* Pacific Media Watch Online - check the website for archive and links: http://www.pmw.c2o.org
* Post a comment on PMW's Right of Reply: http://www.TheGuestBook.com/egbook/257949.gbook
LACK OF DEPTH REPORTING OVER PACIFIC REFUGEES UNDER FIRE
By ASHWINI PRABHA: May 12, 2002
Wansolwara Online (USP)
NADI, Fiji (Pacific Media Watch): A three-day Pacific conference on refugees' rights to information and communication
has raised concern on lack of in-depth reporting by regional journalists.
"To be an effective journalist in the Pacific, you have to be more than cautious and very analytical,” said Solomon
Islands communications consultant Ashley Wickham.
"We live in small island communities with more intense relationships, where almost everyone knows each other. There is a
need not only to be gatekeepers, but also ensure broad exposure of journalists," he told Wansolwara Online.
Rochus Tatamani, vice-president of the World Association of Christian Communication-Pacific, said media had many times
failed by wrongly reporting issues and misquoting."
He was referring to the Papua New Guinea media’s reporting on refugee issues, where sometimes sensational headlines had
misled people.
The WACC-Pacific workshop heard of a culture of silence and fear that prevented sufficient analysis of issues that
should help people discuss community problems openly and honestly.
This workshop brought together communicators representing the media community from Australia, Fiji, Kiribati, New
Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands and Tonga.
Among issues discussed were media representations of refugees, asylum seekers and displaced people, coverage and
regional consequences of Australia's so-called "Pacific solution" and the quality of journalists' reporting of issues
related to refugees and displaced people.
According to Australian journalist and researcher Nic Maclellan, media shapes public perception and the failure of
journalists in not checking their facts during the children overboard issue and their headlines claiming that only seven
(out off nearly 1500) refugees in Pacific processing centers (PNG and Nauru), had been proved to be genuine refugees,
damaged the reputation of the asylum seekers.
"The negative stories and unchecked facts do not do justice to the refugees," he said.
Fiji Television journalist Riyaz Sayed-Khaiyum said media organisations needed to pay more attention to sending
journalists to such workshops.
"Sometimes biggest huddle is media organisations themselves when it comes to training and support for good journalism,"
he said.
Sayed-Khaiyum presented the case-study of internally displaced people (called refugees by local media) in Fiji since the
coup in 2000. He pointed out that media had inadequately covered the refugees issues in Fiji, especially those in
Valelewa, Labasa.
He said media had failed to look into deeper issues of fear and loss of trust in these displaced people. They lost trust
in local authorities, the people they lived with and neighbors — who in many cases attacked and some raped the women,
and destroyed their property.
"Media had the opportunity to act as the educator but our reports remained reports, they were not analysed," he said.
Ming Ya Tu’uholoaki, secretary of WACC-Pacific said the orgabistion would look into how it could help in organising
training for journalists.
The workshop agreed that the refugees and displaced people had their own stories to share. It was vital that the media
in the Pacific prvided space for such stories.
Refugee’s issues have surrounded the Pacific for long and the Australian government's "Pacific solution" had attracted
criticism and condemnation amid problems of internally displaced victims of political and civil upheaval in the region.
As part of the Pacific solution, Pacific Island countries are used as processing centers for asylum seekers from
Afghanistan, Iraq and Iran. They are kept in these centres while their migration/refugee status are processed by the
United Nations.
Manus Island in PNG and Nauru have almost 1500 asylum seekers detained in camps.
New Zealand has also taken refugees. Tuvalu and Fiji were also approached.
+++niuswire
PACIFIC MEDIA WATCH ONLINE: http://www.pmw.c2o.org
PACIFIC MEDIA WATCH is an independent, non-profit, non-government organisation comprising journalists, lawyers, editors
and other media workers, dedicated to examining issues of ethics, accountability, censorship, media freedom and media
ownership in the Pacific region. Launched in October 1996, it has links with the Journalism Program at the University of
the South Pacific, Bushfire Media, the Australian Centre for Independent Journalism, and Pactok Communications, in
Sydney and Port Moresby.
(c)1996-2002 Copyright - All rights reserved.
Items are provided solely for review purposes as a non-profit educational service. Copyright remains the property of the
original producers as indicated. Recipients should seek permission from the copyright owner for any publishing.
Copyright owners not wishing their materials to be posted by PMW please contact us. The views expressed in material
listed by PMW are not necessarily the views of PMW or its members.
Recipients should rely on their own inquiries before making decisions based on material listed in PMW. Please copy
appeals to PMW and acknowledge source.
For further information, inquiries about joining the Pacific Media Watch
listserve, articles for publication, and giving feedback contact Pacific
Media Watch at: E-mail: delaro@clear.net.nz Fax: (+679) 30 5779 or (+612) 9660 1804 Mail: PO Box 9, Annandale, NSW 2038,
Australia or, c/o Journalism, PO Box 1168, Suva, Fiji New website: www.pmw.c2o.org