Pacific Media Centre Pacific Media Watch Pacific Journalism Review Pacific Scoop

Cook Islands: The Cook Islands News and the genesis of FOI

Volume 16, Issue 2

October, 2010

From page
15
to page
23
Woods, J. (2010). Cook Islands: The Cook Islands News and the genesis of FOI. Pacific Journal,ism Review, 16(2): 15-23.
Author(s): John Woods
Publication date: 
October, 2010

Commentary: The Cook Islands News is challenging the Prime Minister and his Cabinet for maintaining secrecy and nondisclosure around all of Cabinet’s business in spite of the country’s Official Information Act. And the newspaper is fighting several defamation actions which in legal fees are chewing up the equivalent of a whole annual salary for a senior journalist. This is a waste of limited resources, but the cost of being a ‘free press’.