content produced by journalists—and examine how it reflects and responds to sources and events beyond the media itself. To explore further the implications of such an approach, in this article I have chosen a single case study—the Australian media’s coverage of Aboriginal deaths in custody over a 20-year period
The Māori public sphere
No full textAt this moment in New Zealand’s history there is a need for healthy political debate on a range of issues. Specifically, the foreshore and seabed issue has created division and fears between Māori and Pakeha and brought the Treaty of Waitangi to the fore again. As well, settlements of historic grievances with Māori have added to growing Pakeha unease. In this climate there is a need for wide-ranging public discussion of these issues, and the news media seem the obvious site for those discussions. But how well are the New Zealand news media fulfilling that role? This commentary takes the public sphere to be the sum total of all visible decision-making processes within a culture and uses this concept as an analytical tool to examine aspects of the health of New Zealand’s democracy. It uses discourse analysis approaches to show how the mainstream media are in fact isolating Māori from the general public sphere and, after outlining some general aspects of the Māori public sphere, argues that the news media’s methodologies, grounded in European-based techniques and approaches, are incapable of interacting with the Māori public sphere. I am arguing that while there is an appearance of an increased awareness and discussion of cultural issues, the mainstream media are, in reality, sidelining Māori voices and controlling the political discussion in favour of the dominant culture. They are therefore not fulfilling their self-assigned role of providing information for people to function within our democracy.
Keywords: 
REVIEW: The veneer is radical, but the substance is not.: Review of a Ka Whawhai Tonu Matou Struggle Without End (Revised Edition), by Ranginui Walker
No full textReview of Ka Whawhai Tonu Matou Struggle Without End (Revised Edition), by Ranginui WalkerKa Whawhai Tonu Matou represented a challenge to the more sanitised versions of history that tended to present New Zealand as a harmonious and progressive nation in a world otherwise characterised by incessant ethnic conflict, racism and division. This romanticism, originally encapsualted in Hobson's decree at the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi that New Zealand was 'one nation, one people', had become firmly entrenched in the conciousness of many New Zealanders
Reporting the Asian tsunami: Ethical issues
Get PDFThis article explores the ethical issues faced by New Zealand journalists reporting a disaster. Journalists who travelled to Asia to report on the 2004 tsunami were asked to complete an online survey containing a mixture of Likert scale and open-ended questions. Of the 20 journalists known to have travelled to Asia to cover the tsunami, 13, or 65 percent, took part in the survey. Many were confronted with ethical dilemmas. These problems were compared to the literature on reporting disasters, and triangulated through a one-on-one interview with a psychologist working with survivors of the tsunami. This comparison raised further issues not mentioned by the respondents. A second survey was sent out to elicit responses to these further issues. Four out of 20 replied, and their responses were compared to the literature and to the relevant codes of ethics. The results suggest New Zealand journalists have a strongly ethical approach but that there is a lack of awareness of some significant ethical issues. This indicates the level of support and training given to those covering such events needs revision. Further research on the issues raised would be fruitful
REVIEW: Campaigning with passion for an 'arsenal for democracy': Review of Media Ethics and Accountability Systems, by Claude-Jean Bertrand and An Arsenal for Democracy: Media Accountability Systems, by Claude-Jean Bertrand
No full textReview of Media Ethics and Accountability Systems, by Claude-Jean Bertrand and An Arsenal for Democracy: Media Accountability Systems, by Claude-Jean BertrandThese two companion volumes by Claude-Jean Bertrand, professor emeritus of the French Press Institute at the University of Paris-2—and a predecessor of mine as Australian Press Council fellow (1996)—provide a thoughtful and stimulating insight into the public accountability of journalists and state of media credibility. 
Literacy and the media in the Fiji Islands
Get PDFIn a previous article in this journal (Geraghty 2001), I pointed out that while Fijian and Fiji Hindi are by far the most commonly used language in everyday interaction in Fiji, the language of the media is almost exclusively English. There are historical reasons for this, but now that colonialism is past, nominally at least, the question arises as to whether it is possible to promote vernacular media that more accurately reflect actual language use, and hence better serve the people of Fiji. In this commentary, I point to the potential problems with vernacular media in Fiji, specifically Fijian, and suggest ways to improve them
REVIEWS: Optimistic view of the Pacific's Fourth Estate and education: Review of Mekim Nius: South Pacific media, politics and education, by David Robie
No full textReview of Mekim Nius: South Pacific media, politics and education, by David RobieAt its core, Mekim Nius argues a clear position university level education is central to the health of South Pacific journalism and its democracies. To do this Robie is ambitious with the book's scope, declaring three broad aims: a study of the critical influence of teritary education on Pacific journalists and their profession; an analysis of the political, economic and legal frameworks in which Fiji and PNG journalists have operated since; and outline of the development of journalism education in the South Pacific. 
The political cartoonist and the editor
Get PDFNew Zealand Herald cartoonist Malcolm Evans was dismissed from the newspaper after he refused to follow his editor's instruction to cease cartooning on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Members of the Jewish community were upset by a number of his cartoons, drawn during the first half of 2003. Evans is not alone among cartoonists to attract the anger of Jewish community lobbies and the hesitation of their editors when presenting cartoons dealing with the activities of the Israeli government. Cartoonists Tony Auth (Philadelphia Inquirer) and Michael Leunig (The Age) have also presented controversial cartoon commenting on the Israeli Government and, with Evans, defend their work on the grounds that while cartoons may offend an audience the content is not necessarily wrong. Cartoonists fiercely defend their licence to mock politicians, governments and states. This article examines this defence and the space within which cartoonists examine political subjects. We analyse the parameters within which mass circulation newspaper editors operate, principally in the Australian context. We defend a wide licence for cartoonists and argue that this licence represents an important measure of free speech in an era when the threat of terrorism looms large on national political agendas
REVIEW: Revelations that resist prevailing global lies and orthodoxies: Review of Tell Me No Lies: Investigative Journalism and Its Triumphs, edited by John Pilger
No full textReview of Tell Me No Lies: Investigative Journalism and Its Triumphs, edited by John PilgerIn Tell Me No Lies: Investigative Journalism and Its Triumphs, John Pilger presents an impressive collection of investigations cover-ups and reports of crimes against humanity by writers who challenged these limitations