[pima.nius] Re: Fakalofa lahi atu

. . .

 

interesting points olly, ono ivi and peni,

 

I back what Olly has to say about TVNZ's Pacific correspondent. Between a reporter and a police commissioner, I'd pick the one who wasn't caught smuggling guns.

 

Attempts by Peni and Ono Ivi to explain this away that it was only one or two guns, or that everyone has a gun for shooting pigs or bats, or that there are some cultural sensitivities involved are forgetting one simple fact: the police commissioner is sworn to uphold the law of the land and he broke those laws.

 

Not palagi laws. Not Western laws. Laws of Samoa, agreed to by democratically elected representatives, all from Samoa? Or is Samoa like the US, where the law seems to be an optional extra? Or New Zealand for that matter?

 

I agree that mainstream media treatment of island neighbours should be monitored, debated and, when appropriate, complained about. Ono Ivi says that "may" be the case but I'd like to go further and say that "will" always be the case.

 

The price of freedom is eternal vigilence.

 

But where will Peni and Ono Ivi draw the line? Obviously a corrupt commissioner, drugs, smuggled guns, death threats and "evil" headlines are not enough for them. What is? Will it take the death of a colleague to cause alarm?

 

The funny thing is that previously the Samoa media and TVNZ have been close allies on wide ranging issues and all of a sudden this relationship has soured, in fact been conquered and divided for reasons unknown ... umm ...

 

oh, hang on ... i get it now! ... create an artificial controversy and watch the media fall apart under intense manipulation of ethical and cultural considerations ... very clever guys! wheels within wheels , )

 

manuia,

 

jas

 

. . .

jason brown
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. . .

2009/6/3 Aaron Taouma <aaron.taouma1@gmail.com>

Olly, Peni and others,

Yes, it is a continuing debate - how far does one take things when exploring "the issues."

With ehtics there are other issues,

Are Pacific Islands ethics different to Palagi or Western ethics?

And, in presenting stories to a Western audience, how much gets lost in translation or is transmuted into something else for the sake of presentation?

Are journalists following the correct line of ethics when approaching stories - especially stories dealing with Pacific issues?

Just think of so many of the presentations on Pacific issues in the past - negative, assumptive, generalised, sensationalised, judgmental, or just plain wrong.

There are many issues around this story and others.

It is something we may need to continually keep an eye on.

Don't forget other stories are being produced all the time and need to have just as much scrutiny and debate as this one has generated.

A new website being launched by the Human Rights Commission and the Pacific Cooperation Foundation may add to the debate.

The website link is: http://www.pacificmediaandhumanrights.com/

(though it is currently not online until July - but keep it in mind)

To this, I hope everyone on this forum and others continue to discuss Pacific issues as they pertain to the media.

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