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HONIARA/KOROR/NUKUALofA (PFF) — The experiences and challenges faced by Pacific journalists as they work to uphold freedom of expression and information across the region will be featured for the first time in the ‘For Us, By Us’ Pacific Media Freedom Survey.
The survey, launched today by regional media freedom watchdog the Pacific Freedom Forum (PFF), asked journalists from 14 Pacific nations (excluding Australia and New Zealand) to answer questions based on the realities of daily reporting in their respective island nations.
PFF is an online network founded more than a decade ago dedicated to protecting and promoting Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which states that the right to freedom of expression and information is a fundamental human right.
Robert Iroga, chair of the Pacific Islands Media Freedom Survey, said the pilot Pacific Islands Media Freedom Survey aims to establish reliable baseline data on the state of media freedom in the Pacific.
“We intend to use the findings to create the first Pacific Islands Media Freedom Index or a measure of Pacific media freedom that is for us, by us and about us,” Iroga said.
PFF will use this as a baseline to further monitor, capture, report and promote media freedom in the island nation.
“Given the growth of the media industry in our region, it is time for us, as Pacific Islanders living and understanding the Pacific, to conduct this survey together with Pacific journalists,” Iroga said.
Iroga is the founding editor of one of the most prominent online news websites in the Solomon Islands and is also the vice-president of the Pacific Islands Press Association (PINA), which is involved in the project.
The Pacific Islands Media Freedom Federation (PFF) plans to release its first Pacific Islands Media Freedom Index (PIMFI) and its report at the biennial Pacific Islands Media Summit in Niue in September.
PFF and PINA jointly represent Pacific Island journalists in media freedom and free expression monitoring efforts conducted by the International Freedom of Expression Exchange (IFEX), a global network that defends and promotes freedom of expression as a fundamental human right.
Internews, an NGO dedicated to strengthening global media and information, whose Transparent Pacific project is supporting the survey and establishment of PIMFI, will also host two days of dialogues for editors and journalists at the PINA Summit. It is hoped that these roundtables will provide an opportunity to collectively respond and strategize on the challenges facing media freedom in the region in 2023, as provided by the survey.
The Pacific Freedom Alliance wants to recognize the work that Reporters Without Borders has done around the world. Iroga said: “The work they have done helps to emphasize that it is time for a more specific, Pacific-led approach.”
Leilani Reklai, a Palauan journalist and co-chair of the Micronesia chapter of the Pacific Islands Press Freedom Coalition, said the focus on Pacific island media personnel should provide newsrooms with greater awareness of the realities of media freedom in what are often unique island contexts.
“The participation of our Pacific colleagues in this survey will help us understand the nature and context of the media freedom challenges our journalists face in 2023,” Reklai said.
PFF Polynesia President Katalina Tohi of Tonga noted that the time frame for the survey is only until 2023, but that should not stop people from participating and sharing.
She said: “Many of us who have left newsrooms but are still working in media may wish to comment on what they see colleagues going through in 2023 – it’s important that people who have witnessed challenges are able to share their stories, even if it hasn’t happened to them directly, it’s still part of their experience.”
If you work in the media in the Pacific Islands, you can take part in the 2024 Pacific Islands Media Freedom Survey at For Us. By Us. About Us… PACNEWS
Interview
Robert Iroga / PFF Chairman / Founder/Publisher, Solomon Business Magazine, Solomon Islands rliroga@gmail.comWhatsApp:+6777306093
Leilani Reklai/PFF Micronesia Co-Chair – Palau Times, Publisher and Editor leireklai@gmail.com
WhatsApp: +6807751004
Katalina Tohi / PFF Polynesia Co-Chair – Tonga broadcomradio89.5fm@gmail.comTel: +6767714826
If you have any questions, please contact: Bernadette Carreon/PFF Project Manager carreon.bernadette@gmail.com
WhatsApp +447308801647
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