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| Title: | FIJI: Freedom of the gatekeepers: A free media study of NZ and Fiji – self-regulation or state intervention? |
| Other Titles: | Freedom of the gatekeepers: A free media study of NZ and Fiji – self-regulation or state intervention? |
| Authors: | Robie, David |
| Keywords: | Fiji
media freedom
press freedom
coups
Fiji coups
media regulation
self-regulation
Fiji Media Council
NZ Press Council
Fiji Human Rights Commission
Claude-Jean Bertrand
media accountability systems
M*A*S
media promulgation
gatekeepers |
| Issue Date: | 14-Nov-2008 |
| Publisher: | Pacific Media Centre - PR2K |
| Abstract: | Paper presented at the Public Right to Know (PR2K7) conference hosted by the Australian Centre for Independent Journalism (ACIJ), Sydney, 17-18 October 2008. Abstract: In almost four decades of independence, Fiji has faced the paradox of a traditionally free press and a succession of mostly authoritarian or paternalistic governments, whether elected or installed as the result of coups. Currently, Fiji is ruled by a military-backed regime that usurped power following the South Pacific country’s fourth coup in December 2006. In the first five months of 2008, two expatriate publishers of the leading daily newspapers, the Murdoch-owned Fiji Times and the local Fiji Sun, were deported amid international controversy. Other journalists have been detained, threatened and harassed. In 2007, a controversial Fiji-born consultant was engaged by the Fiji Human Rights Commission to prepare a report on the “freedom and independence of the media” in Fiji. This review process was largely rejected by the Fiji news media but supported by some critics seeking greater fairness and balance. The consultant’s report has since been used by the regime of Commodore Voreqe Bainimarama as a justification to consolidate all existing media laws under the Constitution, the Public Order Act and the Media Council Code of Ethics into a separate “Media Promulgation” law. During a comparable time frame, the New Zealand Press Council engaged two consultants to conduct an independent review of the activities and operations of the Council, recommending a higher profile for its role in promoting freedom of expression through responsible media and high editorial standards. This was the first independent review since the Press Council was established in 1972 and is regarded by some as a milestone in the public right to know. With reference to the media accountability systems (M*A*S) model developed by the late Claude-Jean Bertrand, this paper seeks to examine and contrast the public discourse and media processes involved with two media self-regulatory bodies in an authoritarian regime and a social responsibility democratic government context. It recommends a fresh independent review of the structure and role of the Fiji Media Council. |
| URI: | http://hdl.handle.net/123456789/1683 |
| Appears in Collections: | Pacific Media Centre
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