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Media Council announces Code of Ethics and Professional Practice as Standard for Media in PNG

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The Media Council of Papua New Guinea or MCPNG has announced its updated Code of Ethics and Professional Practice.

The updated Code now provides a standard to which all practitioners of media should be performing.

Media Council President, Neville Choi, said for too long there have been very public conversations referring to what many perceive to be a drop in the standard of journalism, without actually defining what their arguments are based on.

Mr Choi said this updated Code clearly defines the role of journalists and all media workers, and how they should carry themselves in the course of their duties, and the values they should be subscribing to as the guardians of important news and information.

“Most importantly, the Code can be used and referred to by the public to judge and appreciate the way media workers represent the organizations they work for, and the integrity and foundations of the profession of journalism,” Choi added.

Mr. Choi said the Code, which is updated to be fit-for-purpose in today’s media landscape, also covers how the media deals with issues around the use of Artificial Intelligence and AI-generated-content.

Adding that the endorsement of the code now provides the foundation to set up an Independent Complaints Tribunal within the Media Council of Papua New Guinea which will be the Council and the industry’s complaints management mechanism.

Media Council President, Neville Choi, holding a mic, speaking at the Media Council's Annual General Assembly.
Media Council President, Neville Choi, speaking at the Media Council Annual General Assembly 2024, in Port Moresby.

The Code and the Tribunal, form two of the PNG media industry’s strongest arguments for media self-regulation.

Mr. Choi said the Code also features in the National Media Development Policy as part of Industry’s standard and guidelines for its performance, and addresses the media policy’s emphasis on industry self-regulation.

He said the Media Council will continue its rebuilding program which began in 2022 with the review and updating of its Constitution. The review and updating of the Council’s Code of Ethics and Professional Practice will now be followed by the formal establishment of the Council’s Independent Complaints Tribunal.

“If the media is serious about developing for the better, it needs a set of standards to operate by.

We now have a standard for media industry, media education, and for all who practice in the media space, regardless of whether they are members of the Media Council of PNG or not. If you provide information and news for public consumption, do it correctly. Be guided by the MCPNG Code of Ethics and Professional Practice.”

The updated Code can be accessed via the Media Council of PNG website ( https://www.mcpng.net/code/ )

The updated Media Council Code of Ethics was presented at the Media Council’s Annual General Meeting on Saturday (2 November 2024) where it was endorsed by members of MCPNG.

The Media Council of Papua New Guinea is made up of four (4) MCPNG executives; together with one representative from each media house in Papua New Guinea, and includes one representative each for Women in Media, Affiliate members, Independent members and Public members of the MCPNG.

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Education

Journalists complete media training on Tuna

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Media training on tuna resource complete

ABOUT twenty media practitioners from Port Moresby and East New Britain completed a three-day media training course on the importance of the fisheries sector in Papua New Guinea and the Pacific Region.

The aim of the media training is to ensure that journalists are better prepared to report on the  8th Pacific Tuna Forum that will be hosted by Papua New Guinea in the capital city, Port Moresby.

Training participants in discussion.
(From left) Carolyn from the Wantok Niuspaper in discussion with Godwin and Wasita from EMTV.

Part of the learnings included the growth of the National Fisheries Authority over time, their operating procedures and authoritative regulations and fishing. Among the topics of fishing was the most important, shared tuna resource of the Pacific region.

The training fostered interactive discussion between facilitators and journalists about some of the issues impacting the tuna market directly, such as Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing and the impacts of external forces such as climate change and COVID-19.

Discussions about preservation and sustainable management of the resource for the future of the country and the wider Pacific and its people were some of the key indicators of the workshop.

President of the Papua New Guinea Media Council, Neville Choi, who was one of four facilitators of the training, encouraged journalists to do more research on tuna and the industry after the workshop in order to effectively report on the topics.

“Tuna is a global market and it impacts some of the major countries who deal with business and economics in the Pacific and a key to understanding all of that is knowing about the fish. The fish in itself is important and where it’s going to be in the next 50 years is important to our own Pacific livelihoods.”

Another facilitator and long-time Pacific journalist, Lisa Williams-Lahari, who’s been covering and following the Tuna stories globally shared her experiences as a Pacific islander and a journalist covering tuna; a resource that is closer to the heart of the pacific people.

“As a journalist following the tuna story worldwide, PNG has really represented the tuna tigers of this region (Pacific) to the world; in terms of leadership and development; and in terms of following the dollars that our people will benefit from in the terms to come.”

The three-day media training ended with a presentation of certificates to all participants and training facilitators.

The training was initiated and funded by the National Fisheries Authority in preparation for the 8th Pacific Tuna Forum which will be hosted by Papua New Guinea at the Stanley Hotel from the 6th-7th of September in Port Moresby.

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Business

Media workers undergo training ahead of 8th Pacific Tuna Forum

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Media personnel with Tuna training facilitators and NFA members


FOURTEEN media workers from Port Moresby are joining other media workers in Kokopo for a three-day media workshop ahead of the 8th Pacific Tuna Forum to be hosted on the 6th-8th of September in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea.

The biannual PTF is the main arena where all stakeholders gather gauge the pulse of the tuna industry in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean and the broader ‘Blue Pacific Continent’; and to keep abreast of the latest sustainable management initiatives, innovative approaches and transformational endeavors at play or that could be further harnessed for the betterment of the industry.

The media workers training is most focused tuna and the inner workings of fisheries industry and will broaden the knowledge of those in attendance.

It is also an essential step toward understanding the importance of the tuna resource in and around the Pacific Region and will help journalists and reporters better cover the event and write stories about the 8th PTF next week.

Facilitators of the trainings include representatives from the Papua New Guinea National Fisheries Authorities, Forum Fisheries Agency and Pacific Island Forum Secretariat. Representing the PNG Media Council, President, Neville Choi will be facilitating a session on media ethics around the reporting of tuna resources and story writing in today’s training session.

The media training is hosted by the PNG National Fisheries Authority at the Kokopo Beach Bungalow Resort in Kokopo, East New Britain.

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News

Women in the PNG media space begin a journey of self discovery

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The PNG Media space is now well dominated by women elevated to higher positions.

While that is acknowledged by many as a way forward for breaking gender barriers and stereotypes, challenges still remain both at the helm and those that report to them.

Challenges not only at work place but at home.

Realizing this, the PNG Media Council in collaboration with ABC’s Media Development Initiative is conducting consultative forums for women in the media in Papua New Guinea to see if there is a possibility of starting a Women in Media Association.

The most recent forum was held in Madang Province.

PNG Media Council Secretary, Belinda Kora said the concept will be similar to Fiji’s Women in Media Association which not only tries to address challenges faced by women in the industry but also build capacity to allow them to excel.

The first consultation was held in Lae, Morobe Province, and the 2nd one in Port Moresby.

All three consultation received overwhelming support from the participants with many saying the concept is long overdue.

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News

Proposed media policy will hurt Public’s right to information

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The Pacific Freedom Forum (PFF), an advocacy network of Journalists and Media Practitioners have expressed grave concerns about the new media policy proposed by the office of the Minister for Communication and Information Technology, Timothy Masiu.

In a statement, PFF said this policy will put limitations on PNG journalists’ ability to report freely and impact the quality of public information.

A concern raised by current Chairperson, Robert Iroga of the Solomon Islands stated that the public right to information will be affected by restrictions and regulations of the PNG Media Industry.

All eyes of the outside media fraternity are now on PNG as recent news of the policy has sparked the interest of journalists regionally and globally.

“We join the many voices in opposing the policy as it is a red flag in democracies like PNG where the role of the independent media is important for keeping island communities informed,” said Iroga.

PFF is extending their support toward journalists in PNG and the Media Council of Papua New Guinea by calling on the PNG Government to heed the voices of PNG’s journalists’ and seek understanding of the outpouring support against the Government’s proposal.

“Media and elected leaders serve the same people, our communities of the Pacific”

PFF encouraged Prime Minister, James Marape and his cabinet to seek dialogue with members of the PNG Media fraternity and bring forth a solution that upholds the public’s best interest.

“We oppose any efforts to undermine democracies by using the law to curtail the freedom of journalists to report freely in any democracy.

“Efforts such as those aiming to regulate or license journalists must never replace our professional ethics and the freedom to report without fear or favor”

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News

Media must NOT be Government-Controlled

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The Communications Minister, Timothy Masiu, has proposed a new policy that, if implemented, will affect the constitutional rights of freedom of speech through the media.

The draft policy named The National Media Development Policy 2023 (we perceive as the Media Control Policy) proposes changes which include the licensing of journalists and the re-establishment of the PNG Media Council as a government regulation agency.

In the media utopia proposed through the Masiu Policy, perceived as the Media Control Policy, and also known as The Media Development Policy 2023; the media will be transformed into a propaganda machine that serves a government development agenda.

Section 46 of the National Constitution under Part III stating the freedom of Expression.

The implementation of the proposed policy, will allow for Government to create laws that go against Section 46(1) subsections (a), (b) and (c) and Section 46(2) under Part III of the constitution which relate to the freedom of the press.

We at InsidePNG are not opposed to supporting a positive development agenda PROVIDED the government does its job! That means, making sure students are educated; making sure funding goes to where it is meant to go; making sure theft of public money is stopped; and that there is honesty in the manner in which the country is governed.

The absence of which requires the media to be the watchdog. It requires us to speak out and report on that which is wrong in society and wrong in the decisions that are being made.

In this government proposed utopia, journalists are licensed by the media council and any person not fulfilling the development agenda is penalized by having their licenses removed.

Yes. Maybe, this government won’t do it. But what if, in Sir Mekere’s words, “We have a rogue government? Or a rogue Prime Minister in future?” And he/she chooses to use this policy to impose total suppression?

One question to Minister Masiu pops up: Is the government going to license all the PNG content producers on Facebook, YouTube, Tiktok and other social media platforms? Journalists ARE content producers. Or should we all just call ourselves content producers to avoid paying for a journalist license?

The Media Control Policy, as it should be called, states that it is designed to strengthen media freedom.
We at InsidePNG think otherwise.

We, 24 journalists and content producers, previously worked at a GOVERNMENT OWNED television station called EMTV. We were sacked because we protested against political influence in the newsroom.

We do not believe an additional layer of control will guarantee our freedom of speech. We believe licensing will be expensive for a start up like ours; and that government control of the media council will not serve our interests in upholding an essential and crucial pillar of democracy.

There is a reason why our founding fathers insisted on having a free media. It is to hold those in power accountable on behalf of the people of Papua New Guinea.

We ask that Timothy Masiu step back and take a look at the real reasons behind pushing for a policy that promotes media control.

Be the government that promotes media freedom. Be the government that promotes debate in public forums instead of a government that creates an environment that suppresses freedom of expression.

Invest in the education of journalists and media practitioners if you are serious about improving the media. Invest policies that lower internet costs. Provide scholarships for media practitioners.

In short, be the minister who promotes constitutional freedoms.

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News

PINA Summit Underway in Honiara

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The 6th Pacific Media Summit of 2022 commenced yesterday with pre-summit workshops in Honiara, Solomon Islands.

InsidePNG is amongst media persons and delegates within the Pacific region including Australia and New Zealand who have convened in the Solomon Islands for the biennial event.

With the fast evolution of technological advances in the world, the Pacific region is no exception. Archiving Pacific stories and its rich cultural heritage is in a more vulnerable state than ever before and the Pacific Islands News Association (PINA) Summit is focused on the theme: Digital Revolution: Transforming threats into opportunities for the Pacific Media.

The weeklong series of workshops will be facilitated by UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), PINA, Australian Broadcasting Corporation and its Media Development Initiative, Pacific Media Assistance Scheme, and Oceania National Olympic Committees (ONOC).

Pre-Summit topics which started yesterday (26th Sept) included Media Role in Investigating the Management of Public Resources and ‘Sports Media Dialogue.

Today, (27th Sept) the summit is covering Digitising Archives and Preserving Pacific stories, Reporting on Sports integrity & corruption in the Pacific and Digital Communications safety and Security. The plenary sessions are presented via the partnership of PACJM, PINA, and UNODC.

Throughout the week the group will look at topics such as ‘the media and political leadership in a digital age, shrinking spaces for media freedom, and digitising archives and preserving Pacific stories’.

The Summit also hopes to ensure participants have a better understanding of the role of the media in investigating the management of public resources; how to increase reporting on UNCAC and anti-corruption by Pacific Island journalists, and transfer knowledge of corruption awareness to other media in-country as trainers and through partnerships; and specifically, the participants will have clarity and understanding on how to access more information and resources on the management of public resources.

“While we don’t have the capacity as developing countries to fully digitise our content, monetary-wise, It is extremely important to start the process of digitising our content in whatever means and ways we can, especially Pacific Island content as it captures the rich history of our island countries,” said Kora Nou, the President of PINA.

The Summit will conclude on Friday, 30th September 2022 with a PINA retreat and General Conference.

Journalists and Media Persons from the Pacific in the opening workshop in Honiara, Solomon Islands. Picture by Hare Haro
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