Work has begun to revive the Fiji Media Council – the body that holds to account media standards and complaints in the country.
Fiji media leaders met in Suva yesterday afternoon (April 5, 2023) in what it deemed an imperative move to restart the Council after Cabinet – under the Sitiveni Rabuka-led Coalition Government – announced it would repeal the Media Industry Development Act 2010.
Media workers, politicians and political commentators have publicly denounced the Act as a ‘draconian’ and ‘punitive’ law that, among others, threatened media workers and editors with hefty fines that hindered its work to hold government and people in authority accountable.
It is understood that media leaders have acknowledged that while the Coalition Government had agreed to repeal the Act, there is also their duty to have self-regulatory systems in position.
A joint statement from six major media organisations in Fiji, issued yesterday evening and embargoed until midnight tonight, stated: “Media leaders are committed to rebuilding a council that is relevant, responsible and proactive to public concerns and complaints.”
It stated details of the complaints process and procedures, and the make-up of the Media Council will be announced soon.
The statement was signed by Mai TV director and Fiji Media Association executive Stanley Simpson, Communications Fiji Ltd general manager Charles Taylor, Fiji Broadcasting Corporation acting CEO Tarun Patel, Fiji Sun acting publisher/CEO Rosi Doviverata, Fiji TV head of News Dreu Vukailagi, and Fiji Times general manager Christine Lyons.
The Fiji Media Council and its members are guided by the industry Code of Ethics that sets out the guidelines and standards that publishers and broadcasters have agreed to abide by.
It aims to:
- promote high journalistic standards,
- safeguard the media’s independence,
- uphold freedom of speech and expression,
- uphold the public’s right to be informed accurately and fairly,
- promote an independent and effective Complaints Committee; and
- promote a Code of Ethics and Practice for journalists and media organisations.
The Council comprises national media, government and community representatives.
It was last operational prior to the promulgation of the 2010 Media Industry Development Authority (MIDA) Decree – later enacted in 2015.
