An Only Too Typical Story of Collusion between Inside "Sources", Blogs, the Media and Politicians: Twelve Days in November
"There's no denying that if you think them bad, they are bad and nothing they say or do will convince you otherwise."- Anon.
It all started a month or so ago when Streamcom NZ was hired to review the use of Fiji's airwaves.
Government was concerned about airwave efficiency and suspected earlier underhand dealings in their allocation. They must also have been aware -- but not necessarily influenced by knowing -- that the Fiji Broadcasting Commission (FBCL) wanted an entry to TV and that MaiFM, recently awarded the 2010 Soccer World Cup televion rights, could only reach some urban areas using UHF. They needed a VHF channel to cover Fiji.
D-Day. Thursday 12 November. The President signed the National Spectrum Decree (No.48 of 2009). Its purpose (clause 6a) was the fair allocation of airwaves to ensure economic efficiency, competition, and the public and national interest. Current licensees were to continue operating on existing frequencies until actual airwave use and needs was determined.
For the record, this was not the only Decree promulgated this month although readers might think so. The foreign media published nothing on the Liquor, Income Tax, Gambling, Fiji Trust Fund, Crimes (making male customers of prostitutes equally wrong) Decrees, or the announced Child Welfare Decree which were all the product of an "illegal" President and regime.
When the foreign media finally picked up the Spectrum story on Saturday 21st, following two Coupfourpointfive blog postings on Thursday 19 (see below), only the possibly negative clauses were mentioned (no compensation to licensees if channels were changed or cancelled; no right of court appeal [decrees are laws; laws can be repealed but not appealed in any counry]; a fine or prison for non-compliance; the increased power of Sayed-Khaiyum (who happens to be the Minister responsible);and the possibly anti-democratic use of disclosed frequency information).
Bearing in mind Winston Churchill's warning "A lie gets halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to get its pants on," let us see what followed.
Saturday 14th. Radio Fiji reports on the Decree, with Khaiyum's explanations. Geographical Media publishes the Decree.
Sunday 15th. FijiLive refers indirecly to the Decree ("improvement of info-commercial infrastructure.")
Tuesday 17th. FijiTV reports the Decree on its 6pm news. There's still no mention by anti-Government blogs or the foreign media.
Thursday 19th, 8:14pm. Auckland-based blog Coupfourpointfive publishes "Analsyis of National Spectrum Decree" based on what its [inside Fiji] "sources say." In addition to the negatives cited above and the assumed benefits to FBCL (whose chief executive is the younger brother of the Minister Aiyaz Sayed Khaiyum), the blog says disclosure of airwave fequency details will allow Government to "eavesdrop" on all telecommunications.
Friday 20th, 8:42am. Coupfourpointfive publishes "NZ Firm Carried Out Spectrum Study" stating that Streamcom has no expertise in this area. Wellington-based blog FijiCoup2006 publishes the Coupfourpointfive item at 1:32pm.
Saturday 21th (but Friday 20 USA time). Blog RawFijiNews writes of "the sudden and until now unreported promulgation" (sic!) and publishes the Coupfourpointfive post. Also in the USA, blog FijiNews.ning publishes the RawFijiNews item.
Saturday 21th (in Fiji, Australia and NZ).
Fiji Sun prints Khaiyum's "Get Your Facts Right" address to Australia and NZ leaders. (The on-line edition did not appear until Monday but the ANZ HighComs should have been able to contact Canberra and Wellington before this.)
"There's no denying that if you think them bad, they are bad and nothing they say or do will convince you otherwise."- Anon.
It all started a month or so ago when Streamcom NZ was hired to review the use of Fiji's airwaves.
Government was concerned about airwave efficiency and suspected earlier underhand dealings in their allocation. They must also have been aware -- but not necessarily influenced by knowing -- that the Fiji Broadcasting Commission (FBCL) wanted an entry to TV and that MaiFM, recently awarded the 2010 Soccer World Cup televion rights, could only reach some urban areas using UHF. They needed a VHF channel to cover Fiji.
D-Day. Thursday 12 November. The President signed the National Spectrum Decree (No.48 of 2009). Its purpose (clause 6a) was the fair allocation of airwaves to ensure economic efficiency, competition, and the public and national interest. Current licensees were to continue operating on existing frequencies until actual airwave use and needs was determined.
For the record, this was not the only Decree promulgated this month although readers might think so. The foreign media published nothing on the Liquor, Income Tax, Gambling, Fiji Trust Fund, Crimes (making male customers of prostitutes equally wrong) Decrees, or the announced Child Welfare Decree which were all the product of an "illegal" President and regime.
When the foreign media finally picked up the Spectrum story on Saturday 21st, following two Coupfourpointfive blog postings on Thursday 19 (see below), only the possibly negative clauses were mentioned (no compensation to licensees if channels were changed or cancelled; no right of court appeal [decrees are laws; laws can be repealed but not appealed in any counry]; a fine or prison for non-compliance; the increased power of Sayed-Khaiyum (who happens to be the Minister responsible);and the possibly anti-democratic use of disclosed frequency information).
Bearing in mind Winston Churchill's warning "A lie gets halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to get its pants on," let us see what followed.
Saturday 14th. Radio Fiji reports on the Decree, with Khaiyum's explanations. Geographical Media publishes the Decree.
Sunday 15th. FijiLive refers indirecly to the Decree ("improvement of info-commercial infrastructure.")
Tuesday 17th. FijiTV reports the Decree on its 6pm news. There's still no mention by anti-Government blogs or the foreign media.
Thursday 19th, 8:14pm. Auckland-based blog Coupfourpointfive publishes "Analsyis of National Spectrum Decree" based on what its [inside Fiji] "sources say." In addition to the negatives cited above and the assumed benefits to FBCL (whose chief executive is the younger brother of the Minister Aiyaz Sayed Khaiyum), the blog says disclosure of airwave fequency details will allow Government to "eavesdrop" on all telecommunications.
Friday 20th, 8:42am. Coupfourpointfive publishes "NZ Firm Carried Out Spectrum Study" stating that Streamcom has no expertise in this area. Wellington-based blog FijiCoup2006 publishes the Coupfourpointfive item at 1:32pm.
Saturday 21th (but Friday 20 USA time). Blog RawFijiNews writes of "the sudden and until now unreported promulgation" (sic!) and publishes the Coupfourpointfive post. Also in the USA, blog FijiNews.ning publishes the RawFijiNews item.
Saturday 21th (in Fiji, Australia and NZ).
Fiji Sun prints Khaiyum's "Get Your Facts Right" address to Australia and NZ leaders. (The on-line edition did not appear until Monday but the ANZ HighComs should have been able to contact Canberra and Wellington before this.)
At 2:20pm FijiLive publishes "State to Regulate Telecom Providers" that briefly mentions the Spectrum Decree's "rationalization."
At noon Australian EST The Rupert Murdoch-owned The Australian publishes Rowan Callick's "Fiji Strips Licences from Broadcasters." Callick repeats the negatives mentioned above, cites Australian Foreign Minister Stephen Smith repeating the same negatives: the Attorney-General's "absolute power" (Khaiyum is actually the Minister responsible); no appeal to courts; "effectively seizing" the licences; no compensation; five years jail; FBCL will gain at expense of FijiTV -- that is owned by Yasana Holdings that "represents the 14 ethnic Fijian provinces" (sic!)
At 3:45pm Melbourne's HeraldSun (another Murdock paper) reports Smith saying it's a "very bad sgn"; Khaiyum can strip broadcasters licences "at whim," and he'll raise the new Fiji situation at the Commonwealth Foreign Ministers' meeting in Trinidad on Tuesday.
At 7:38pm NZ's Pacific Scoop publishes The Australian story.
At 9:16pm RadioNZ does the same.
Sunday 22nd (but Saturday 21 in the USA). At 7:19am FijiToday publishes "Fiji Radio Spectrum Nationalized" and quotes from The Australian.
Sunday 22nd (in Fiji, Australia and NZ).
At 6:31am RadioNZ cites The Australian and Smith's remarks.
At 12:48pm Coupfourpointfive copies and publishes Callick's The Australan article via AAP.
At 2:30pm RadioNZ reported "NZ 'Disturbed' at Reports of Fiji Media Clampdown". The item, copied by PacificMediaWatch, reported the NZ Government was "disappointed" with the "revocation" of broadcastng licences; quoted Smith's earlier remarks; said that Fiji media had to "justify" their airwave use; quoted Khaiyum ("It's to plan a future better use.."); cited Foreign Minister McCully spokesman ("it's determined to limit any public criticism"); said Media Freedom Committee spokesman Tim Pankhurst wanted more pressure on Fiji; to conclude with Australian media "Fiji's TV and radio broadcast this weekend on a temporary basis." [As if they were all to be put off air any minute.]
At 4:34pm NewsTalkZB reported McCully as disappointed and saying Khaiyum's explanation "doesn't wash."
PacificMediaWatch published Saturday's HeraldSun report.
Monday 23rd.
FijiToday in the USA (Sunday 10:45am) reported RadioNZ's "Clampdown" item.
FijiSun on-line publishes Khaiyum's "Get Your Facts Right" item.
Khaiyum said ANZ were making "false allegations and misleding comments" and urged them to read the Decree. He said spectrum allocations will follow a tender process that will "complement Government's objective of transparency and accountability and minimize corruption."
RadioNZ at 6:59am in "No Threat to Freedom of Expression in Fiji" reports Communications Fiji, that has 60 percent of the Fiji radio market, CEO William Parkinson as saying he "does not fear anything sinister. The haphazardly-managed airwaves are due for a shake-up." Canterbury Uni Jim Tully, however, said government control of ariwaves threatens freedom of speech, especially in remote [sic!] island nations such as Fiji which rely heavily on broadcast media."
At 10:08am EST an ABC interview with John Westland of Radio Australia "Interim Fiji Government Revokes Broadcasting Licences" had Westland talk of the "taking away of licences" and it having more to do with "who gets a licence," before he went on to say: "Frankly [with so little detail] we just don't know." Much of the interview is repeated on the Radio Australia News at 1pm EST.
At 12:20pm FijiCoup2006 publishes Khaiyum's FijiSun item.
PacificMediaWatch reports that Fiji MaiTV welcomes the Decree. CEO Richard Broadbridge said they'd applied for a VHF licence nearly two years ago but had had to use UHF even though one broadcaster had more VHF channels than needed. He called the Decree "a step in the right direction to ensure all broadcasters are treated fairly, and that TV and radio stations are available to users easier and cheaper."
At 8pm FijiCoup2006 reprints the AAP on Smith saying the Decree was "a very bad signal". and did not remove the error about the "14 ethnic Fijian provinces."
And since some will think me "bad" for publishing this, and "There's no denying that if you think them bad, they are bad and nothing they say or do will convince you otherwise," three more bad thoughts won't hurt: Who are Coupfourpointfive's inside sources? Are they journalists like themselves? How is it that Rowan Callick and The Australian get so much inside information from Fiji? Is it merely coincidental that The Fiji Times, The Australian and the HeraldSun are all owned by Rupert Murdoch's News Corp, that also owns major papers in every Australian city, Wellington's DominionPost, and, incidentally, the Wall Street Journal and The Times?
And they talk of power, and control of the media!
UPDATE
Monday 23rd. At about 12:00pm (USA?) Solivakasamablog asks "Is there a Muslim conspiracy occurring in Fiji? (with the two Khaiyums, two Shameems and Aziz involved)....How can Indigenous Fijians sit and watch while these evil people tear their beloved Fiji apart?" and then reprinting Saturday's HeraldSun story. A reader writes of Al Qaeda cells!
At about 9pm (USA?) Solivakasama reprints Saturday's The Australian article, and under a heading "All Talk No Action for Oinklets" says he "can't wait to see the boys froom Delainabua [military baarracks] sink their shiny boots into their [oinklets'] smugness." ws from Fiji?
At noon Australian EST The Rupert Murdoch-owned The Australian publishes Rowan Callick's "Fiji Strips Licences from Broadcasters." Callick repeats the negatives mentioned above, cites Australian Foreign Minister Stephen Smith repeating the same negatives: the Attorney-General's "absolute power" (Khaiyum is actually the Minister responsible); no appeal to courts; "effectively seizing" the licences; no compensation; five years jail; FBCL will gain at expense of FijiTV -- that is owned by Yasana Holdings that "represents the 14 ethnic Fijian provinces" (sic!)
At 3:45pm Melbourne's HeraldSun (another Murdock paper) reports Smith saying it's a "very bad sgn"; Khaiyum can strip broadcasters licences "at whim," and he'll raise the new Fiji situation at the Commonwealth Foreign Ministers' meeting in Trinidad on Tuesday.
At 7:38pm NZ's Pacific Scoop publishes The Australian story.
At 9:16pm RadioNZ does the same.
Sunday 22nd (but Saturday 21 in the USA). At 7:19am FijiToday publishes "Fiji Radio Spectrum Nationalized" and quotes from The Australian.
Sunday 22nd (in Fiji, Australia and NZ).
At 6:31am RadioNZ cites The Australian and Smith's remarks.
At 12:48pm Coupfourpointfive copies and publishes Callick's The Australan article via AAP.
At 2:30pm RadioNZ reported "NZ 'Disturbed' at Reports of Fiji Media Clampdown". The item, copied by PacificMediaWatch, reported the NZ Government was "disappointed" with the "revocation" of broadcastng licences; quoted Smith's earlier remarks; said that Fiji media had to "justify" their airwave use; quoted Khaiyum ("It's to plan a future better use.."); cited Foreign Minister McCully spokesman ("it's determined to limit any public criticism"); said Media Freedom Committee spokesman Tim Pankhurst wanted more pressure on Fiji; to conclude with Australian media "Fiji's TV and radio broadcast this weekend on a temporary basis." [As if they were all to be put off air any minute.]
At 4:34pm NewsTalkZB reported McCully as disappointed and saying Khaiyum's explanation "doesn't wash."
PacificMediaWatch published Saturday's HeraldSun report.
Monday 23rd.
FijiToday in the USA (Sunday 10:45am) reported RadioNZ's "Clampdown" item.
FijiSun on-line publishes Khaiyum's "Get Your Facts Right" item.
Khaiyum said ANZ were making "false allegations and misleding comments" and urged them to read the Decree. He said spectrum allocations will follow a tender process that will "complement Government's objective of transparency and accountability and minimize corruption."
RadioNZ at 6:59am in "No Threat to Freedom of Expression in Fiji" reports Communications Fiji, that has 60 percent of the Fiji radio market, CEO William Parkinson as saying he "does not fear anything sinister. The haphazardly-managed airwaves are due for a shake-up." Canterbury Uni Jim Tully, however, said government control of ariwaves threatens freedom of speech, especially in remote [sic!] island nations such as Fiji which rely heavily on broadcast media."
At 10:08am EST an ABC interview with John Westland of Radio Australia "Interim Fiji Government Revokes Broadcasting Licences" had Westland talk of the "taking away of licences" and it having more to do with "who gets a licence," before he went on to say: "Frankly [with so little detail] we just don't know." Much of the interview is repeated on the Radio Australia News at 1pm EST.
At 12:20pm FijiCoup2006 publishes Khaiyum's FijiSun item.
PacificMediaWatch reports that Fiji MaiTV welcomes the Decree. CEO Richard Broadbridge said they'd applied for a VHF licence nearly two years ago but had had to use UHF even though one broadcaster had more VHF channels than needed. He called the Decree "a step in the right direction to ensure all broadcasters are treated fairly, and that TV and radio stations are available to users easier and cheaper."
At 8pm FijiCoup2006 reprints the AAP on Smith saying the Decree was "a very bad signal". and did not remove the error about the "14 ethnic Fijian provinces."
And since some will think me "bad" for publishing this, and "There's no denying that if you think them bad, they are bad and nothing they say or do will convince you otherwise," three more bad thoughts won't hurt: Who are Coupfourpointfive's inside sources? Are they journalists like themselves? How is it that Rowan Callick and The Australian get so much inside information from Fiji? Is it merely coincidental that The Fiji Times, The Australian and the HeraldSun are all owned by Rupert Murdoch's News Corp, that also owns major papers in every Australian city, Wellington's DominionPost, and, incidentally, the Wall Street Journal and The Times?
And they talk of power, and control of the media!
UPDATE
Monday 23rd. At about 12:00pm (USA?) Solivakasamablog asks "Is there a Muslim conspiracy occurring in Fiji? (with the two Khaiyums, two Shameems and Aziz involved)....How can Indigenous Fijians sit and watch while these evil people tear their beloved Fiji apart?" and then reprinting Saturday's HeraldSun story. A reader writes of Al Qaeda cells!
At about 9pm (USA?) Solivakasama reprints Saturday's The Australian article, and under a heading "All Talk No Action for Oinklets" says he "can't wait to see the boys froom Delainabua [military baarracks] sink their shiny boots into their [oinklets'] smugness." ws from Fiji?
























