This article examines trends in new media journalism, identifying an independent sector which began to emerge with the internet circa 2000. It finds that publications from initially single-person start-ups like Crikey, to the large circulation New Daily, have proved viable and durable, providing alternatives to mainstream print and broadcast media. They have specialised in politics while publishing also in many other fields, characteristically emphasising user participation in both production and funding and exploiting possibilities of new digital models. This article has case studies of the publications Independent Australia, and the New Zealand-based Asia Pacific Report, to further explain the independents’ motivation and mode of operation. It reviews the media environment in two parts: a first phase from 2000 to 2010 and a second major change after 2010 with smart phones and social media. Conclusions are made that the independent sector stands to play a central role in sustaining democracy.

The Impact of COVID-19 on Journalism in Emerging Economies and the Global South, by Damian Radcliffe. London: Thomson Reuters Foundation. 2021. 142 pages. A NEW publication from the Thomson Reuters Foundation reviews the impacts of COVID-19 on journalism in Emerging Economies and the ‘Global South’. Working on the premise that media and journalism in these regions already face even greater challenges than in the ‘West’, this report describes a worsening of the situation through effects of the pandemic. It shows that factors external to media practice and media organisations are having destructive impacts, but proposes remedies which draw on internal strengths and professionalism in journalistic practice. The work is a qualitative research project obtaining analysis from 56 journalists from Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe and Latin America, out of 15,000 journalists who have done courses offered by the foundation, as a backer of innovation and media freedom.

IN THIS edition of Pacific Journalism Review we begin a new section, Bookshelf, where we ask our regular contributors to pick three books that have played an important part of their academic, professional and writing lives. We begin with this selection by retired journalism academic, blogger and regular contributor to these pages, LEE DUFFIELD. SuperMedia: Saving Journalism so it can Save the World, by Charlie Beckett. Chichester, UK: Wiley-Blackwell. 2008. 216 pages. ISBN 9781405179249. The Paradox of Power for Journalists: back to the future of news, by Charlie Beckett. London, UK: London School of Economics, 2018. https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/polis/2018/11/23/the-paradox-of-power-for-journalism-back-to-the-future-of-news-new-book/

Reporting on Race in a Digital Era, by Carolyn Nielsen. Cham, Switzerland: Palgrave Macmillan. xiii, 236 pages. ISBN 978-3-030-35220-2/ISBN 978-3-030-35221-9 (eBook) CAROLYN NIELSEN has proposed a role for journalism in resolving political oppression, offering a case study on the crisis surrounding street killings of African Americans by police. This United States journalism academic provides a review of prominent work since the 1970s on journalism theory and principles. She gives an historical treatment of news media coverage in race relations and criticises ‘traditional’ journalism—as a central point kicking into the corpse of ‘objectivity’ as a key value. This is late, with objectivity and a moral neutrality, as the adopted trait of journalists, already forsaken.

Coverage of Papua New Guinea in Australian media has been a source of resentment and dissatisfaction since the former Territory’s independence in 1975. A survey of media content in Australia has been made, to retrace collaborative research during 2007-11 that showed overall low volumes of coverage much of it negative in cast. The Australian ABC provided some exception, maintaining a Port Moresby correspondent. The present study finds the volume of coverage has increased slightly with indications of more positive approaches in reporting on the country. It contrasts disinterest in PNG among established press and commercial television, with the ongoing contribution of ABC, and the ‘new media’ Guardian Australia making a targeted and well-serviced entry into the field.

This article gives an interpretative treatment of the historical record, from France taking possession of New Caledonia in 1853, through to the current Matîgnon process, assessing indications for coming developments. Focused on the debate over independence, it considers: interests of the French state as both arbitrator and participant in events; relations among the indigenous Melanesian Kanaks, European French Caldoches, and smaller ethnic communities; memories of colonial exploitation obstructing progress; the large nickel industry; immigration, and associated minority status of Kanak society—a central problem. It describes the alternation of left and right-wing parties in government in France, with Socialist Party governments commencing moves towards independence, possibly in association with France, and conservative governments moving to countermand those moves. It posits that the parties in New Caledonia have improved their chances of finding a positive outcome through jointly participating in government during 30 years of peace.

This article outlines the methodology and key findings of a media content analysis of news reporting in the Courier-Mail and Queensland Country Life on the issue of broad-scale land-clearing (BSLC) in Queensland during the period 1998–2006. The case study identifies and examines evidence-based arguments made by stakeholders in the public policy debate surrounding BSLC, including elected officials and judges, interest groups, government agencies, scientists, business owners and individuals, such as academics. In both newspapers, it was noted that throughout the period under review, arguments made on environmental grounds in favour of the policy goal of maximum immediate conservation tended to be concerned with establishing an accurate definition of the BSLC problem. However, reporting of arguments made on political and economic grounds reflected stark differences between the two newspapers. The findings of this study support observations that some participants in a contest over new policy may dispute (persistently, and regardless of previous developments) the validity of: (1) definitions of a problem; (2) proposed policy solutions; (3) matters of detail or technical application; and (4) the enactment and implementation of legislation.

Grappling with the H Bomb, by Nic McLellan. Canberra: ANU Press, 2017. 408 pages. ISBN 9781760461379/9781760461386. NIC McLELLAN’s Grappling with the H Bomb, is an adroit and readable treatment of the story of the British nuclear testing programme predominantly in the South Pacific islands. Its chief focus is the series of nine British nuclear tests at Malden and Christmas (Kiritimati) Islands between May 1957 and September 1958. They were then part of the Gilbert and Ellice Islands Colony (GEIC), which was divided into Kiribati and Tuvalu at independence. Malden and Christmas (Kiritimati) Islands are now part of Kiribati.

A reporting field trip by Australian journalism students to New Caledonia and Vanuatu in mid-2014 produced markedly differing impressions of the neighbouring island societies, linked to their ‘independence’ status—one as an integrated territory of France, the other as an independent state. The field trip, one of a series from the Queensland University of Technology, aimed at developing reporting skills through work in unaccustomed territory, especially different cultural settings. Over 17 days, six students and the coordinator, and author of this article, generated 18 feature-length reports for online outlets and a radio documentary. The article synthesises the collected work from the field, producing a thematic statement of findings. It records broad consensus in New Caledonia in favour of enacting the Matignon and Noumea Accords on independence, while noting an undercurrent of unresolved conflicts. It characterises public life in Vanuatu in terms of a democratic spirit, and the invocation of traditional ties within society, as the country grapples with problems of development and impacts of the outside world. This work is interpretative, concerned with identifying processes underlying events in daily news. It is proposed as a first step towards a scholarly construction of meta-analyses of the interpretative and informative power of journalistic reporting.

This article presents the attitudinal response of rural villagers in Papua New Guinea to mobile telephony, based on a threshold study made during the early stages of its adoption. The research indicates that the introduction of mobile telecommunications has generally been viewed positively, with mobile phones affording social interaction with loved ones. Nonetheless, negative concerns have been strongly felt, notably financial costs and anxiety about mobile phones aiding in the coordination of extramarital liaisons and criminal activities. The communities investigated previously had scant access to modern communication technologies, some still using traditional means such as wooden slit drums, known locally as garamuts. The expansion of mobile network coverage has introduced into communal village life the capability to communicate dyadically and privately at a distance. Investigation into the adoption of mobile phones thus promotes understanding about traditional means of communication and notions of public and private interactions.

Pacific Journalism Review has consistently, at a good standard, honoured its 1994 founding goal: to be a credible peer-reviewed journal in the Asia-Pacific region, probing developments in journalism and media, and supporting journalism education. Global, it considers new media and social movements; 'regional', it promotes vernacular media, human freedoms and sustainable development. Asking how it developed, the method for this article was to research the archive, noting authors, subject matter, themes. The article concludes that one answer is the journal's collegiate approach; hundreds of academics, journalists and others, have been invited to contribute. Second has been the dedication of its one principal editor, Professor David Robie, always, somehow providing resources-at Port Moresby, Suva, and now Auckland-with a consistent editorial stance. Eclectic, not partisan, it has nevertheless been vigilant over rights, such as. monitoring the Fiji coups d'etat. Watching through a media lens, it follows a 'Pacific way', handling hard information through understanding and consensus. It has 237 subscriptions indexed to seven databases. Open source, it receives more than 1000 site visits weekly. With 'clientele' mostly in Australia, New Zealand and 'Oceania', it extends much further afield. From 1994 to 2014, 701 articles and reviews were published, now more than 24 scholarly articles each year.

This article updates research by the writer on overseas reporting trips for Australian Journalism students, conducted since 2000. It describes changing educational contexts, with expanded internationalisation and work integrated learning. A precursor of both, the trips project provides a Faculty-level model for implementing such changes. Previous research, to 2008, recorded 60 students making nine field trips, to Southeast Asia, China, Papua New Guinea or Europe. Participants working as foreign correspondents for campus-based media outlets, would apply that experience to theoretical work, e.g. on international journalism or inter-cultural issues. The research has supported arguments for internationalisation of the curriculum, positing that intensified experience will concentrate the mind, improve skills and stimulate reflection. The present work goes further, with more individual and detailed probing of student responses. As a case study, nine participants travelling to South-east Asia and Europe in 2012 documented their experience and their reflective work. The investigation concludes such travel programmes can be highly effective in core learning.

This study focuses on new media use in democratic discourse, specifically in the Queensland state electoral division of Ashgrove in 2011. This site was chosen to make an enquiry into the place of mass media in public decision-making, asking the question: did online media provide an extension of democracy, and what would be journalism’s role in democratic discourse? The study utilises a survey of 280 constituents, a review of pertinent news coverage, and extensive interviews with a panel of informants. In the outcome, it found those most equipped to utilise online media showed a lack of will to get involved in deeper political, social engagements. It also sees younger demographics forming news habits, not usually in step with traditional political avenues, based on familiarity with online processes, while consciously marginalising the need for trustworthiness in this setting. These issues are considered together with one leading proposal as to where the future of new media might be heading. It assesses the notion of professional and amateur collaboration by employing the model articulated by Beckett, called ‘networked journalism’.