{"id":521344,"date":"2022-02-20T21:37:57","date_gmt":"2022-02-20T21:37:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/asiapacificreport.nz\/?p=70514"},"modified":"2022-02-20T21:37:57","modified_gmt":"2022-02-20T21:37:57","slug":"jack-lapauve-why-we-walked-out-in-protest-over-emtv-news-independence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/2022\/02\/20\/jack-lapauve-why-we-walked-out-in-protest-over-emtv-news-independence\/","title":{"rendered":"Jack Lapauve: Why we walked out in protest over EMTV news independence"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>COMMENTARY:<\/strong> <em>EMTV&#8217;s deputy news editor Jack Lapauve Jr in Port Moresby writes in defence of the newsroom&#8217;s decision to <a href=\"https:\/\/asiapacificreport.nz\/?s=EMTV+protest\">walk out in protest<\/a> over the suspension of head of news and current affairs Sincha Dimara on February 7.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/asiapacificreport.nz\/?s=EMTV+protest\">EMTV News editorial decision<\/a> to run the two stories [about the <a href=\"https:\/\/postcourier.com.pg\/pang-back-in-custody\/\">court cases<\/a> involving Australian hotel businessman Jamie Pang] was based on two important points in our line of work:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>Impartiality and Objectivity.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Impartiality cannot be achieved by the measure of words in a story, it is achieved by:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span class=\"tojvnm2t a6sixzi8 abs2jz4q a8s20v7p t1p8iaqh k5wvi7nf q3lfd5jv pk4s997a bipmatt0 cebpdrjk qowsmv63 owwhemhu dp1hu0rb dhp61c6y iyyx5f41\">Avoiding bias towards one point of view<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span class=\"tojvnm2t a6sixzi8 abs2jz4q a8s20v7p t1p8iaqh k5wvi7nf q3lfd5jv pk4s997a bipmatt0 cebpdrjk qowsmv63 owwhemhu dp1hu0rb dhp61c6y iyyx5f41\"> Avoiding omission of relevant facts<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span class=\"tojvnm2t a6sixzi8 abs2jz4q a8s20v7p t1p8iaqh k5wvi7nf q3lfd5jv pk4s997a bipmatt0 cebpdrjk qowsmv63 owwhemhu dp1hu0rb dhp61c6y iyyx5f41\">Avoiding misleading emphasis<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>All of which are stated in the EMTV News and Current Affairs Manual 2019 in section 17.5 under standard operations of the television code.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/asiapacificreport.nz\/?s=EMTV+protest\"><strong>READ MORE:<\/strong> Background and other EMTV reports<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>By running the stories, the team was accused of bias.<\/p>\n<p>We fail to see the areas of bias in our stories, especially because we presented more than one point of view in both stories.<\/p>\n<p>The information presented was based on facts and in avoiding any misleading emphasis; we delivered objective television news packages that were fully impartial in the code and conduct of journalism.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Objective stories<\/strong><br \/>\nOverall, both stories were objective stories where two or more opinions were looked at closely in each story.<\/p>\n<p>To be clear, in television news objectivity is achieved by taking a rational but sceptical approach to ALL points of view.<\/p>\n<p>In this case, Jamie Pang\u2019s arrest, conviction and charges were looked at, as well as his community and social activities:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Pang was arrested \u2013 <em>Fact<\/em><\/li>\n<li>Pang was convicted, charged and fined for having firearms and munitions in his possession \u2013 <em>Fact<\/em><\/li>\n<li>Pang was acquitted by a sound and proper court of justice in the PNG judicial system, from charges relating to methamphetamine \u2013 <em>Fact<\/em><\/li>\n<li>Being acquitted by a sound and proper court of justice in the PNG judicial system, makes Pang a free man from drug charges \u2013 <em>Fact<\/em><\/li>\n<li>Pang is heavily involved in social and community works \u2013 <em>Fact<\/em><\/li>\n<li>Pang was rearrested and detained &#8211; <em>Fact<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>All these factual points were documented in one story.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_70532\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-70532\" style=\"width: 560px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-70532 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/asiapacificreport.nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Sincha-Dimara-EMTV-560wide.png\" alt=\"Head of news Sincha Dimara .\" width=\"560\" height=\"229\" srcset=\"https:\/\/asiapacificreport.nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Sincha-Dimara-EMTV-560wide.png 560w, https:\/\/asiapacificreport.nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Sincha-Dimara-EMTV-560wide-300x123.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 560px) 100vw, 560px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-70532\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Head of news Sincha Dimara &#8230; suspended by EMTV. Image: RSF<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>It is important to understand, that in objective writing, the opinion of the interviewees are their own. However, [how] it is perceived by the our viewers is up to them to weigh [up] and decide.<\/p>\n<p>Objective [news] stories are often mistaken as opinion pieces.<\/p>\n<p>They are not the same.<\/p>\n<p>An opinion piece is a commentary on one point of view.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" style=\"border: none; overflow: hidden;\" src=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/plugins\/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fjack.lavartlas%2Fposts%2F4593243134136865&amp;show_text=true&amp;width=500\" width=\"500\" height=\"640\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><strong>Journalism independence<\/strong><br \/>\nAs journalists we cannot be servants of sectional interests. It is our duty to speak to both &#8220;saints&#8221; and &#8220;sinners&#8221;. It is our democratic right to report on the good, bad and the ugly aspects of any story.<\/p>\n<p>There are no instances of perceived impartiality in our reporting which display a lack of objectivity.<\/p>\n<p>And a lack of objectivity leaves room for personal bias which is not acceptable in the journalism code of ethics.<\/p>\n<p>The failure of the interim EMTV CEO, Lesieli Vete, to understand how a newsroom operates and a newsroom\u2019s code of conduct led to the suspension of head of news Sincha Dimara.<\/p>\n<p>Vete\u2019s failure to try to understand the newsroom\u2019s points of objectivity and impartiality in the stories led to her <a href=\"https:\/\/emtv.com.pg\/emtv-clarifies-leaked-memo-on-jamie-pang-news-stories\/\">issuing of the statement portraying the newsroom as biased<\/a> and in support of meth by sympathising with Pang\u2019s employees and friends.<\/p>\n<p>Vete\u2019s statement served the purpose of explaining the leaked memo and portraying a bad picture of her newsroom.<\/p>\n<p>Her statement lacked objectivity and impartiality because a written standpoint of the newsroom\u2019s reasons for airing stories in the coverage of the Pang story were not included in her statement.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Suppression of media freedom<\/strong><br \/>\nVete\u2019s questioning of our stance on running the story, and not showing any interest in learning nor understanding the way it was put together, led to further suppression of freedom of speech; direct and daily intimidation of senior and junior staff; micromanagement of staff whereabouts and activities; and direct and indirect threats of termination on staff.<\/p>\n<p>The immense pressure to put a [news] bulletin together while being highly and closely monitored took a direct and serious toll on newsroom staff morale.<\/p>\n<p>This created conditions that were suffocating to work under. A walk off was imminent.<\/p>\n<p>We are making a stand now in solidarity against bullying and ill treatment of newsroom staff in the absence of news managers.<\/p>\n<p>This is the third time we are experiencing a suppression of our right to freedom of speech, and we want it to stop once and for all.<\/p>\n<p><em>After the suspension of Sincha Dimara, EMTV&#8217;s deputy news editor <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/jack.lavartlas\">Jack Lapauve Jr<\/a> is now the most senior news manager and he was with the walk out. He posted this commentary on his Facebook page and it is republished here with his permission.<br \/>\n<\/em><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_70350\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-70350\" style=\"width: 680px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-70350 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/asiapacificreport.nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/EMTV-Newsroom-APR-680wide.png\" alt=\"The empty EMTV newsroom\" width=\"680\" height=\"478\" srcset=\"https:\/\/asiapacificreport.nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/EMTV-Newsroom-APR-680wide.png 680w, https:\/\/asiapacificreport.nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/EMTV-Newsroom-APR-680wide-300x211.png 300w, https:\/\/asiapacificreport.nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/EMTV-Newsroom-APR-680wide-100x70.png 100w, https:\/\/asiapacificreport.nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/EMTV-Newsroom-APR-680wide-597x420.png 597w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 680px) 100vw, 680px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-70350\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The empty EMTV newsroom last Thursday &#8230; after a walkout in protest by journalists over the suspension of their head of news Sincha Dimara. Image: APN<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"syndicated-attribution\">This post was originally published on <a href=\"https:\/\/asiapacificreport.nz\/2022\/02\/21\/jack-lapauve-why-we-walked-out-in-protest-over-emtv-news-independence\/\">Asia Pacific Report<\/a>. <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>COMMENTARY: EMTV\u2019s deputy news editor Jack Lapauve Jr in Port Moresby writes in defence of the newsroom\u2019s decision to walk out in protest over the suspension of head of news and current affairs Sincha Dimara on February 7. The EMTV News editorial decision to run the two stories [about the court cases involving Australian hotel<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":400,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6454,3852,433,36685,22855,4087,251,5,1311,42348,94,652,345,33858,33,358,12,366,14,653,42021,2975],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/521344"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/400"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=521344"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/521344\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":521719,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/521344\/revisions\/521719"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=521344"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=521344"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=521344"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}