By Geraldine Panapasa

The release of the Fiji Human Rights Commission report on the "freedom and independence of the media" by Hawaii-based academic Dr James Anthony this week has reignited controversy on the role and responsibility of media.

Commission head Dr Shaista Shameem said an independent inquiry was the best way to gauge freedom and independence of the Fourth Estate.

But her choice of Dr Anthony and his report has been widely condemned by stakeholders in the country.

The following are excerpts of the conclusions of the report:

- A Media Tribunal be established in Fiji, which should be independent of any government control;

- A Media Development Authority be established;

- The authorities should consider facilitating the enactment of legislation that provides penalties for the publication or broadcast of any material that can incite sedition or that is in the breach of the Public Order Act;

- FHRC should take necessary steps to recommend to the government a 7% tax across the board on all media advertising revenue and a further 7% on all revenues generated from licence and monthly user fees on consumers; this monies generated to be used to fund all activities and the mission of the media tribunal and media development authority;

- FHRC should take necessary steps to strongly recommend to government that all existing work permits in the media industry not be renewed and no further work permits be issued;

- A second tier of recommendations to government should include scrutiny of interlocking directorates in the private sphere from the perspective of their limitations on democracy.

- FHRC recommend that the two institutions proposed should have separate duties;

- The Media Tribunal should be given responsibility to provide expeditious inquisitorial assessment of allegations made against the media and where necessary provide a judicial remedy for aggrieved persons. (Persons aggrieved by the media should be able to appear in person before the tribunal to seek justice and not be forced to incur the expenses involved in employing lawyers to take cases of defamation or libel through the courts or use the cumbersome Media Council complaints process. The tribunal should be empowered under its own legislation to order compensation and damages);

- FHRC recommends that the Media Development Authority be established along the lines adopted by Singapore. (The function of the authority will be to monitor the operations of the media organisations and undertake training to raise the standard of news reporting, meet the need for skills and technical expertise required by modern media, build cooperation between government and the media, as well as the public, and to ensure media responsibility in accordance with the laws of Fiji and human rights laws internationally);

- Dr Shameem pointed out that any proposal to inquire into freedom and Independence of the media had quickly become a contentious issue. She said FHRC instigated the inquiry to assess whether the media in Fiji were free and independent from all influences and forces, not just those of governments past and present.

- "The media also has the capacity both to prevent societal conflict as well as to cause it. Whether the media in Fiji has participated in causing exacerbating conflict in Fiji since 1987 is something the industry should carefully consider given the impressions Dr Anthony collected from those he interviewed for this inquiry."

- The Media Council, after 10 full years of existence, has been a failure and that self regulation has thus failed too. The report highlighted the establishment of the Media Council after the release of a Thomson Report. Two years after the release of Thomson Report, the then Prime Minister, Sitiveni Rabuka, introduced a Media Control Bill for consideration by Parliament. The Bill was killed partly as a result of political pressure from the media;

- A tax on all media revenue from advertising and licence fees. This source of revenue is designed to create a fund to establish a Media Authority. The task of this Authority was noted:

- To train journalists;

- Work with industry representatives and others such as the Media Center at the USP; Raise the level of news reporting skills, Empower politicians, bureaucrats, office seekers and others with appropriate skills so that they might deal more effectively with their counterparts in the media;

- To help build both informal and formal bridges of understanding;

- To proactively begin the process of bringing relevant players together in partnership to create a media subculture that is relevant for, and sensitive to, the rainbow of differences, cultural sensitivities and common aspirations of all of Fiji's people.

- FHRC recommend to government that it borrow selectively from recently enacted media legislation in Singapore and create an administrative entity to enforce such legislation with penal sanctions that are timely, measured and appropriate to Fiji.

- FHRC to make strong recommendations to the interim government to protect our nation's ownership of these resources. FT Online/Pacific Media Watch, 01/03/08.