The Limelight Of Political Stripes. (Updated)

Fiji Village (FV) article quoted from Fiji Military Commander, Pita Driti when he dressed down, the Fiji Women Crisis Centre Coordinator, Shamima Ali.

The excerpt of the FV article:

Driti tells Shamima to stay out of politics
Publish date/time: 27/03/2009 [17:04]

The military has today called on the Coordinator of the Fiji Womens Crisis Centre Shamima Ali to stop getting involved in politics.

RFMF Land Force Commander Colonel Pita Driti said Ali should concentrate on tackling the rise in sex related offences and stop blaming the events of December 2006 for the increasing statistics.

While speaking from NZ, Shamima Ali said it seems her words have had an effect for Colonel Driti to be responding to her. Meanwhile, Colonel Driti is now calling for a period of silence from the politicians and NGO's to ensure that the political forum is successful.

He says the political parties and NGOs have to stop attacking the RFMF and the interim government if they want Fiji to move forward. Shamima Ali said they cannot be silenced and will continue to speak out.

Stuff Magazine article also covered the comments.

The excerpt of Stuff article:

In a bizarre outburst the head of Fiji’s land forces has claimed the military is fighting to prevent the nation falling into an abyss of genocide and civil war. Fiji Military (RFMF) Land Force Commander Colonel Pita Driti has issued a statement while his boss and coup leader Commodore Voreqe Bainimarama is out of the country.

Bainimarama seized power in Fiji's fourth coup in 2006. Within hours of Bainimarama leaving for India, Driti called for the closure of the top circulation Fiji Times which he said was attacking the military government.

After a burst of criticism, Driti this afternoon has responded saying that those who attacked him have not experienced anarchy."Many of us experienced it slightly in the civilian backed coup of 2000 when rebels almost took over the country," he said in reference to the George Speight led coup. "That is anarchy in a minute scale and the RFMF is trying to prevent Fiji fall into the abyss of lawlessness and disorder with mass genocides, ethnic cleansing and battle between warlords, let alone civil war - now that is a national security angle that I am speaking from on behalf of the military as the final bastion of law and order," he said in a single sentence.

Among those who criticised him was Shamima Ali who leads Fiji's Rape Crisis Centre. Driti said she should "focus more on her field of work and stop babbling..."Her conclusion that the rise in such social crimes is due to the current political trend, is cheap and very nonsensical, because these crimes have a higher percentage rating in stable democratic countries the world over. "She should not waste her time trying to be an expert in politics even though we know that she is being paid to babble away with her nonsense," Driti said.

Fiji Times article.

While some of these NGO's have used the media to further their own agendas, these celebrated icons must also take the blame for their own incompetence. Take for example, Shamima Ali's role in the Fiji Womens Crisis Centre, which at times takes a back seat role for her over indulgence in the political sphere.



It appears that Ali has been negligent on the job for the empowerment of women in the rural areas of Fiji, who are more in a crisis than their urban dwelling counterparts.

While the issue of Freedom of the media, may blur the contentious issues being raised by the Fiji Army; it does raise the argument about the limits to free speech; which some of these libertarians in Fiji have obfuscated. Croz Walsh's recent blog post highlights the static imbalance in Fiji Times articles.

While Fiji Media Council head, Daryl Tarte is quoted in Radio New Zealand online article:

“The media in Fiji, just as in Australia, is entitled to be be partisan if they want to be. It’s probably more dangerous to be partisan in Fiji than it is in Australia but the fact is that I think most media in Fiji are trying to report as objectively and in a balanced way as they can. It is very dangerous for them not to do so. And the examples of the recent attacks on the editor of the Fiji Times is evidence of this”

While media in Australia may be partisan, it does not give license for the Fiji media to adopt that same paltry excuse for unbalanced coverage. It is a fact, that Tarte has been a Pollyannic mouthpiece for the litany of ethical violations, committed by the Fiji media.

While the Fiji Media Council is currently under review, it also means that any remarks made by the current chair, is seen as operating under the old rules; despite the tabling of its much anticipated report, by the review team. The actual Fiji Media Council(FMC) 2009 Review Report (PDF).

Other recommendations, include a staff change, according Fiji Times article. Cafe Pacific blogger, David Robbie also addressed that issue is an earlier posting.

The excerpt of Fiji Times article:

Review urges staffing change

Thursday, March 19, 2009

A REVIEW committee on the Fiji Media Council has recommended that full-time staff listen to and discuss complaints against media organisations.

In their report on the Fiji Media Council, the review committee said it believed that the efficient running of the council could no longer be entrusted to unpaid, part-time volunteers. The committee recommended that paid workers were needed to discuss the complaints.

"Given the ambitious nature of the council's objectives, especially in its aim of improving the standards of the Fiji media, the council needs the services of an executive secretary who can serve a number of
functions," stated the report.

The report said a paid employee should be available at a known office address to provide complainants with someone whom they could discuss their complaints. It said having permanent staff would enable the council to maintain its website.

The exceprt of Radio Fiji article:

A report on the review of the Fiji Media Council says government has no place in the regulation of the media. Prepared by a three member team led by Jack Herman, and comprising of Suliana Siwatibau and Barrie Sweetman, the findings are based on submissions and oral interviews.

The report says, both the government and the Media Council need to work together. It further says despite the level of rhetoric from partisans on either side of the media-government adversarial relationship, it is the view of the Review that the Fiji Media Council has maintained a proper relationship with government. The Review's belief is that the government has no place in the regulation of the media. The report was tabled at yesterday’s Media Council meeting.

While SiFM does not cordone violence, it also recognizes the fact that some media outlets in Fiji are actually culpable in "falsely shouting fire in a crowded theater" and used their gate keeper role to silence dissenting opinions and artificially skew their content (articles, Letter to the Editor) potraying a one sided coin.

Even the UN has deliberating on a resoulution that limits free speech, according to Jerusalem Post article.

Fiji's Media Industry & Their "Daily Show" Moment.

David Robie's blog, "Cafe Pacific" recent posting covers one of the recent posting by Croz Walsh, who focuses the spotlight of attention at the Fiji media itself, in their reportage of the news cycle.

There are some parallel issues between the attempt by Croz Walsh's blog, to scrutinize the media in Fiji and Jon Stewart. Both draw attention to the media's ethical responsibility to provide truthful facts to a particular story; as opposed to dressing up slanted opinions, as the gospel truth.

In actual fact, the media in the US are currently being scrutinized for their role in reporting on the economy. Media Matters.org also reviews the media in a recent post titled "The Media's Deliberate Stupidity".

One of the most honest watcher of media stories, comes from America's prominent comedian, Jon Stewart whose popular progam "The Daily Show" is itself a parody of a news presentation.

Jon Stewart recently interviewed CNBC host Jim Cramer, in an excellent segement called Brawl Street, examining the media's role in financial reporting.



Stewart's interview of Cramer provided some ratings jumps, according to Entertainment Weekly article.







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Media Matters In Fiji.

David Robie, author of Cafe Pacific, whose latest posting views the latest tribulations involving Michael Field and the Broadcasting Standards Authority (BSA)of New Zealand.

Free Press video (posted below)lampoons the American news industry's coverage of the 2008 Presidential election and is a sobering wake up call for all consumers of news and Fiji is no exception. Particularly so, in the wake of the Fiji Media Council's FAME awards and the accompanying hero worship and navel gazing.



Bill Moyers, an American public commentator and journalist takes a critical view of the Fiji Times owner, Rupert Murdoch in a video (posted below).

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Gauging Fiji Media Council's Journalism Standards. (Update)

Fiji Village article describes Fiji Media Council (FMC) Forum's archaic focus on Fiji's economy and can be described as a loss of direction by an entity that, was supposedly established specifically for the discussion and discourse of the media's performance in Fiji. Nothing more or nothing less.

"However, Mr Tarte said blogs

were a scourge and were generally full of defamatory information and were inflaming an already politically-charged situation, Pacific Radio News reported".

It is highly questionable to ascertain how the media performance in Fiji has a correlation with Fiji's economy, despite overseas articles stating that, the Fiji Media Council Awards is a ceremony for
excellence in media journalism, not a forum for discussing the
financial abilities and economic performances of Fiji.
Although, bloggers in Fiji have been painted with a

broad brush by the Fiji Media Council Chairman in a

Fiji Times article.

It is rather unfair for Tarte, to "throw out the baby
with the bath water" in his dishonest view of Fiji blogs. A desperate attempt to defend the turf of the old media in Fiji. But, given the
Fiji Media Council's seemingly biased conjecture on journalistic standards in Fiji ; it is highly applaudable for Fiji blogs to fill in this vacuum, using respectable online resources like Media Law Resources Center.

This vacuum which has been long forgotten and scorned by the Fiji Media Council, Media Law Resources exceeds these limitations by FMC; by focusing on matters like Blogger legal case studies and other journalistic issues pertinent to Fiji, like:

• Libel
• Defamatory
  
• Meaning
  
• Opinion
  
• Truth/Falsity
  
• Fault • Republication
  
• Privileges
  
• Damages
  
• Motions to Dismiss
  
• Discovery Issues
  
• Trial Issues
  
• Appellate Review
  
• Remedies for Abusive Suits
  
• Retraction
  
• Constitutional/Statutory Provisions
  
• Summary Judgment

Although, the Fiji Media Council's own ethics on accuracy, balance and coverage is far beyond their industry practice and realistically unenforceable by Fiji law. The following is an excerpt of Fiji Media Council rules:

1) ACCURACY, BALANCE AND FAIRNESS

a) Newspapers and magazines, radio and television broadcasting organizations, web sites and internet newsletters, and journalists working for them, should report and interpret news and current affairs honestly. They should aim to disclose all known relevant facts and should take care not to publish material, which is inaccurate, misleading or distorted by wrong or improper emphasis or any other factor.

b) If a significant inaccuracy, misleading or distorted statement is published it must be corrected promptly with due prominence and, where appropriate, an apology.

c) Media must distinguish clearly between the news, comment, conjecture, fact and paid advertising.

d) Media organizations are free to be partisan. Each has a duty to be balanced and fair in their treatment of news and current affairs and their dealings with members of the public.

e) Editorial comment in any medium must be clearly identified as such and kept physically separate from news reports.

f) Media should report fairly the result of any legal action brought against them and have an obligation to publish/broadcast, without diluting the finding, any adjudication by the Media Council on a complaint made against them.

One factor not addressed by any ethical rules produced by Fiji Media Council, is the aspect of Incitement Standard also not covered in Fiji media laws. This particular "Incitement Standard" is an international standard in objective journalism, which was obviously breached by the Fiji Times coverage of former Fiji Vice-President, Joni Madraiwiwi's speech published in a Fiji Times article, quoting Madraiwiwi, who labeled the 2006 coup as an Indian Coup; without offering, attaching or disclaiming empirical evidence to support that outrageous claim.

Madraiwiwi's incendiary statement alluded to the racial support of the 2006 Fiji coup, and realistically was an opinion and not a fact. No disclaimer was ever satisfactory offered, published or added by the Fiji Times or the speech author ascertaining that and perhaps sums up the editorial hallmarks of 'The Fiji Times' to mislead.

UN Human Rights Index highlights certain issues of media coverage which the Fiji Media Council had conveniently sidelined.




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