Poor attitude on local media reflected in media composition for Kiribati trip

IMr Rabuka should have cut back three places from his entourage to accommodate the five main news outlets, Fiji Sun, Fiji Times. Fiji Broadcasting Corporation, Communications Fiji Ltd and Fiji Television.

t is about time that Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka rein in his media advisers. In his first overseas state visit, when he should be accompanied by a local media contingent, his advisers thought it was better to take two regional media organisations, PACMAS and Islands Business. While we have nothing against these two organisations, we question the logic behind choosing regional media over local media.

Does it mean the regional media is better than the local media?

The Fiji Sun

which broke the story on the Kiribati state visit was the first media organisation to lodge an expression of interest to accompany Mr Rabuka.

As a leading media organisation in

Fiji, we felt it was important that the local media report on the visit from

Kiribati because of its wide audience and readership in

Fiji.

To get the widest coverage as possible for a Fijian audience two local mainstream media organisations should have gone.

Better still, Mr

Rabuka should have cut back three places from his entourage to accommodate the five main news outlets, Fiji Sun, Fiji Times. Fiji Broadcasting Corporation, Communications Fiji Ltd and Fiji Television.

There was hope that with the new Government coming in there would be a positive change to the attitude on local media.

It did not happen on this Kiribati trip and we hope that it will change for the next overseas visit.

From time to time we see that the local media is relegated to the back and overseas media seems to be treated better.

Foreign journalists and photographers are allowed to events where the Department of Information personnel represents the local media because of supposedly lack of space.

If the Government is serious about promoting media freedom then it must start with the local media. All this talk about media freedom is hypocritical if the local media is left out of major events.

If Mr Rabuka does not get the level of publicity and exposure he is hoping to get from this trip he should blame his advisers for failing to capitalise on this opportunity.

As a suggestion - for future trips the five media groups should be invited to join the PM.

If they are required to pay then so be it. If they pay they are in, otherwise they are out.

We know that Mr Rabuka is friendly with the media and knows how to deal with it.

He needs to talk to his advisers to treat the local media with respect.

NEMANI DELAIBATIKI

Feedback: nemani.delaibatiki@fijisun.com.fj