radiofree.asia

Category: Media suspension

  • MEAA condemns EMTV’s ‘assault’ on PNG journalists’ rights

    MEAA News

    The Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance’s national media section committee of elected officials has condemned the suspension of 24 Papua New Guinean TV journalists who walked off the job in support of their colleague.

    They have alleged intimidation by EMTV management and political interference. The journalists may now lose their jobs.

    EMTV head of news and current affairs Sincha Dimara has been suspended for 21 days without pay over a dispute about editorial balance.

    The incident is the third time in five years that senior journalists have been suspended for reporting public interest news stories.

    MEAA’s National Media Section committee resolved: “MEAA stands in solidarity with the journalists of EMTV in Papua New Guinea and condemns the suspension without pay of news manager Sincha Dimara and notice that 24 journalists face dismissal for walking off in support of her and over on-going editorial interference by management.

    “This is an assault not only on workers’ rights but also media freedom in PNG.

    “No journalist should be economically sanctioned for alleged ‘insubordination’ involving a dispute over editorial balance or be terminated for taking industrial action in support of a colleague in this circumstance.

    Dramatic escalation
    “This dramatic escalation by EMTV comes as MEAA continues to hold on-going concerns about allegations of political interference in the editorial decision making at PNG’s only national commercial broadcaster.

    “Ms Dimara’s case, alongside those of former EMTV head of news and current affairs Neville Choi and former Lae bureau chief Scott Waide, is the third in five years of senior journalists being suspended for reporting on matters of public interest.

    “MEAA calls on EMTV executive management to reinstate Ms Dimara and her staff on full pay and guaranteed journalists’ editorial independence.”

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • Protesting EMTV news staff walk out – no live 6pm news bulletin

    Pacific Media Watch newsdesk

    Papua New Guinean television station EMTV did not run its usual 6pm news bulletin last night as its journalists and news production crew in Port Moresby and countrywide walked off the job demanding their suspended head of news and current affairs, Sincha Dimara, be reinstated, reports PNG Post-Courier.

    Papua New Guineans were also denied the right to information when the newsroom team walked off with the production of the 6pm news.

    The station was forced to replay Tuesday’s news segment instead.

    Dimara was suspended last week by the EMTV management following an internal memo preventing the newsroom from running stories on currently embroiled businessman Jamie Pang.

    She was suspended without pay for 21 days on the grounds of alleged insubordination and damaging EMTV’s reputation by running stories that were sympathising with the hotelier who is currently in custody for several serious charges of criminal conduct.

    The management in a statement maintained its stand stating that “the leaked internal memo served as a caution for EMTV journalists to be sensitive when conducting interviews and to follow reporting guidelines”.

    “The memo did not in any way restrict the journalists’ freedom of press rather the memo was circulated to staff with the view to properly scrutinise the content of the news stories before they were aired that day.”

    PNG Media Council condemns suspension
    The PNG Media Council, in a statement, condemned the suspension of Dimara and called for her immediate reinstatement, saying that the council saw her suspension solely as an act of intimidation by the interim CEO and management of Media Niugini Limited.

    “Media Niugini Limited (MNL) has not learned from its past experiences of sidelining, and even terminating its heads of news, based on political directives,” the council stated.

    The president of the Pacific Islands News Association (PINA), Kora Nou, urged all media organisations in the region to “vigorously defend the editorial independence” of their newsrooms.

    Nou said both the management and newsroom executives of all media organisations had their distinct roles to play.

    He said he had reached out to the interim chief executive officer of EMTV, Lesieli Vete, to get her side of the story but had not received much feedback.

    In a statement released late last night by the newsroom staff, they said their decision to walk off their duties was because the issue could have been handled better by the interim CEO, adding that it was the third such incident involving heads of news.

    “This is the third time in a space of five years for an EMTV news manager to be suspended due to external influence,” they stated.

    On Wednesday, February 9, 2022, the national EMTV News team wrote a letter to Vete expressing concern over the suspension of Dimara. They met with both EMTV and Telikom managements who explained their decision to suspend Dimara.

    “The EMTV Newsroom would like to apologise to our viewers for not bringing you tonight’s news bulletin. We will return when the wrongs have been righted,” the statement said.

    Republished with permission from the PNG Post-Courier.

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • Media Council condemns EMTV over ‘dangerous’ suspension of news chief

    Pacific Media Watch newsdesk

    The Media Council of PNG has condemned the suspension of the news chief of Papua New Guinea’s major television channel, EMTV, describing the move as a “dangerous precedent … in an election year”.

    The council said the suspension of head of news and current affairs Sincha Dimara for 21 days without pay over coverage by EMTV about the rearrest of Australian hotel manager Jamie Pang last month was an an act of intimidation by the interim CEO and management of Media Niugini Ltd in the face of political influence.

    It amounted to “suppression of a free media in the country”, the council added in its statement today.

    Papua New Guinea faces a general election in June this year.

    As a warning to all media managements in PNG, the council said that a strong news service was only as strong as its head of news, with the support of the company’s management and board.

    “To resort to suspending its head of news for reasons of performing and complying to a ministerial directive based on personal or emotional reactions to social media comments about a story reeks of undue political influence, and sets a dangerous precedent as the country moves into election year,” it said.

    “[This is] a time when strong independent news assessment will be key in news coverage.”

    Reinstate Dimara call by Media Council
    The council called on EMTV’s interim CEO Lesieli Vete and the management to immediately reinstate Dimara as head of news to “protect the interest of the media industry”.

    The suspension had been at the “behest of an executive directive” from the minister responsible for EMTV to “fix the problem”. The minister was not named by the council.

    The Media Council of PNG media statement
    The Media Council of PNG media statement today. Image: APR

    For EMTV’s CEO Vete to “target her head of news in efforts to ‘fix the problem’ clearly shows that Media Niugini Ltd has not learned from its past experiences of sidelining, and even terminating, its heads of news based on political directives“.

    The council’s statement also cited four EMTV reports of the Pang coverage, which it described as well-balanced and presented:

    • Friday, January 28, 2022: “Pang acquitted”, about the legal outcome of the case against the hotelier.
    • Monday, January 31, 2022: “Pang’s staff concerned”, focused on the alleged human rights abuse surrounding the re-arrest of Pang.
    • Tuesday, February 1, 2022: “Boxers concerned for Pang”, focused on the views of boxers involved in community martial arts programmes run by Pang.
    • Wednesday, Febuary 2, 2022: “Mixed martial arts”, focused on the Mixed Martial Arts club with no mention of Pang’s association with it.

    Other PNG news media reported Pang being acquitted and the concerns of his employees over his rearrest.

    ‘Shallow’ reasons for suspension
    The council said it recognised Dimara’s news assessment over the stories and rejected EMTV management’s reasons for suspending her, describing them as “shallow”.

    EMTV’s management claimed staff were neither “restricted nor stopped from reporting unfolding stories on the detained resident”.

    It said a leaked internal memo had been the result of “alleged insubordination by staff towards verbal lawful instructions to drop stories sympathising with Pang”.

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • Suspension of EMTV’s news chief sparks PNG journo protests

    Pacific Media Watch newsdesk

    Suspension of the news manager of Papua New Guinea’s major television channel, EMTV, has sparked a flurry of protest from senior news personalities and independent who condemn the apparent political pressure on the broadcaster.

    Long standing and experienced news manager Sincha Dimara has reportedly been suspended over news judgement in a move that a former EMTV senior news executive  said “reeks of external influence” on the company’s top management.

    “A CEO is a buffer between staff and any external pressure. You need a heart of steel and buckets of bravery to fend off political pressure,” said independent television journalist and blogger Scott Waide.

    Waide was himself subjected to unfair suspension over airing a controversial story about then Peter O’Neill government’s purchase of luxury Maseratis for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) conference hosted in Port Moresby in 2018. He was later reinstated after an international outcry.

    The Maserati saga continues to be a controversy in PNG.

    “There is another way to correct coverage that does not ‘fit the aspirations’ of a news organisation — it’s called leadership,” said Waide in response to the Dimara suspension.

    “If the CEO is too timid and cannot protect our Papua New Guinean staff, then please resign and go home! This is not the place for you.”

    In responses shared on social media, former publisher of the PNG Post-Courier and a regional media consultant Bob Howarth, asked: “What does the Media Council have to say about political meddling in PNG’s struggling ‘free press’ …?”

    Another former news executive, Joseph Ealedona, who headed the state broadcaster NBC and was himself involved in controversies, said NBC had built its reputation and integrity for years and “has the people’s protection”.

    “It did happen to me but the people’s protest and insistence and the will of senior statesmen and political leaders to right the wrong saw me return for EMTV,” he said.

    “in my view, it is just someone trying to protect oneself and fearful of losing privileges and has no guts to say no … and listening to just one or two people.

    “I would believe that the PM [James Marape] is not happy with this this, it is at the detriment of the government if allowed to continue, especially when the NGE is around the corner [national general election is in June].

    “The freedom of the media is very important to a free democracy but we in the [media] fraternity must carry [on] with utmost respect and do nothing but expose the truth as a responsible profession.”

    Ealedona said journalists “must continue to fight against and with the might of the pen”.

    He also asked what was the stance of the Suva-based Pacific Islands News Association (PINA) in response.

     

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.