FREEDOM has won!
That’s how renowned media editor and Fiji Media Association general secretary Stanley Simpson described the Fiji Achievement in Media Excellence Awards (FAME Awards) held on Saturday night at the Novotel in Lami to remember and award journalists in Fiji for their outstanding work.
“Tonight feels personal. In a battle of wills against a brutal regime, that took a lot out of many of us, tonight feels like freedom has won!
“The story of tonight starts a long way back, 17 years ago in 2008 was the last time the FAME Awards had a full heartbeat.
“After that the lights dimmed. We walked into a storm none of us prepared for. The hard years, Fiji media walked through some intense fires. We survived emergency regulations designed to muzzle and suppress us, censors walking into our newsrooms to decide what stories we can tell the people of Fiji, long nights rewriting stories to avoid being taken up to camp, or avoid being fined under MIDA.
“The constant balancing act between duty and danger, to be real, it was not easy to be a journalist in Fiji during those times.”
Those were the days, Simpson said were scary days.
“Days we questioned ourselves, days we wondered what we were still doing in this persecuted industry, days we felt we were working with handcuffs and sometimes, with blindfolds on too. But here’s the truth that fills this room tonight, we did not stop. We did not bow. We did not break. We kept reporting.
“We kept asking questions. Despite everything they threw at us, they could not stop us from asking questions and we kept working to tell the truth — even when the truth felt like a risky thing to carry.”
Journalists, Simpson added, covered coups, constitutional crises, courtrooms, and communities rebuilding after devastation. “We told stories of grief, injustice, and hardship, but we also told stories of resilience, hope, victories, and national pride. That’s what makes the Fijian media firm and full of resolve today. The triumphs, even through the hardest years, Fiji’s media produced extraordinary work.
“When Winston struck in 2016, our journalists were the first among the debris, documenting history while the cyclone was still echoing.
“When elections came, our newsrooms were up all night, reporting counts with the commitment of people who believed Fiji must never be left in the dark. When the Drua entered Super Rugby, we brought the stadium into every living room in Fiji.
“When communities needed a voice we told their stories with courage. When the digital world exploded we adapted, modernised, and reached new audiences.”
And when Fiji needed fresh perspectives, Simpson said, the media produced some of the boldest content in our region.
