Other Sessions

Jack Herman reports on the three remaining sessions: research, the future of the WAPC and reports on the South Pacific.

Research Papers

There were six papers delivered by researchers from Australian and Pacific Universities.

Three were from the University of Queensland:

Trevor Cullen delivered a detailed paper on the press coverage of HIV/AIDS in Papua New Guinea in particular and the south Pacific in general. He argued that there has not been sufficient coverage of the threat of the virus in the Pacific and that most stories on it have either concentrated on small, particular at-risk groups, or referenced the virus in "foreign" parts. Mr Cullen drew attention to the need for the media to join with authorities in alerting their readers to the risks.

Levi Obijiofer's paper on new information and communications technologies in developing countries was not available at the time of publication.

Anna Day's paper on political cartoonists was a very different approach. She argued that cartoonists are currently being condemned, if not lampooned, for depicting female politicians as prostitutes or lovers, and perhaps the worst sin of all: not very attractive. Her research indicates that cartoonist are less negative than they were. She has looked at the past three federal election campaigns. Her research shows that Australian cartoonists are rarely extremely negative, and appear to be independent of their newspaper's editorial line. Her next step is a national Australian survey of cartoonists and editors.

From the University of Southern Queensland, Dr Neil Mudge and Nicole d'Entremont talked of their research into the televising of Parliament. The numerous expectations of the effects of televising proceedings have yet to be systematically tested against performance. The researchers are currently conducting a content analysis of national television to see how well the broadcasting has met the educational goals set and how it has affected the performance of politicians.

Lawrence McNamara (from the University of Western Sydney) is exploring the problematic relationship between free speech and power in the media coverage of the One Nation phenomenon. He argues that One Nation is the politics of racial hatred which is shrouded in the legitimate and legitimising languages of liberalism and nationalism. He is also looking at the concept of free speech to suggest that it is a malleable concept, a reflection of the current political culture. He goes on to argue that any media analysis of One Nation's abuse of 'free speech' will be equally damning to the media which has used the 'free speech' mantra as an excuse for its own excesses.

David Robie (from the University of the South Pacific) talked of his preliminary research findings on newsroom training and attitudes. He also mentioned other projects at the University of the South Pacific journalism program which employs innovative problem-based learning techniques. It broadcasts Radio Pasifik, publishes Wansolwara newspaper and Pacific Journalism Online website, and produces television programs. Other research involves a television production on HIV/AIDS in the region, and audio websites in developing nations.

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Future Directions for the WAPC

The President of the Association, the Hon. Mr Justice P B Sawant of India, argued that the principal object of the WAPC is to promote a free and responsible press all over the world. A free press is an important pillar of a democratic State. Democracy and free press are complementary to each other. Without democracy, free press cannot survive and democracy without a free press is a farce. That is why Thomas Jefferson said that even an irresponsible press is preferable to no press. It is however in the interest of the freedom of the press itself that the press conducts itself with a sense of responsibility and self-restraint, lest the society is impelled to demand legal restrictions on it. To ensure that the press acts with restraint and does not lose its freedom, an internal self-regulatory mechanism in the form of Ombudsman and Press Council has long since been evolved. The WAPC has set before it the task of promoting such mechanisms and strengthening them. For this purpose, it has been holding international and regional conferences, seminars and workshops.

He was joined by the South African Press Ombudsman, Ed Linington, who argued that all government tends to tyranny, and the democratic form was no exception. The best defence against that danger was a free and independent press. This is where he saw the WAPC playing a role, promoting free and independent press and broadcasting as a means of establishing and maintaining free and democratic societies, thus contributing to the moral and ethical health and prosperity of the global village.

He supported Professor Pearce's proposal of a model media council document and code of conduct. Carrying the stamp of the WAPC's authority, it will be a powerful tool in the hands of the media in many countries who are fighting to gain and preserve freedom of speech. But the WAPC should, in his view, also take on an active role and intervene to assert its moral influence to support the media where media freedom is threatened or where the media are struggling to establish their freedom and independence.

The Chairman of the Press Complaints Commission, Lord Wakeham, had provided a video for this session in which he informed the conference of a recent meeting of a group of European Press Councils which had agreed to an informal co-operation in helping spread the concept of the Press Council. He also argued strongly against any formal transnational complaints mechanism.

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Oceania Region Reports

This session saw an overview from David Robie and talks on the position of the press in Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Tonga and Samoa.

David Robie looked at the evolution of press councils in two Pacific nations which have made major contributions to notions of fairness and balance in the region, and the raising of professional standards. They have also warded off varying attempts to gag or hinder the news media from carrying out its role in the public interest. But pressures and dilemmas continue in the region, often from a cultural as well as a political perspective. The media in some countries is refreshingly outspoken and courageous; in others there is a worrying trend towards self-censorship. Journalism education is also of growing importance in the Pacific and an important foundation for media freedom.

Savea Sano Malifa, Publisher/Editor Samoa Observer and Sunday Samoan, Samoa, detailed his fairly fraught experiences with the Samoan regimes and courts. His newspapers have been subject to various legal actions from government figures and senior business men and he still remains accused of various crimes, including criminal defamation. The use of the courts as a method of silencing, or attempting to silence local newspapers was one theme that recurred in the discussion. Sano Malifa continues to publish despite the threats.

Kalifa Moala, publisher of a Tongan newspaper, produces his newspaper in New Zealand. He noted that papers have reports [continued] been printed in Tonga since the 1830s. But the first non Government, non-Church weekly newspaper - Taimi 'o Tonga - was started 10 years ago. Tonga's Constitution guarantees media freedom, but events over the past 10 years have indicated attempts to muzzle the independent press, especially when it comes to exposing the government. Even though there is marked improvement in the attitude of those in authority toward independent press, there is still a long way to go in allowing the press to exercise its freedom. Mr Moala's paper has been subject to physical as well as legal challenges.

Luke Sela, Chairman of the PNG Media Council, discussed aspects of media freedom in PNG, particularly in light of recent political developments, and the outcome of a recent national workshop on media ethics, sponsored by the Media Council and AusAID. He particularly noted the threats by successive governments to introduce media control legislation to licence the press and journalists and the more recent threat to the future of the UPNG journalism course.

Daryl Tarte, Chair of the Fiji Media Council, a voluntary organisation set up in 1996 by editors and publishers, spoke of his Council and its work. He noted that Fiji is served by independent newspapers, magazines, radio and television which cater to the needs of a population of 800,000 Fijians, Indians, Europeans, Chinese and other Pacific islanders. Media and person freedoms are guaranteed under a new constitution that came into effect in 1998. There is very little official control over media activities. But there are always threats that there might be.

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