By Monika Singh
On 14 March, the University of the South Pacific’s Journalism Programme and representatives from the Fiji Media Association held a productive roundtable meeting, focusing on strengthening industry collaboration, enhancing the journalism curriculum, and supporting the media sector.
USP Journalism Programme Coordinator, Associate Professor Shailendra Singh, led the discussions in conjunction with editors, which included Fiji Media Association President and Fiji Sun Publisher Rosi Doviverata; The Fiji Times Editor-in-Chief Fred Wesley; Islands Business Managing Editor Samantha Magick; Mai TV Director Stanley Simpson; Communications Fiji Ltd News Director Vijay Narayan; and Fiji TV senior journalist Stella Taoi. Also present were USP Journalism Students Association President Riya Bhagwan, Associate Professor in Economics Dr. Baljeet Singh, and Dialogue Fiji Executive Director Nilesh Lal, whose organisation is working in the areas of media, democracy, elections, and social cohesion, among others.
Besides training and research, the discussions focused on joint projects, organising events such as World Press Freedom Day, joint workshops, conferences, and support for the Fiji National Media Awards.
The discussions also highlighted the critical shortage of resources and equipment—both at the journalism school and in the industry. This was regarded as a major handicap, especially in the multimedia age, and it was crucial to improve resources for multimedia journalism and incorporate AI into the curriculum.
The meeting also covered the recently released “State of the Media: Pacific Region, 2025 Report” by the Pacific Media Assistance Scheme. Based on research in 12 Pacific Island countries, the report highlighted the perilous state of the Pacific media sector. The Fiji editors concurred with this finding, stating that the sector was indeed in trouble and had yet to fully recover from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
While the lifting of Fiji’s draconian media act was welcomed, the sector still faced major obstacles, especially financial ones. The assistance from international donor agencies was appreciated, but their primary focus was on training and development. However, what the media sector really needed was equipment and other forms of direct financial support—not just from foreign donor countries but also from national governments.
Proportionally, support for the media sector was significantly lower than that for other sectors, such as the military, despite widespread plaudits and recognition of the media’s critical role in a democracy and the high expectations placed upon it.
The Fiji government’s allocation of public service broadcasting funds to Fiji’s three major broadcasters helped level the playing field somewhat. However, the media sector as a whole still needed support, including tax breaks, duty-free concessions, and other incentives to make the industry more financially viable and to ensure its survival and longevity.
Some of these issues are expected to be discussed in more detail when editors address journalism students in a panel discussion on “The Challenges and Opportunities for Fijian Media and Journalism in the Post-Media Industry Development Act Era.”
The meeting expressed appreciation for the media industry’s critical support in the training and development of student journalists over the decades through mentoring, internships, sponsoring awards at the annual USP Journalism Awards night, and printing and distributing the student newspaper, Wansolwara, free of charge by the Fiji Sun and later The Fiji Times. The Fiji media industry is one of the most developed in the region and it wasn’t just helping develop student journalists from Fiji, but from the region as a whole.
The efforts of USP Journalism in advancing journalism scholarship in the region were also acknowledged. This included research and analysis of Fiji’s Media Industry Development Act, which is informing media policy in Fiji, as well as other publications that provide a deeper understanding of the structural weaknesses and challenges in the Pacific media sector.
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