(0+) Fiji Floods Coverage -
What Happens when the Cameras Leave?
James Murray's blog: www.3news.co.nz/Default.aspx?TabId=1038

[See especially the underlined comments by Robie towards the end of the interview.]

AUCKLAND (TV3/Pacific Media Watch): Fiji has been under the media spotlight in recent times following the expulsion of the New Zealand High Commissioner and the ensuing diplomatic row and more recently the devastating floods which have seen thousands displaced from their homes. The intense media coverage of these stories has no doubt assisted in bringing much-needed aid to Fiji – desperate for basics such as blankets and rice because the interim government can only budget for one major storm a year. But what happens when the cameras go home? Do we in New Zealand concentrate too much on disaster and damaged democracies and as a result miss important stories from the Pacific region that need to be told?I asked Dr David Robie, associate professor in journalism and director of AUT’s Pacific Media Centre, whether New Zealand media was doing a good job in the Pacific region. “Of course the disasters need to be well covered – and the appeals running in support of Fiji at the moment are great, thanks to media coverage,” he says.“However, as soon as the parachute reporting of whatever the current disaster or crisis ends, the regional reporting drops away and becomes almost negligible. It is one of the ironies of our technological information age that regional Pacific coverage today is often inferior to what it was a couple of decades ago.To my mind this is not for want of trying on the part of journalists at the coal-face. Correspondents such as our own Sia Aston and Michael Morrah have been energetic in bringing some very interesting news stories from the region in recent times. I am sure they would jump at the chance to be able to report more thoroughly from the area. TVNZ’s Barbara Dreaver is another example of a journalist with good local knowledge providing in-depth coverage of the region – often with the disapproval of undemocratic regimes like the interim government in Fiji.”Disaster and coup stories need to be seen as stepping stones to a greater amount of coverage of the Pacific Islands. These stories are often fascinating and are certainly relevant to our population – Statistics New Zealand estimates there were around 300,000 Pacific Islanders living here in 2006 and the figure is rising steadily.“You would think that a neighbouring country that has had a history of four coups in two decades would warrant far more comprehensive coverage in NZ than it gets,” says Dr Robie. “Fiji politics is very complex and needs journalists who have a better appreciation of the history and cultural contexts while reporting the nuances and twists in development.”

Dr Robie criticises the mainstream media’s simplification of the issues in countries like Fiji.

For instance, how many people are aware that the military government currently residing in Fiji actually ousted a government that was accused of being racist and corrupt?

Early elections will not solve Fiji’s problems, according to Dr Robie. “Without fundamental changes in the Fiji electoral system such as abolishing the communal-based electoral system and ensuring that politicians have strong cross-cultural support, for example, we'll end up with a similar government to the one ousted by the coup. And the same coup cycle will start all over again.”It is imperative to our understanding of the region that this kind of detail is reported in our newspapers and television stories.

The New Zealand media is well placed to become a leader in reporting Pacific Island affairs even if our budgets cannot hope to match those of the Australian media, who channelled a lot of resources in this area some time ago. But according to Robie, many of the Australian media’s stories are, unsurprisingly, told from an Australian perspective and the region should also be covered through a New Zealand “prism”. He says we would do well to focus on niche reporting and cites the example of Papua New Guinea. It is a goldmine of “developmental and human interest stories”, the largest land mass in the Pacific region, the largest population and has a significant expatriate community in New Zealand with aid and business links – but only a handful of “bizarre-type” stories get published each year. It is important though that the Australian and New Zealand media does not dominate the media organisations of the Pacific. They should be encouraged to thrive through mutually beneficial relationships that foster rigorous journalism in the region - by people who know the region.Let's hope that as the floodwater recedes our attention is not entirely directed elsewhere. We should take a deep interest in our neighbours' affairs – to not do so neglects many people’s need for representation but also ignores many an interesting story. * Dr David Robie is associate professor in journalism and director of AUT's Pacific Media Centre www.pmc.aut.ac.nz His blog is Café Pacific: http://cafepacific.blogspot.com/