“My call out to practicing journalists would be to look deeper into environmental issues.”
The President of the Media Council of Papua New Guinea (MCPNG), Neville Choi said in commemoration of World Press Freedom Day on Friday 3 May 2024.
According to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the global theme of this year’s World Press Freedom Day is dedicated to the importance of journalism and freedom of expression in the context of the current global environmental crisis.
In support of this theme, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) sponsored a three-day investigative reporting training focused on forestry, climate change, and natural resource management in Port Moresby from May 1–3, 2024.
The training provided the media with the tools necessary to report on illegal and unsustainable environmental activities and corruption in Papua New Guinea (PNG).
MCPNG President Choi facilitated this training.
In an interview on the final day of the training, Choi said there is a completely grey area that the media may not understand or be aware of in terms of managing the country’s natural resources in terms of reporting.
“I think if we want to sustainably manage our natural resources into the future, I think those grey areas need to be brought to light, need to be reported. So my call to mainstream journalists would be to do that.”
This call was further cemented in an official statement from MCPNG stating, “The Media Council of Papua New Guinea (MCPNG) is calling on its membership in the mainstream media sector of the country, to increase their coverage of environmental issues, to look past the developmental benefits of our natural resources, and also shine a light on government entities charged with the responsibility as gatekeepers of our country’s natural resources.”
Furthermore, Choi is encouraging aspiring journalists who are currently studying the discipline to ‘hold true to what journalism is.’
“Once they leave university and they come out to the main stream, they're exposed to a lot of things that are not what they've got the training for. How to report on issues and why they're reporting on issues. Sometimes the perspectives and the lens that news managers have may differ from what students have been taught in university. But if they hold true to the foundations of journalism, holding on to their integrity, honesty in all their dealings, being transparent when they're doing their work in main stream. And having some feeling if accountability of being responsible to disseminate the news for their interests but for the interest of people of Papua New Guinea,” Choi emphasized.
Choi further said he is hopeful for the future of journalism in the country.
MCPNG stated that there are many aspects of PNG’s forestry, agriculture and other land use sector which have to be highlighted and reported on to ensure that the environment products are harvested, processed and exported in a manageable and sustainable manner.
Choi highlighted that many story ideas discussed during the training are very real, in relation to access to vital information.
“Journalists who are in the province where these things are happening have already faced challenges in trying to get information not just from corporate developers but also from state agencies who are supposed to be policing these areas that these things are happening in.
“I think the state agencies or government agencies who are responsible or who are the gate keepers of our environmental assets and resources should be more transparent in how they do their work,” said Choi.
By pursuing the stories that go untold and the unseen activities that may be harmful to the long-term sustainability of PNG and its people, the media in the country will continue to play an important role in ensuring the environmental assets of the country are managed sustainably.