Vinzons is a quiet coastal town in the eastern Philippines province of Camarines Norte in Bicol. With a spread out population of about 45,000. it is known for its rice production, crabs and surfing beaches in the Calaguas Islands.

But the town is really famous for one of its sons — Wenceslao “Bintao” Vinzons, the youngest lawmaker in the Philippines before the Japanese invasion during the Second World War who then took up armed resistance.

He was captured and executed along with his family in 1942.

One of the most interesting assets of the municipality of Vinzons — named after the hero in 1946, the town previously being known as Indan — is his traditional family home, which has recently been refurbished as a local museum to tell his story of courage and inspiration.

“He is something of a forgotten hero, student leader, resistance fighter, former journalist — a true hero,” says acting curator Roniel Espina.

As well as a war hero, Vinzons is revered for his progressive politics and was known as the “father of student activism” in the Philippines. His political career began at the University of Philippines in the capital Manila where he co-founded the Young Philippines Party.

The Vinzons Hall at UP-Diliman was named after him to honour his student leadership exploits.

Student newspaper editor
He was the editor-in-chief of the Philippine Collegian, the student newspaper founded in 1922.

At 24, Vinzons became the youngest delegate to the 1935 Constitutional Convention and six years later at the age of 30 he was elected Governor of Camarine Norte in 1941 — the same year that Japan invaded.

In fact, the invasion of the Philippines began on 8 December 1941 just 10 hours after the bombing of Pearl Harbour in Hawai’i.

The invading forces tried to pressure Governor Vinzons in his provincial capital of Daet to collaborate. He absolutely refused. Instead, he took to the countryside and led one of the first Filipino guerilla resistance forces to rise up against the Japanese.

His initial resistance was successful with the guerrilla forces carrying out sudden raids before liberating Daet. He was eventually captured and executed by the Japanese.

The exact circumstances are still uncertain as his body was never recovered, but the museum does an incredible job in piecing together his life along with his family and their tragic sacrifice for the country.

One plaque shows an image of Vinzons along with his father Gabino, wife Liwayway, sister Milagros, daughter Aurora and son Alexander (no photo of him was actually recovered).

According to the legend on the plaque:

“Wenceslao Vinzons with his father disappeared mysteriously – and were never see again. The Japanese sent out posters in Camarines Norte expressing regret that on the way to Siain, Quezon, Vinzons was shot while attempting to escape. ‘So sorry please.’

“The remains of the body of Vinzons, his father, wife, two chidren and sister have never been found.”

The Japanese Empire as portrayed in the Vinzons Museum. Video: APR

Imperial Japan showcase
One room of the museum is dedicated as a showcase to Imperial Japan and its brutal invasion across a great swathe of Southeast Asia and the brave Filipino resistance in response.

A special feature of the museum is how well it portrays typical Filipino lifestyle and social mores in a home of the political class in the 1930s.

When I visited the museum and talked to staff and watched documentaries about “Bintao” Vinzons’ life, one question in particular intrigued me: “Why was he thought of as a ‘forgotten hero’?”

According to acting curator Espina, “It’s partly because Camarines Norte is not as popular and well known as some other provinces. So some of the notable achievements of Vinzons do not have a high profile around in other parts of the country.”

Based at the museum is the town’s principal Tourism Officer Florence G Mago. She is optimistic about how the Vinzons Museum can attract more visitors to the town.

“We have put a lot of effort into developing this museum and we are proud of it. It is a jewel in the town.”

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

Kara Ravulo was halfway through her university studies when her father became sick, ultimately leading her to defer school to help support her family. After he died, Ravulo’s mother’s wise words encouraged her to go back and complete her studies.

But it was Ravulo’s perseverance and dedication that led her to where she is now.

With the rise of female athletes across Fiji, it has opened a door for not only women athletes to be in the media but also for women journalists reporting on sports media.

Almost every media outlet in Fiji boasts a woman sports journalist.

As the media and content officer at the Fijian Drua, Kara Ravulo is a trailblazer in the Fijian sports and communication sector. When she began her role, Fiji had never had a woman media officer for a male sporting team.

Ravulo, who has a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of the South Pacific, found herself longing for something more, when she saw an advertisement for a position available at the Fiji Sun newspaper.

Ravulo expressed a gracious thanks to God after she was offered a position at the Fiji Sun, where she covered the news and business sectors before the sports editor approached her about becoming a sports journalist.

‘This is what I want’
“They tested me out. The sports editor was like, ‘Do you want to write sports stories?’ and I was like ‘I can try’.”

“Then they put me on sports and when I started doing it and started doing interviews I was like, ‘I think this is what I want to be’.”

After three years as the sports journalist at the Sun, Ravulo saw a new opportunity to level up her skills and applied for a position at the public broadcaster Fijian Broadcasting Corporation (FBC).

She covered the sports news at FBC, but it was here that she learnt new forms of journalism.

Ravulo thanks FBC for introducing her to social media, which she explained is something that all journalists need to be well versed and multi-talented in that area of media.

After the introduction of the Fijian Drua Super Rugby side in 2022, the search for the organisation’s first media and content officer began. Having been at FBC for nearly three years, Ravulo decided to take another leap of faith and apply for the role.

Taking a position within a male-dominated industry is no easy feat, and no one can prepare you for situations such as being the only woman who travels with the Fijian Drua team for the whole season.

Privileged opportunity
Ravulo expressed her gratitude for the organisation and the team for having faith in her to be their media officer, as she believes it is such a privilege.

Being treated as one of their own is great, but it means that she does still have to carry the heavy stuff, Ravulo said while laughing.

“It was challenging at first trying to earn the teams trust but something that we women need to know is that you need to take out that mentality that women cannot do what men can do,” she said.

“When standing at games with other super rugby clubs’ male content officers, I just think to myself, I am the same as all of you.

“And you should have that mentality that I can do what you can do.”

It is not only the team at the Drua organisation that Ravulo has won over, according to former Fiji Times finance editor Monika Singh, now teaching assistant at USP.

“She has the ability to win people over with her infectious smile and friendly demeanour,” Singh said.

“I have known her for some time now and I have never heard anyone complain about her work or her work ethic,” said Singh when reflecting on Ravulo’s character.

Writing wins respect
Ravulo strongly believes that some of the challenges junior journalists are faced with can be overcome through your writing.

“You write the way that people can actually respect you and see that you’re here to mean business, it changes the perspective of how people look at you.”

🏆2024 @fijicare Moment of the Year (men’s) Kemu Valetini’s drop goal in front of 🥳Lautoka fans marking a famous (first) victory against the @NSWWaratahs#TosoDrua #PacificAusSports pic.twitter.com/WLYjWGXmKA

— Fijian Drua (@Fijian_Drua) June 17, 2024

Working with the Drua has broadened Ravulo’s horizons not only in relation to the social media and content creation, but also in understanding sponsorships, marketing, and public relations.

As a result, she has opted to go back to university and study a Bachelor of Law to venture into sports law because player welfare, lack of agents and contract negotiations is a gap she has noticed within the Fijian market.

Ruvulo would encourage all women to work within the sports media industry across Fiji.

“Women need to be more out there.”

Paige Schouw is a student journalist from the Queensland University of Technology who travelled to Fiji with the support of the Australian Government’s New Colombo Plan Mobility Programme. Published in partnership with QUT.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

Former politician Remesio Rogovakalali is hoping to see transparency and engagement in the next term of government, no matter which party is elected.

The 77-year-old principal from Corpus Christi Teachers College in Nasese says he wants to see integrity and truth among politicians.

“I’d like to also see more engagement between government, non-governmental organisations and unions,” he told Wansolwara after voting at Suva Grammar School this morning.

“Fijians are more educated than previous years, education is only getting better and this will make Fijian democracy stronger.”

Rogovakalali carries a wealth of experience in politics, having stood for election twice in 2001 and 2006.

Reflecting on his time in politics, he believes truth is a powerful tool and must be adopted more in Fijian politics.

“I’ve voted at every election and it carries immense value to be able to have our voices heard. I am urging all Fijians to vote and exercise your right and civic duty,” he said.

Another figurehead at the polls today was Fiji Labour Party Leader Mahendra Chaudhry, who also called on Fijian citizens to cast their votes before 6pm.

The former PM cast his vote at 10.46am at the University of the South Pacific’s Statham Campus polling station in Suva Point with his wife, Virmatee Chaudhry.

He said reports of wide voter turnout across the country were promising signs of Fiji’s interest in the results of the election.

“To citizens still contemplating whether or not they will cast their vote, please come and vote, take part in the election. This is your future and you must exercise your right to vote,” he said.

Voters like Mereani Babara, who moved from Tavua to Baulevu in Nausori five months ago, hopes the elected government would address sanitation and water woes in areas like Waidra, Baulevu.

She looked forward to casting her vote at Koroqaqa Primary School and urged other Fijians to make their way to their designated polling venue before the 6pm deadline.

Published in collaboration with the University of the South Pacific journalism programme’s Wansolwara News.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

Journalism students from Australia’s Macleay College programme with 50 participants are saying their degrees have been cancelled just two weeks into the course.

Macleay is a private tertiary institution with campuses in Sydney and Melbourne. Macleay students say that on Friday afternoon they were sent an email saying their Bachelor of Journalism degree course would be cancelled due to low enrolment numbers.

The email states that first-year students can either switch to a digital media course or withdraw and receive a statement of attainment for their completed units.

Macleay College also requests that the students inform it of their decision by the census date on March 18.

This would leave the students with an extremely short time to make such an important decision.

Since the unexpected email on Friday afternoon, the university has not provided any further support to students, student Ezra Bell told Pedestrian.TV.

“There’s been no communication from the uni they’ve really just hung us out to dry,” she said.

“Why couldn’t they have said this to our faces?”

Bell doubted that enrolment numbers — about 48 are on the programme — were the reason for the shutdown.

“What’s the real reason because we all know low enrolments is not the case.”

This point was echoed by another Macleay journalism student, Kelsey Richmond. Richmond claimed that student enrolment numbers had actually increased.

Macleay students have taken to Twitter to vent about the experience.

The Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance (MEAA) confirmed on Saturday that the degree had been cancelled. The union estimated about 48 students would be impacted.

Student Chelsea Caffery claimed the college told students to reach out to psychologists if they need it. But the university’s mental health services do not re-open until Monday.

Chelsea further alleged that staff were not aware that the degree was going to be cancelled.

“To be told on a Friday afternoon after hours is really heartless,” Chelsea told news.com.

“The head of Journalism [Sue Stephenson] only found out minutes before the students did… after 5pm… on a Friday.”

After spending the day at @MacleayCollege just found out that my journalism degree has been canned two weeks in due to “low enrolments”. Absolutely devastated. 1/2

— Ezra Bell (@ezrabell_) March 11, 2022

The college has not released a statement about the situation yet, but it is already copping flack online.

Macleay College advised the dumped journo students to reach out to the psychologist if needed. Funny that. The psychologist isn’t open until Monday morning, and we were informed of the cancellation Friday afternoon. So I guess mental health can just wait til Monday, right?

— Chelsea Caffery (@ChelseaCaffery) March 11, 2022

As pointed out by Journalism Education and Research Association of Australia (JERAA) president Dr Alexandra Wake, most universities have now closed their enrolments.

It’s a very difficult time for this decision to have been made with first semester enrolments now closed at most universities – and it’s a long weekend in Victoria. Not sure what offer other unis can make but am looking into it.

— Alexandra Wake, PhD (@WakeinFright) March 11, 2022

This means it could be really hard for those students to re-enrol in other degrees.

On top of everything else, Macleay college’s degree in journalism is not cheap.

It costs $54,000 to complete all 24 units so the potential financial burden on students is high.

The private university is owned by fashion entrepreneur Sarah Stavrow. She told news.com that she would not be commenting.

Asia Pacific Report adds: A statement by the Australian Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (TEQSA) said it was seeking further information about Maclean’s decision and support that was being offered to affected students to complete their studies.

“The timing and manner of how this was communicated by Macleay College to their students is also of concern to TEQSA,” said the statement.

It added that if there had been a breach of the Higher Education Standards Framework, “appropriate enforcement action” would be taken to protect the students’ interests.

Kathleen Farmilo and Sweeney Preston are writers for Pedestrian.TV.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

How disappointing to read another opinion piece in Australian papers repeating time-old arguments that fail to acknowledge the excellent education in journalism provided by universities around the country, an education many working journalists – and therefore readers – have benefited from.

It is concerning that anyone would argue that there are thousands of journalism graduates in Australia each year. There are not thousands of journalism graduates in Australia, as anyone who has tried to hire one in regional Australia would well know.

At my own university, RMIT, we can barely graduate enough journalism students for the needs of the Victorian news industry.

READ MORE: Back to the future: It’s time to rethink the way we train journalists

Universities in the states also report excellent employment opportunities for recent and soon-to-be graduates.

Australian universities generally offer a more general communications degree that can be used for a range of careers beyond journalism. Very few programmes offer straight journalism degrees and even those that do provide students with a range of courses that give graduates a much greater range of skills than the vocational skills taught in the legacy news organisations of yesteryear.

Thirty years ago, there was some in-house training for journalism cadets. I am also a product of the “straight from high school” cadetship system of this period, and I am acutely aware of its deficits.

On-the-job training at legacy media was well-intentioned and concentrated mostly on correct grammar rather than the skills required for modern reporting.

Critical thinking, research skills
Today’s university graduates who want to become are likely to have completed courses that allow them to manipulate data spreadsheets, create visualisations, fact check and verify information, capture photographs and audio, take photographs, and put together audio and visual packages. They also develop critical thinking and research skills, and learn about politics and the economy.

New technology has provided journalism students with opportunities far beyond what is offered by the legacy media. Media fragmentation and the speed of disseminating information and opinion present opportunities for graduates with a good understanding of how to leverage new technologies and platforms such as social media, digital and interactive TV, and how to produce rich mobile content.

I certainly agree with it would be fantastic to have entry-level journalism students paid while learning. For me, the legacy media is no longer in a position to provide sufficient in-house education to young trainees because they’ve been cut to the bone with no space for training and certainly cannot provide the depth of training that a university offers.

However, I’m sure all educators would welcome legacy news offerings offering paid journalism internships which are already an important part of a journalism university programme.

While some are pessimistic about the industry, I have no hesitation in encouraging anyone interested in a career in journalism to enrol in a university programme. Journalism is not only a fun-filled and exciting course of study, it is one from which, when our work is done well, every Australian benefits.

In short, our work is critical to and underpins civil society.

Dr Alexandra Wake is president of the Journalism Education and Research Association of Australia (JERAA).

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

By Wansolwara staff in Suva

Twelve leading journalists from 11 Pacific Island countries will converge in Suva, Fiji, this Friday to discuss critical issues affecting the region including climate change and natural disaster relief and recovery and regional security.

The one-day “Capstone at The University of the South Pacific” (USP) Laucala Campus marks the culmination of three weeks of dialogue, study and reporting tours of the US undertaken by the journalism fellows covering Honolulu, Washington D.C., Galveston, and San Francisco.

The US State Department-funded tours have been organised and overseen by three Hawaii-based East-West Centre staff: media programme manager Susan Kreifels, senior programme officer Scott Kroeker, and program co-coordinator Katie Bartels.

READ MORE: USP journo students return from Solomons climate storytelling project

Besides covering critical issues affecting the Pacific on their tour, the journalism fellows received in-depth skills-based training in fact-checking, open source research methodologies and news literacy and disinformation/propaganda challenges in the local news and social media networks in the region.

The Suva workshop is jointly hosted by the East-West Centre, the Pacific Islands News Association (PINA) and the USP Journalism Programme in Suva.

The workshop will focus on students sharing their “learnings and experiences” from the intensive three weeks of engagement and discussion.

The USP Vice-Chancellor and President, Professor Pal Ahluwalia, will also address the fellows.

The coordinator of the USP Journalism Programme Dr Shailendra Singh said he was looking forward to the workshop in which 30 USP journalism students will also participate.

“It’s a great learning opportunity,” said Dr Singh. “I was part of a similar programme earlier this year for journalism academics from around the world — the Study of the US Institute for Scholars fellowship — hosted by the Arizona State University’s Cronkite School of journalism.  It was a marvellous academic and cultural experience.”

USP Journalism has played crucial training role in the region for 30 years, with over 300 graduates in prominent media roles in the region and beyond.

The PINA manager Makereta Komai said as a regional media organisation, PINA was happy to partner with the East West Centre and USP Journalism in up-skilling Pacific journalists.

“This study tour is a great learning opportunity for the Pacific media to engage and discuss issues directly with US decision makers and see first-hand how the US is implementing policies related to climate change and disaster risk reduction, regional security and issues related to the media.”

As the premier regional organisation representing the interests of media professionals in the Pacific, PINA links together radio, television, newspapers, magazines, online services, national associations and journalism schools in 20 island nations.

• The Pacific Media Centre and Asia Pacific Report have a publishing partnership with the University of the South Pacific journalism programme

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

By Michael Andrew

A group of University of the South Pacific journalism students have returned from a week-long trip in the Solomon Islands covering communities at the forefront of climate change.

Rosalie Nongebatu, Romeka Kumari and Ben Bilua, who are also part of Wansolwara team, were selected to be a part of the project “Adapting to and mitigating effects of climate change and island sea level rise,” funded through the Internews/Earth Journalism Network (EJN) Asia-Pacific and Bay of Bengal 2019 media grants.

Wansolwara editor and trip leader Geraldine Panapasa, said it was a very successful and valuable experience for the students.

READ MORE: USP journo students head to Solomons for environmental reporting project

“The students were able to apply their journalism production skills for print, online and broadcast. Part of the field reporting training included mojo (mobile journalism) skills for short news videos,” she said.

“We visited vulnerable communities in the greater Honiara area, spoke to those at the forefront of climate change, those in resilience and adaptation projects, those suffering from the devastating impact of climate change, those in decision-making positions and the future generation.”

The students found that unlike in Fiji, climate change does not get much exposure in the Solomon Islands. Government agencies usually supply environmental reports to the newspapers rather than journalists doing the reporting themselves.

Communities seldom visited
Because communities seldom get visits by local media or government, the students met many people who wanted to share their stories about shortages of water, depleted fish stocks and other climate change effects.

When the students visited the Lord Howe Settlement in Honiara, they found that the residents, most of Polynesian decent had very little food gardens and depended on the sea for their livelihood.

“Sanitation wise, they also use the sea for bathing and other ‘toilet’ business. Proper water supply, health and sanitation are clearly lacking in this community,” Panapasa said.

However, she said that many people have come to see climate change reporting as a money making opportunity and only supply information for payment.

“This, of course, would taint the credibility of their views. Would they really tell us what they’re going through or tell us what we want to hear?” Panapasa said.

Balanced and thorough coverage
However, the group ensured their coverage was both balanced and thorough and spoke to representatives across the community.

“We felt it was important to cover all aspects of the project by speaking to stakeholders – grassroots communities, UN agencies, NGOs & CSOs, Government, youths etc.

“We also took into consideration the importance of providing gender balanced views on the issues we intended to cover with climate change, resilience and mitigation.”

USP Journalism coordinator Dr Shailendra Singh thanked the grant sponsors, saying that it had enabled the students to report on pressing issues through a professional experience.

“The USP journalism program would like to thank the Earth Journalism Network for making this project possible.

“Next we will take a student team to the Cook Islands on a similar assessment.

“We look forward to our continued partnership with EJN to develop both environmental journalism and student journalists in the Pacific.”

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

By Rosalie Nongebatu in Suva

Three journalism students from The University of the South Pacific in Suva have been selected to participate in a week-long environmental reporting project in the Solomon Islands.

After a stringent selection process, students Rosalie Nongebatu, Romeka Kumari and Ben Bilua were chosen to be part of the project titled, “Adapting to and mitigating effects of climate change and island sea level rise”, made possible through the Internews/Earth Journalism Network (EJN) Asia-Pacific and Bay of Bengal 2019 media grants.

The project involves journalism students conducting climate change reporting in the Cook Islands and the Solomon Islands.

READ MORE: USP wins US$20,000 grant to boost Pacific environmental journalism

Led by Wansolwara editor and USP Journalism staff member Geraldine Panapasa, the team is expected to visit areas in Honiara that are susceptible to the devastating impacts of climate change as well as report on vital efforts undertaken by stakeholders to address climate impacts on vulnerable communities.

Kumari, who is also the sports editor for USP Journalism’s student training newspaper Wansolwara, said climate change was an urgent issue that needed to be addressed at all levels.

“There are many untold stories of the threat and risks of climate changed faced by many Pacific Islanders, including those in the Solomon Islands,” she said.

“The trip is an opportune time to put faces to the stories of climate change and to re-emphasise the reality and gravity of the situation for grassroots people in these vulnerable communities.”

Benefitting aspiring journalists
Second-year journalism student, Epeli Lalagavesi, who will join the environmental reporting team to the Cook Islands later in the year, said the project would benefit aspiring journalists.

“I am excited about the trip to the Cook Islands for two reasons. First, it will enable me to witness, learn and report on climate change injustice as well as the challenges faced by the people of Cook Islands,” he said.

“Secondly, I hope to learn new skills, especially the concept of ‘mojo’ or using mobile journalism tools to disseminate information.”

Boost for environmental reporting
USP Journalism coordinator Dr Shailendra Singh said the grant was a boost for solidifying the foundations of environmental reporting for the future.

He said the Pacific was at the forefront of climate change impacts, on top of various other problems, such as the exploitation of fisheries and forestry resources, plastic pollution and waste disposal and management.

“Environmental issues in the Pacific are under-reported compared to the magnitude of the problems and because of the smallness of the Pacific media industry, journalists are generalists by necessity, with no specific beats such as environmental journalism,” Dr Singh said.

Although USP Journalism lacks resources to offer specific courses in environmental journalism, students report on the environment as part of their assessed news assignments, using the expertise available at other USP faculties as resource material.

Authentic learning
“The $US20k grant from EJN would take authentic learning – the idea of incorporating the classroom with the real world – to another level, with two teams of the best student reporters sent to the Cook Islands and the Solomon Islands to report on community mitigation efforts,” Dr Singh said.

He said the project was geared towards expanding coverage horizontally beyond Fiji, and vertically down to the grassroots level, building future capacity through student journalism.

The trip will take place from June 24 until July 1.

The Pacific Media Centre and Asia Pacific Report have a publishing partnership with the University of the South Pacific journalism programme.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

COMMENTARY: By Alexandra Menzies of Central News in Sydney

As I stood out the front of the ABC’s Sydney headquarters on Wednesday morning (June 5), I couldn’t help but feel the conflicting senses of both pride and anxiety.

Just moments earlier, a group of first-year UTS Journalism students, including myself, had raced from our lecture upon learning that the Australian Federal Police (AFP) were conducting a raid of the ABC building next door. It was over the 2017 story “The Afghan Files”.

We waited with perched phones in the middle of an eager scrum of professional journalists from organisations such as Sky News, Channel 9, Channel 7 and Reuters News.

READ MORE: The Afghan Files – Defence leak exposes deadly secrets of Australian special forces

We took photographs and short videos before posting them to our Twitter accounts and watching as audience responses flooded in.

It wasn’t until I saw the comments from international news organisations requesting to use my footage, that I understood the significance of where I was, and what I was doing.

I checked my tweet engagement and interaction statistics and realised that people were following my posts for breaking information.

Hi Allie, I’m a journalist with Storyful News. OK to clear this for use in broadcast/online news with attribution to you and UTS News? Thanks! Details: https://t.co/FDYxmeYB08

— StoryfulNews (@StoryfulNews) June 5, 2019

I was at the scene and, to the best of my ability, I was responsible for letting the world know the truth and facts of the events that were unfolding.

Feeling accomplished and alive
It was the first time that I had been in such a position. Indeed, it was the first time that I had felt what it is like to be a journalist. And to tell you the truth, I had never felt so accomplished and alive.

The videos of fellow journalism students were also picked up by top news organisations. For instance, a video of ABC News director Gaven Morris, shot by Nicholas Rupolo, was reposted by The Australian and news.com.au.

RELATED STORY: AFP Raids: ‘Journalism is not a crime’ says ABC News boss

Through to the afternoon, I was constantly refreshing my feed to check for updates from the ABC’s Head of Investigative Journalism, John Lyons, who was live tweeting from inside the ABC building. He was sharing information on what the AFP officers were searching for, as they rummaged through 9214 files that belonged to the ABC, and were considered of interest in their investigation.

It may sound melodramatic, but my heart became heavy when Lyons posted two photographs of the search warrant that the police had obtained. I was truly astounded by the scope and broadness of what information the AFP had the power to search and seize.

I thought back to how I had felt earlier that day; the immense zest I’d felt for journalism had now been replaced with a fear for it’s future.

I was confronted with the true irony of the fact that I was reporting freely on an investigation that epitomised the gradual restrictions on my chosen career.

Using this as my incentive, I continued to follow the raid as it stretched into the night.

By 7:30pm, there were six journalists and photographers, seven including myself, who remained out the front of the ABC building.

Keeping an eye out
We chatted among ourselves while keeping an eye out for any movements or updates on the raid. Lyons then tweeted photographs of the AFP filling out paperwork. He approximated that the raid would be concluding in 45 minutes.

At 8:14pm, one of the photographers sighted the AFP officers walking through the security gates of the ABC building.

“Get your cameras ready!,” he yelled.

Remembering the tips and tricks that I had learnt about shooting videos on a mobile phone, I captured the AFP as they made a swift exit from the building across Harris Street, taking with them bags that were filled with what we can only assume to be evidence.

I returned to the ABC building along with the other journalists and photographers. We sat and looked through the photographs and videos that we’d been able to get, and in doing so, I was relieved.

Admittedly, it’s a strange emotion to have felt. But I was relieved by the determination of those who I’d waited with. For over eight hours, some without a break, they had stayed to break the news that the raid had finally ended.

Their sheer perseverance gave me hope in the otherwise grim future of journalism.

Scrolled through Twitter
When I went home, I scrolled through Twitter and noticed another post from Lyons.

“Bravo to this country’s media for taking on the government over the new war on the media”, he said.

“I’ve never seen such a united front. Old rivalries put aside. Journalism matters”.

I owe a great deal of gratitude to Lyons and the other news organisations who showed their support for journalism in the wake of the ABC raid.

It is comforting to know that, as long as people continue to fight for its freedom, journalism will survive.

Befitting what Wednesday’s events taught me – and as quoted by former Washington Post president and publisher Philip L. Graham – “Journalism is the first rough draft of history”.

Alexandra Menzies is a first year journalism student at the University of Technology Sydney with a passion for politics and human rights. This article was first published by the UTS Central News journalism lab

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

By Elizabeth Osifelo in Suva

The first edition of the University of the South Pacific’s student journalist training newspaper Wansolwara for the year has hit the news stands and celebrates the institution’s half century of achievements as one of the most successful regional organisations with more than 63,000 alumni and 26 international accreditations.

The university has presented 64,000 qualifications over the past 50 years and more recently was seeking initial accreditation with the WASC Senior College and University Commission (WSCUC).

The 24-page special edition focused on USP’s 50th Anniversary and the “people power” behind the institution is one of two publications planned for the year and was printed as an insert in the Fiji Sun newspaper on Friday.

Wansolwara’s May edition hit the news stands today as an insert in the Fiji Sun. Image: Koroi Tadulala/Wansolwara News

Wansolwara supervising editor-in-chief Geraldine Panapasa said the publication was dedicated first and foremost to the people who had made USP what it has become today.

She said the first edition focused on academics, support staff and the people who, over time, had become a part of the USP family.

The second edition is expected to feature various graduates and their contribution to society.

-Partners-

Final-year journalism students worked closely with the editorial board on the production of the newspaper.

The editorial board comprises USP journalism programme co-ordinator Dr Shailendra Singh, broadcast teaching assistant Eliki Drugunalevu, Panapasa and student editor Drue Slatter.

The award-winning Wansolwara newspaper is the longest surviving student publication in the region with the largest circulation (more than 20,000) of any student newspaper in the Pacific and Australasia.

An e-copy of the publication can be found on www.wansolwaranews.com or on ISSUU.

Elizabeth Osifelo is a final-year journalism student at USP.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

By Laiseana Nasiga in Suva

Final-year student journalists at the University of the South Pacific took centre stage at this year’s World Press Freedom Day celebrations in Fiji by participating in a panel discussion about media freedom and the challenges being faced.

USP’s journalism programme gave student journalists the platform to speak on these pressing issues yesterday rather than be spoken to.

Carolyn Kitione, a journalism and psychology double major, highlighted the risks and conflicts that journalists faced in their profession.

“When we are out in what people like to call the real world, you’re forced to realise that the things that you read about in the newspapers are a possibility of things that might happen to you as journalists,” she said.

“People talk about the glamour of having to travel but nobody wants to talk about the stones that are constantly thrown at us. People want to glamourise the interviews that we had with someone but not the substance of what is said or written.

“In the sort of environment that we live in, there is genuine concern of people getting hurt both physically and emotionally.

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“There are chances that we could never work a day of our lives in the field that we choose because of one mistake.

Risks faced
“There are essentially risks that we face and conflicts that we are exposed to and when we talk about conflicts we are not necessarily talking about violence, we’re in the profession of watching our backs.”

There was also a discussion about media freedom in Vanuatu which was shared by Telstar Jimmy, who studies journalism, and literature and language.

Jimmy said although there was more press freedom in Vanuatu, there were also serious risks.

“In the 2013 Global World Press Freedom ranking, Vanuatu came seventh out of the 14 Asia Pacific countries and that was due to little regulation or censorship on the media,” she said.

“Even though this was so, the media workers were threatened and assaulted by people in power and that continued to rise from 2010 up to 2015.”

Jimmy also highlighted ta threat of citizen journalism for professional journalism.

“Even though we have one of the most free press environments in the Pacific, there is also a threat in terms of upcoming challenges. One of these would be that through citizen journalism, online media would give rise to more fake news and therefore degrade professional journalism in mainstream media,” she said.

Online freedom
Another student journalist, Elizabeth Osifelo, talked about freedom of information online, the challenges and the way forward for the media in the Solomon Islands.

Contrary to the challenges faced by the media in Fiji, Osifelo said media was free in the Solomon Islands, although there were certain challenges that existed.

“Social media today in Solomon Islands has a really good flow of information but the challenge here is that it only serves a small fraction of our population. The mainstream media also heavily relies on these networks for information,” she said.

“Another big challenge is the ‘big man’ system in the Solomon Islands and asking sensitive questions of the people regarded as a ‘big man’. Culture is a very challenging element for journalists in the Solomon Islands.

“When you do that, compensation is bound to happen and you will end up having truckloads of people arriving at your doorsteps [asking for] compensation.”

Fiji’s Media Industry Development Decree 2010 and its influence on press freedom were also discussed by student journalist Koroi Tadulala, who also majors in literature and language.

“In order for us to achieve press freedom, we must advocate for the removal of constraints that hinder the work of the media. We can talk about press freedom as much as we want, for however long we want, but as long as the constraints are in place, we will never be able to achieve true media freedom,” Tadulala said.

Tadulala also called for the removal of some provisions of the Media Decree.

People’s voices needed
USP’s deputy vice-chancellor (learning, teaching and support services), Professor Richard Coll, said it was important to recognise World Press Freedom Day because most citizens believed it was an important part of a democratic society where people’s voices needed to be heard.

Dr Coll said academics were also encouraged to make social commentary on areas within their expertise.

“I think that is an important part of the university as a media policy and since it deals with media issues, it’s better to speak about your area of expertise,” he said.

Journalism programme coordinator Dr Shailendra Singh said it was important for student journalists to participate in the World Press Freedom Day event because it was part of their studies and a platform to create awareness about issues facing the media.

“It also informs them about the situations in other countries and allows them to make comparisons with their own counties,” he said.

Laiseana Nasiga is a final-year student journalist at the University of the South Pacific.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

Heavily armed Papua New Guinea police in camouflage fatigues confront students before opening fire on them on 8 June 2016. Image: PMC video