Pacific Journalism Review 19(1)

This edition of Pacific Journalism Review is themed on the Media and Democracy in the South Pacific symposium held in Suva in September 2012. Hosted by the University of the South Pacific, the conference has provided most of the core papers for this issue, marking close to two decades of an independent research role in the region by this journal. The 2012 symposium followed two previous conferences held at AUT University in Auckland and USP in Suva in December 2010, covering topics ranging from investigative journalism and technology, peace journalism, democracy, social cohesion and various related themes.

The discourse, and the papers that the conferences spawned, gave a boost to media research and practice in the Pacific, particularly Fiji, under military rule and strict media censorship since 2006. Fiji is a tough, but not wholly insurmountable, problem. Even if the Fiji media are shackled, the conferences of 2010 and 2012 provided opportunity and space to engage in some open dialogue, including criticism of the regime authorities. The proceedings were not confined to the Suva conference venue, or within Fiji’s borders—this is the digital age after all.

New PJR challenges censorship

PJR now available online on AUT Shop