AUCKLAND (Pacific Cooperation Foundation/ Pacific Media Watch): Five media and journalism tertiary students have been selected to take part in a media programme later this month, aimed at exposing and improving the level and quality of media exposure in the Pacific.
The Pacific Cooperation Foundation (PCF) picked five students in total from New Zealand and the Pacific as recipients on the Media Internship Programme.
Three students from Pacific universities in Samoa, Fiji and Papua New Guinea will travel to New Zealand, spending two weeks working alongside journalists at media organisations in Auckland, and two students from New Zealand will head to Samoa and Fiji for a two-week work placement.
One of the recipients from New Zealand, Taylor Jo Aumua will work in Fiji and said one of her goals was to help change perceptions of the region in New Zealand.
"It is the hub of the Pacific, which contributes to a lot of regional Pacific trade and development," she said.
"But people only know it as a honeymoon destination, and so it is important to get stories about Fiji being more than this."
The Auckland University of Technology student is also "looking forward to making these perspectives more well- known".
Knowing the locals
Also from AUT, Alistar Kata wants to keep an "open mind" when working in Samoa.
"As much as this programme is about working with experts in the field, it's also a learning experience," she said.
"I want to get to know the place I'm working in and even though I will not be there for long, its so key for me to be familiar with the locals, soak up their way of life, their perspectives and what concerns them the most."
Kata is keen to work with media industry leaders in Samoa to "get a feel for the state of journalism in the country because so much is changing in the Pacific, industry-wise".
Both students will produce content to publish for AUT's Pacific Media Centre in Auckland.
“This is a tremendous initiative by the PCF and we think it is great that they are reaching out to journalists of the future,” said Professor David Robie, director of the PMC.
“The media internships will provide a welcome opportunity for more of our young journalists to experience the rich diversity of our Pacific neighbours and the challenging media environment they face."
PMC students
Dr Robie said PMC was pleased with the choice of recipients.
"We are delighted that two of our promising students associated with the PMC, Alistar and TJ, have been selected in this first batch, and we look forward to hosting their colleagues from the region.”
The PCF website said that deciding on the final five applicants was a difficult process considering the high calibre of students who submitted applications.
But the organisation is confident the five selected students will be great ambassadors of the programme and will benefit greatly from the experience.
The three other participants in the programme are Bethel Peato (National University of Samoa), Kelly Vacala (Fiji National University), and Pauline Mago King (PNG Divine Word University).
The PCF also has a programme for working journalists.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 New Zealand Licence.
Pacific Media Watch
