New PJR challenges Pacific censorship

Fijis brand of post-coup media censorship and other Pacific political curbs have been challenged in the latest Pacific Journalism Review published today.

"Even if the Fiji media are shackled, conferences in 2010 and 2012 provided opportunity and space to engage in some open dialogue, including criticism of the regime authorities," the AUT-published international journal says.

"The proceedings were not confined to the Suva conference venue, or within Fijis borders - this is the digital age after all."

Many of the papers by Pacific journalists and media analysts were presented at a Media and Democracy in the South Pacific conference hosted at the University of the South Pacific last September.

Other articles, in the edition, co-edited by USPs Shailendra Singh and AUTs Pacific Media Centre director Professor David Robie, feature New Caledonia, West Papua and climate change reporting in the region.

Canadian communications professor and author Robert A. Hackett warns of significant democratic shortcomings in the medias watchdog, public sphere, community-building and communication equity roles.

He advocates "critical selectivity" over "wholesale adoption" of Western media models in the South Pacific to avoid some "entrenched shortcomings".

Such shortcomings have been highlighted in Shazia Usmans study on the Fiji print medias coverage of female candidates in the countrys 2006 elections.

Reflecting international trends, the Fiji daily newspapers "lavished attention" on male candidates while "cold-shouldering" female candidates.

The Fiji Times quoted female candidates 20 times and male candidates 218 times, while the Fiji Sun quoted females 29 times, and males 292 times.

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New PJR challenges Pacific censorship