Current Issue
Abstracts of Vol 13(2), September 2007
Edited by Charu Uppal, Shailendra Singh, Patrick Craddock and David Robie
Editorial
A better media deal?
Charu Uppal, Shailendra Singh and Patrick Craddock
Theme:
MEDIA AND DIGITAL DEMOCRACY
1. Commentary: Defending journalism and the foundations of democracy
Chris Warren pp. 9-16
Even as journalists look forward to the benefits that technology will surely bring to digital democracy and journalism, they need to also reflect on the approaching ‘shadows’. These shadows are cast by three fundamental crises that threaten the free and independent practice of journalism and the very craft of journalism itself. These intertwined crises are: a crisis of press freedom, a crisis of safety and a crisis confronting the way journalists work. These crises are putting pressure on all journalists. But journalists and media workers are fighting back. The two commentaries over the next few pages outline some of these issues from the broad issue of media freedom in the Asia-Pacific region to women’s ‘suitcase’ broadcasting in the Pacific.
2. Commentary: Women’s media: Challenging the status quo
Sharon Baghwan Rolls pp.17-27
While there is a need to challenge mainstream media to improve their portrayal of women in contemporary Pacific society, there is also a need to counter factors affecting and inhibiting women’s engagement with that media. This not only requires the incorporation of gender equality policies in mainstream media policy but by ensuring that women are able to develop, produce and distribute alternative information and communications. For such advocacy to be successful, this commentary argues for capacity building and training for young women and rural women to make the connection with policy makers through their local programme productions so they can challenge personal, institutional and systematic barriers to their development and empowerment.
3. Community informatics and the power of participation
Usha Sundar Harris pp.29-45
This article discusses the potential of information and communication technology (ICT) for social capital and community empowerment in Pacific societies through case studies of internet use by online communities during various political crises in Fiji and emerging community media. It argues that despite being located on the fringe of the ICT boom, it is still possible for island communities to engage with media technology using participatory approaches to develop local content which is closer to their own realities and which reflects local cultures, values and individual aspirations.
4. Who let the blogs out? Media and free speech in post-coup Fiji
Sophie Foster pp.47-60
Fiji’s fourth armed seizure of government on 5 December 2006 delivered more than a new administration - it heralded the onslaught of a new media environment. With a heavy military crackdown on dissenting opinion and subsequent self-censorship of mainstream media, anonymous weblogs became a safe option for expressing anti-coup views. But because some anonymous blogs allowed racist, defamatory and provocative views to flourish, the role of the press and journalistic ethics was also seen as important. This article examines how a new—and uneasy—media combination kept freedom of expression alive in the months following the coup d’état.
5. The case for using electronic technology in Fiji’s general elections
Rae Nicholl pp. 61-75
On 5 December 2006, the Commander of the Republic of Fiji Military Forces, Commodore Voreqe Bainimarama, announced he had assumed executive power: he dismissed the elected government and declared a State of Emergency. One month later, on 4 January 2007, Bainimarama was appointed interim prime minister by the President of the Fiji Islands and set out the broad objectives of his interim government, which included a commitment to electoral reform. On 20 February 2007, the interim Cabinet approved a ‘road map’, which committed Fiji to a general election and full restoration of parliamentary democracy by 2010. The announcement included the provision for a population census to be carried out by the Bureau of Statistics in 2007 and the consequent determination by the Boundaries Commission of new geographical constituencies. In addition, the Elections Office will be expected to examine a new system of ‘polling, voting, vote counting and declaration of results’. This article argues that, as planning for the road map progresses, the Fiji Elections Office should give serious consideration to the expanded use of the ‘new’ technologies - the internet, the worldwide web and mobile telephones - when considering changes to the voting system. Attempts were made, primarily by the Elections Office and some political parties, to use the new technologies to inform citizens about their voting options during the 2006 election campaign but the available technology was not used to its fullest. Electronic technology is widely available throughout Fiji and creative ways need to be developed by all political actors to reach citizens, especially young people.
6. Tuning in: Does TV news influence the political process in Fiji?
Dale Hermanson pp. 77-93
Local television news programmes in Fiji have been the most watched programmes for the entire 13-year history of broadcast television in the country. Although survey polls consistently show that television news is extremely popular, the influence it may have due to its popularity has not previously been investigated. This article is based on a study examining the influence that television news programmes have on communities in Fiji. The study shows that the influence of TV news is complex and is interwoven with cultural, economic and political contexts. Findings for the study indicate television news is not only an influential source of information, but that it is also an agenda setter for Fiji public opinion. The research conducted indicates that television news influenced people in Fiji before the 2006 general election. While this influence did not necessarily change the way people voted, it may have helped set the political agenda. Television news may not only be informing the public about forces that shape their lives, but it may be a shaping force itself.
7. Whither Pacific ‘traditional’ media? Internet technology in political education and participation
Kylie Anderson pp. 94-111
‘Digital Democracy’ and ‘digital government’ are relatively new concepts posing challenges for governments, journalists, political analysts and political scientists. Written from a political science perspective, this article provides an overview of selected Pacific Island government efforts on the web and assesses the contribution this makes to political education, on one level, and building egalitarian democracies on another level. Providing a brief survey of internet developments in the area of government within 12 selected Pacific Island countries, the argument is made that, while any additional education in the broad area of politics is welcome, there are still challenges that exist and room for progress. Given current technological capabilities around the region, more ‘traditional’ forms of media still have a vital role to play.
Articles
Media and global conflict: An International Crisis Group case study
Lee Duffield pp. 113-138
The Pacific region is part of a larger world, far from being as isolated from centres of global power as a glance at the map might imply, but instead caught up in a web of multilateral relations with binding effects on its future progress and prosperity. This article considers such connections, in regard to both governmental and non-government agencies, referring in particular to the proliferation of highly influential non-governmental organisations in the region, as in the world at large. It treats the European Union handling of the December 2006 Fijian coup d’état and its aftermath as a case study in government-to-government relations, and it provides secondly a detailed case study on the operations of one outstanding example of a non-governmental organisation, the International Crisis Group.
The Australian Parliament and press freedom in an international context
Mark Pearson and Camille Galvin pp. 139-153
This article reports on a study using grounded theory methodology to track the contexts in which Australian parliamentarians used the expressions ‘press freedom’ and ‘freedom of the press’ over the ten years from 1994 to 2004. It uses Parliamentary Hansard records to identify the speeches in which discussions of press freedom arose. Interestingly, the terms were used by members of the House of Representatives or Senate in just 78 speeches out of more than 180,000 over that decade. Those usages have been coded to develop a theory about the interface between press freedom and the parliament. This article reports just one aspect of the findings from the larger study - the way parliamentarians have contrasted the value of press freedom in Australia with press freedom in other countries. It is one step towards building a broader theory of press freedom in the Australian parliamentary context
Jihad and cross-cultural media: Osama bin Laden as reported in the Asian press
Alan Knight pp. 155-174
In southeast and east Asia, terrorism is not new. A number of the region’s nations have had to deal with full scale insurgencies of their own. The region contains a heady mix of core US allies, fledgling democracies and an emerging superpower. Many of these countries were themselves being challenged by militant Islamists. To what extent have regional journalists been influenced by American ideas and definitions in its ‘war on terror’? This article considers how Osama bin Laden’s media event was reported in the English language press of five Asian states: China (an authoritarian non-sectarian state with a flickering Muslim insurgency); Malaysia (a democratic multicultural society with an Islamic majority); the Philippines (a democratic former US protectorate with a Muslim insurgency); Singapore (a one-party city state, which has been targeted by al Qaeda offshoots); and Thailand (a never colonised democracy with a restive Muslim majority).
Profile 2007
The big NZ journalism survey: Underpaid, under-trained, under-resourced, unsure about the future – but still idealistic
- Fulltext NZ Survey 2007(includes politics section)
James Hollings, Geoff Lealand, Alan Samson and Elspeth Tilley pp. 175-197
Freelance journalists experience constraints in their practice which impact upon their independence; yet they invoke the idea of professionalism similar to that of the employed journalists to justify their position as journalists. However, the reality of their practice makes them accept the imperative of the rules of game set by news managers and others, which significantly compromises their independence. An in-depth interview of freelance journalists working in print media in Sydney, Australia, reveal that this is a true analysis of the prevailing situation for the freelance journalists, making their claim of professionalism weak. However, the complexity of the situation is manifested in a strong sense of public service prevalent among Sydney freelancers. As freelance journalists are becoming significant in number in many parts of the world (IFJ, 1999), the question of professionalism in freelance journalism should be considered as an important aspect in any comprehensive discussion on journalism.
