(PINA/IFEX) – The biggest daily newspaper in the Fiji Islands, “The Fiji Times”, on 7 May 1999 vigorously rejected claims of news media bias in the coverage of the country’s general elections. It also reflected on the key role the news media are playing in the election, Fiji’s first under a new constitution replacing one […]
(PINA/IFEX) – The biggest daily newspaper in the Fiji Islands, “The Fiji
Times”, on 7 May 1999 vigorously rejected claims of news media bias in the
coverage of the country’s general elections. It also reflected on the key
role the news media are playing in the election, Fiji’s first under a new
constitution replacing one imposed after two 1987 military coups. The
newspaper responded to claims by prominent members of a coalition of
opposition parties which are trying to unseat Prime Minister Sitiveni
Rabuka.
On 5 May 1997, Fiji Labour Party leader Mahendra Chaudhry alleged there is a
media plot aimed at preventing his party from forming the next government.
He claimed “The Fiji Times” was giving more coverage to other parties. He
alleged “action by rich media organisations that try and deny the right to
the Labour Party to win the election. They will have to learn to live with
us because we will form the next government,” he said. He also attacked a
leading Hindi radio station, Radio Navtarang, for refusing to broadcast a
Fiji Labour Party campaign advertisement, following legal advice. Meanwhile,
the general secretary of another member of the coalition alleged that “The
Fiji Times” owner Rupert Murdoch is trying to keep Rabuka in power.
In an editorial comment, “The Fiji Times” said: “No general election
campaign would be complete without a ritual attack on the media. And the
Fiji Labour Party’s Mr Chaudhry has – as usual – obliged. But politicians’
diatribes against the media should be taken with a truckload of salt. And Mr
Chaudhry’s outburst is no different.
“A prerequisite for political survival, it seems, is an ability to ignore
facts. Thus Mr Chaudhry’s attacks on this newspaper and Radio Navtarang
cannot be taken seriously. His claim that ‘The Fiji Times’ is involved in
some plot against him is shared by most of his political opponents – except
they are equally convinced they are the targets of the plot. And it is
curious that the hated Radio Navtarang is the same vehicle used by the same
Mr Chaudhry to launch astonishingly bitter (and inaccurate) attacks on this
newspaper.
“But Mr Chaudhry’s ill tempered remarks are eclipsed by those of Josaia
Gucake, the general secretary of his coalition partner the Fijian
Association Party. Bringing some light relief to a serious campaign, Mr
Gucake has offered the view that Rupert Murdoch has nothing better to do
with his time than worry about the fate of the Rabuka government. Rightly
unknown for his analytical ability, Mr Gucake has ‘analysed’ The Fiji Times
editorials to discover bias. All other findings of bias by all the other
parties must therefore be wrong.
“But rantings such as these do, perhaps by accident, serve a public purpose.
Mr Chaudhry and his comic companion have in fact drawn attention to the role
the media play in an election. Despite the bluster of the politicians, Fiji
has been reasonably well served by the media in this election. The two
dailies have delivered extensive and balanced coverage as well as comment.
“Radio has played a particularly important role in delivering the campaign
messages to remote areas of the nation while television has tried hard but
has been hampered by the reluctance of some of the major players to appear
on camera. Perhaps they have been unwilling to face questions by ‘Fiji
Times’ deputy editor Netani Rika, who hosts Fiji TV’s current affairs
programme each Sunday. Or perhaps they have simply failed to recognise the
electoral power of television. Whatever the reason they have ignored an
opportunity and in doing so have relegated what should have been a powerful
political player to electoral sidelines.
“There is a saying in media circles that if all the parties are unhappy
about your electoral coverage, you’re probably getting it somewhere close to
right. And that has certainly been the case for most of the media in this
campaign, despite the hot air emitted by politicians whose estimates of
their own worth are matched only by the ruthlessness of their ambition.”
Background Information
More than 400,000 Fiji Islanders begin voting on 8 May 1999 to elect a
71-member House of Representatives. The election is the first under a new
constitution designed to produce a multiracial parliament and cabinet. The
election includes the introduction of a preferential voting system and
compulsory voting. Fiji returned to elected government in 1992 under a
constitution imposed after the 1987 coups by soldiers from the indigenous
Fijian dominated army, led by Rabuka. It followed unrest over the election
of the first government to be dominated by members of the country’s Indian
population. The Fiji Indians are descendants of indentured labourers brought
from India to work sugarcane fields during the British colonial era, and
traders who followed.
