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Is Fiji Ready for a Free Press

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Is Fiji Ready for a Free Press VOLUME 17. No.1I/MAY, 2012 ISSN 1029-7316 Pageant scrutiny by EDWARD TAVANAVANUA and PARIJATA GURDAYAL scheduled for the panel to view and assess the contestants. Hoerder, who has experience as HE Miss World Fiji 2012 Pageant is under a Miss Hibiscus judge, said the fact that they scrutiny following a plethora of allegations, only had one meeting with the contestants including that the winner was pre-deter- T was extremely irregular. The assessment also mined well before the judging panel deliberated. was confined to their life story or experiences. Although the pageant concluded about two Blake has since confirmed in a press state- weeks ago, the Miss World Organisation has ment that no judging criteria or points system yet to add the winner of the Fiji franchise, was used to judge the contestants. Torika Watters, to the list of winners on its official “If you are asked to be a judge for Miss World, website. The organisation has yet to respond to then you should come with the mindset of hear- queries e-mailed to it last week. Extra ing genuine stories and not with the expecta- Fiji franchise director Andhy Blake refused requests tions of age, point’s tabulation,” he said. yards for an in-person interview. When asked over the phone He added that based on this fact that no judging whether Watters had been accepted into the interna- or points system was employed, any allegations of pay off tional competition, he said “it’s a surprise”. judging being rigged are false. He also declined to comment on whether the funds “I gave my own personal opin- raised from a charity ball, which was held to create ions on whoever I saw fitting for awareness on mental health, had been given to St Giles the title without influencing the Hospital. The Miss World pageant is reputed for its judges as to who should be the charity work. Each country chapter is required rightful winner,” Blake said. to raise money for charity. Blake said the press Watters has refused to talk statement he issued earlier was sufficient and to Wansolwara without that he would no longer give any other tel- Blake’s approval. ephone interviews. However, she was inter- Meanwhile in an earlier interview, Pacific viewed by Television New fashion designer Hupfeld Hoerder broke Zealand’s (TVNZ) Mark his silence to confirm that the six-member Sainsbury on Wednesday. judging panel, on which former supermodel She told TVNZ that she Rachel Hunter was chief judge, had no input had chosen to ignore the in selecting Miss World Fiji. negative criticism and to The panel was required to select the best three focus on the Miss World from the 13 contestants before Miss World Fiji is contest in Mongolia. selected. Hoerder said Watters was not among the She was referring to panel’s final three. He also pointed out that Watters criticism that she was will not turn 17 until next year. The international con- unsuitable because she Trust test stipulates 17 years as the minimum age for entry. did not look ‘native’ Hoerder said the Fiji contest was decided from the enough. in the start. Watters said she He said weeks before the crowning, Blake repeatedly took the criticisms declared his preference for Watters to win the pageant. as a challenge to media Hoerder also listed several other irregularities, like the showcase what she absence of a judging criteria and the lack of showings was capable of. Torika Watters is crowned Miss World Fiji in Suva on April 21. qPICTURE: Supplied Is Fiji ready for a free press by KALESI MELE was partly to blame for the 2000 coup. eral years,” he said in his address at the school’s “What Fiji, as a multiracial country rife with World Press Freedom Day event on Friday. FIJI is not ready for a free media, says Ranjit racial conflict, needs is a form of development “As a result of the government’s tight control of Singh, a former Fiji newspaper publisher. journalism that reports on positive news regard- the press there, the same political party has held Singh, a former newspaper publisher who re- ing people and stories on issues that unite us power continually for more than 50 years,” he cently published his thesisdx, said his research rather than what divided us,” he said. said. “I think that is all you need to know about on The Fiji Times’ style of journalism, which The system of development journalism focuses the press system in Singapore.” was largely grounded in the First World or free on conditions in developing nations and ways to He added that the development model did press model, confirms that it is not suitable. improve them and Singh, highly supports this. not encourage the kind of investigative report- “As a multiracial country with lopsided compo- However, USP Journalism head Dr Marc Edge ing required to account for the expenditure of Athletics sition of media gatekeepers, Fiji was not ready disagrees. He said Fiji is ready for a First World public funds. for the First World media principles,” he said. model of a free press. “I urge journalists in Fiji to push for press free- He said a development model of media may “If it is not ready now, after the reforms of the dom to the fullest extent possible,” he said. pictorial better serve the nation. past years, it never will be,” he said. “They can be assured that, in doing so, they will Singh was responding in an e-mail to queries He said the development model, which is have the full support of us here at USP Journal- & on his research which analysed the news reports adopted by countries like Singapore and Malay- ism. US Ambassador to Fiji Frankie A Reed was published by The Fiji Times during Mahendra sia, was not a solution. the chief guest at the WPFD event. Chaudhry’s one year as the Prime Minister. The “I would be surprised if Fijians wanted the kind stories research examines whether the newspaper in- of political repression and media intimidation dulged in biased reporting and if so, whether it that have in Singapore, where I taught for sev- N More media stories on page 3, 10, 11 Campus School ponders education Expert help for fund in Fr Bonato’s honour by KALPANA KAAJAL The association said it would check the possibility of this. AN academic has called on USP to es- USPSA Vice President Layson Leve tablish an award in memory of the late said they would be glad to work with Chaplain Father Bonato. the university to fund a scholarship in students short Science lecturer Bhaskar Rao said Fr by BIUTOKA KACIMAIWAI dent was still in hospital. day sought counseling, she said. Fr Bonato’s honour. She said it was understood “There’s a lot of pressure for Bonato, who died on April 18, would be Williams spoke highly of Fr Bonato. THE University of the South Pa- that the student was trying to our team that is made up of just missed. “I have not had the privilege else- cific’s Counselling Centre, which manage a stressful phase when two people serving 11,000 stu- He said the inavaluable service ren- where to see the impact of man who is tasked with helping the univer- the incident occured. dents over different campuses,” dered by Fr Bonato, who was also a was so multi-talented, selflessly com- sity’s 11,ooo students resolve their She said there was a need to said Korocawiri. senior lecturer, warranted such an mitted to service, quality and par- issues, employs two counsellors. create more awareness among “On other campuses there honour. ticularly, student and staff welfare. Fr One of the trainee counsellors, students that they could seek are no counsellors there and But Vice Chancellor Rajesh Chandra Bonato was an educator, administra- Asinate Savu-Korocawiri, said help from the centre. now Vanuatu has requested to said the proposal would need to be tor, guide and mentor,” she said. action has been taken to recruit Savu-Korocawiri said at the do their counselling via online carefully considered given that many Williams said in many ways, he was two more counsellors. moment, the students they coun- counselling and by telephone.” members of the university who con- the living connecting thread between The news comes almost two seled either sought their help or She added that the centre’s tributed a lot have also died. the academic, spiritual, community were referred to them by the dis- proactive measures include the weeks after a regional student Deputy Vice Chancellor Esther Wil- and social lives of people at USP. jumped off a two-storey building ciplinary committee, residential dispatch of emails to raise stu- liams suggested that USPSA set up a Fr Bonato served the university for on a USP campus. assistants or lecturers. dents’ awareness on the type of Father Bonato Scholarship. more than 35 years. Savu-Korocawiri said the stu- An average of 10 students per help offered at the centre. Fiji’s only maple Foreign students want tree at USP ‘typical’ treatment by RONISH KUMAR by KATHERINE STREFF Steph Numata is another THE only maple tree in Fiji international student from stands tall and green at the USP MORE international stu- the United States. Laucala campus. dents are seeking a cultural She found it hard to get to The tree is believed to have and an academic experi- know the locals, so she de- been planted in the 1980s, follow- ence at the University of the cided to join the USP bas- ing the completion of Faculty of South Pacific.
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