World Media Freedom Day was celebrated on the morning of May 3rd in a breakfast attended by the media, business houses and delegates who contribute to the media society collectively.
Media Freedom Day is a reminder to governments of the need to respect their commitments to Press Freedom. It is also a day of reflection among media professionals and the community at large about issues of the freedom of the press and professional media ethics.
The breakfast was hosted by the CAD43 Ltd, made up of final year Communication Arts (Journalism) batch of 2003 of Divine Word University (DWU), with the theme, “Journalism under Surveillance”.
Transparency International PNG Chairman, Peter Aitsi opened the event with a very challenging speech on the role of media and TIPNG and followed by guest speaker and veteran journalist, Scott Waide who led the panel of discussion seated by Neville Choi, Fr Jan Czuba and Lady Winifred Kamit.
Annette Sete, Representing CAD43 Ltd, an organisation established in 2021 by former DWU Journalism students now media/public relations professionals and thriving entrepreneurs, who want more change in the media landscape organised the media breakfast.
Sete said their task is to bring PNG media and a wide section of the community together and to support DWU, and this event is also used as a platform to raise issues and working together to find solutions to help aid journalism standards across the country.
Mr Aitsi added that TIPNG’s primary focus is on fighting corruption, exposing activities of corrupt groups and individuals.
“We see clearly our mission is to empower the people of PNG to take action against corruption, and all of us in this room have had a discussion at our table. Truly understand the risk and significance of the impact of corruption in our country…I want to try and provide for us today a link between the impacts of corruption and the work of groups such as TIPNG and the media practitioners.”
Scott Waide, a very senior Journalist with over 24 years of experience in the media industry is passionate about PNG and the role of good journalism for development.
He stated how the PNG media have not really experienced the absence of media freedom as other countries have seen. He elaborated on how media freedom is not free and how over the last 10 years this is rather evident.
“I’ve been in this business for the last 24 years and have seen in the last 10 years, half of that period, the increase in the attacks on journalists, intimidation against media organisation has spiked. While we talk about media freedom it comes at a cost.”
“While we talk about suppression we talk about intimidation, we’ve never experienced the absence of media freedom and maybe it is because of that we take it for granted and we don’t appreciate it as much. Journalists shouldn’t take media freedom for granted it should be celebrated and be nurtured and it should be promoted in every way possible.”
Waide stressed on the future of Journalism training, saying he sees it as a big concern and stressed that educational institutions require assistance to be able to provide adequate teaching in journalism.
Many insights was shared at the breakfast that communicated significant information to journalists, video organisations, tertiary institutions and the civil society on how to strengthen the capacity of PNG media.