Shooting the Messenger, Pacific Style

Abstract

Media freedom as an issue in the Pacific has been defined in far too narrow terms, as if Big Brother governments and politicians ignorant about the role of media are the only problem. Of course, they’re not. There are many other issues that are vitally important in the region that impinge on media freedom yet are rarely mentioned – such as self-censorship, media ownership and convergence, poor qualifications and salaries for many journalists (which make them potentially open to undue influence and bribery) and lack of education.