(PINA/IFEX) – On 17 June 2001, Prime Minister Terepai Maoate urged Cook Islands news media to form a self-regulatory media council and warned that he would otherwise appoint one himself. The regional news service PINA Nius Online reported that Maoate told a group of Pacific Islands editors that in the past two years he has […]
(PINA/IFEX) – On 17 June 2001, Prime Minister Terepai Maoate urged Cook Islands news media to form a self-regulatory media council and warned that he would otherwise appoint one himself.
The regional news service PINA Nius Online reported that Maoate told a group of Pacific Islands editors that in the past two years he has been asking for Cook Islands media groups to form such a body. This follows what he said were instances of misreporting. Such misreporting can be detrimental to an economy as small as the Cook Islands’, Maoate said. PINA Nius Online said that the prime minister stressed his support for media freedom, but also called on Cook Islands media to be more responsible.
Maoate’s comments follow tension between the government and the country’s only daily newspaper, “Cook Islands News”, and a call by Deputy Prime Minister Norman George for newspaper licensing (see IFEX alerts of 30 and 24 April 2001).
Background Information
Cook Islands broadcasting stations and newspapers are all independently owned, following the privatisation of the previously government-operated daily newspaper, radio and TV stations. An earlier attempt to form a self-regulatory national media council failed following a split within the local news media.
