American Samoa’s 93 KHJ News Director Monica Miller signed off one of her posts on Pacific Island Journalism Online the other day with something that really got my attention.
The uncertain future of the next generation of Pacific Island journalists.
It got my attention as I think there’s an issue here that needs to be addressed: The need to push for more young Pacific Islanders to take up journalism.
I highlighted the fact that out of my 25 Whitireia Polytechnic journalism classmates only two others were Pacific Islanders.
Hinano Andrews and Charlina Tone.
I’m yet to take a look at the numbers of Pacific Islanders enrolled in the country’s other Journalism Schools.
In Samoa despite the turnout of between 15 and 20 students from the local Polytechnic with Diplomas in Journalism each year only a handful actually move on to work in the media outlets.
Local papers, radio stations, broadcasters are always scractching around for newcomers.
The situation in neighbouring American Samoa is similar.
Mrs Miller says that as more and more media outlets open up, the competition for journalists will improve working conditions and benefits for those who practice the trade.
So there’s a need to attract more to study journalism, then there’s the need to have the benefits in place to keep them pracitsing the trade.
Pushing them in the right direction at the moment however would be to encourage them to take up journalism studies.
Then to push them in the direction where there are funds available to make this happen.
Whitireia’s projects for 2008 included the recruitment of Maori and pacific Island Journalism students.
This included the Tertiary Education Commission providing Whitireia with skills enhancement funding for up to 10 Maori and Pacific Island journalism students.
Other scholarships are available under the New Zealand short term training awards:
http://www.nzaid.govt.nz/scholarships/training-awards.html//
Maybe there is also the need to create more funding for scholarships on a regional basis.
Media consultant Alfred Sasako, journalist and former parliamentarian in Solomon Islands says that when he is in Honiara he is hounded each time by young people wanting to take up journalism studies.
That’s a good sign, at least for Solomon Islands.
3 comments
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August 24, 2008 at 9:33 am
terry
we do have a lot of reporters, well, people who can string a couple of sentences together, just very few journalists, the genuine article.
Journalism is a passion and people who take it up should have the drive to go after that story. If you’re only in it for the paycheck, then you wont go very far.
I once had to catch the ferry across, took two different buses, hitched a ride on a pick-up then hiked six miles to Asau to cover a huge bush fire up in the hills there..I still made it back to Apia and produced copy before the afternoon deadline..ahh..those were days.
From what I see, our local cadets tend to do a lot of typing just very little writing. Journalists also have to be well-read, have a good grasp of local issues and local knowledge and be able to bring that refreshing individuality into their work..Once in a while you have to reinvent yourself or you become predictable. Predictability means boring which equates to irrelevency- the bane of journalists/ism..
September 15, 2008 at 1:52 am
Josephine Latu
Malo e lelei! I am a Communications student at AUT and personally I do see a lot of Pacific Islands students in Journalism/ Communications, which is great. Very few at post-grad level however.
I do think there’s tons of opportunities out there, but perhaps not publicized enough. AUT for example offers a few Pac.Is-specific scholarships, as well as internships in Asia (and working on ones in the Pacific). There’s always room to do more though!
In the case of Tonga, I think a lot of young people want to break into media, but the main issue there is training. Believe it or not, many reporters, senior reporters and even an editor of a major national newspaper are only in their mid 20’s. Some have not got the chance to formally study journalism, they have to train themselves from experience. This has its good and bad sides.
But yes, there should be more Pacific voices in the media, especially to tell our version of events as Western media often have their own angles/perspectives on things!
September 19, 2008 at 10:54 pm
pcfjrno
Malo e lelei Josephine,
Fa’afetai lava for you comments on this very pressing issue.
You are right about the opportunities that are not receiving enough publicity.
AUT has a lot to offer in terms of scholarships/ internships.
The situation in Tonga is very interesting.
Is it right for editors to be only in their mid 20’s?
I guess I’m a firm believer in experience so good for them for going it so young.