Pacific newsrooms and the campus: some comparisons between Fiji and Papua New Guinea

Abstract

Most South Pacific journalists are living and working in either the Fiji Islands or Papua New Guinea. All three of the region's university education and training programs are also situated in these two countries. One institution in Papua New Guinea has educated a generation of Pacific journalists while university education is relatively new for journalists in Fiji and the smaller nations of Polynesia, where donor-funded short courses have been relied on for training. Politicians have lambasted what they describe as a lack of professionalism and training among Pacific Islands journalists. The University of the South Pacific introduced professional media attachments with Fiji news media for the first time during 1988. This paper examines the findings of a survey of 12 news media organisations in Fiji and Papua New Guinea during December 1988 - February 1999. It found a marked difference - journalists from Fiji are far less qualified, much younger and less experienced than in Papua New Guinea.

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