Samantha Rina
SUVA (The Fiji Times/Pacific Media Watch): It takes courage to be a journalist in these times, a journalist said in an overview of Fiji's media environment.
Speaking at a two-day workshop on Media for Change, Fiji Broadcasting Corporation's news director Stanley Simpson said skilled journalists were leaving the industry for want of better salaries and job opportunities.
Information Ministry Permanent Secretary Sharon Smith-Johns and former High Court judge Nazhat Shameem were present at the workshop facilitated by Professor Jake Lynch, a former journalist and director of the Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies in Sydney.
Simpson said censorship was not as stringent as it was in 2009 when the Public Emergency Regulations were introduced.
"The Fiji media is closely monitored and analysed by the Ministry of Information, anonymous bloggers, the public at large and overseas media," he said.
"Journalists today are not as proactive as their counterparts before 2006.
"It takes a lot of courage to be journalists in these times."
Simpson highlighted the difficulties of finding vernacular journalists who had special skills in translating into vernacular.
He urged journalists who participated at the workshop not to forget the challenges on the ground while focusing on the progress of development.
"Good journalists investigate and verify their information and ensure they get both sides of a story," he said.
Organised by the Citizens Constitutional Forum, the workshop aimed to create a better understanding of the effects of Fiji's new and developing media landscape.
It ended yesterday.
Pacific Media Watch
