Government grants licences to six newspapers
Title -- 4295 TONGA: Government grants licences to six newspapers
Date -- 7 February 2004
Byline -- None
Origin -- Pacific Media Watch
Source -- Radio New Zealand International, 6/2/04
Copyright -- RNZI
Status -- Unabridged
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TONGA GOVERNMENT GRANTS LICENCES TO SIX NEWSPAPERS
http://www.rnzi.com/pages/news.php?op=read&id=8512
NUKU'ALOFA (RNZI Online/Pacific Media Watch): Tonga’s Department of Communications has announced that six newspapers have been granted licences to publish in the country, Radio NZ International reports.
They include the Catholic Church’s Taumu’a Lelei, the government’s weekly Tonga Chronicle and the privately owned Tonga Star.
The department has declined applications from three other media groups on the grounds that they do not meet the provisions and requirements of two laws, the Media Operators Act and the Newspaper Act, introduced late last year
The department says several other applications are still in the process of ensuring their compliance with the law, and these together with late applications, are being processed.
Source: IFEX, 12/2/04:
Those publications given licences permitting them to print were:
1.Taumu'a Lelei - Tongan - owned by the Catholic Church
2.Tonga Chronicle - Tongan - owned by government
3.'Ofa - ki - Tonga - Tongan - owned by the Tokaikolo Church
4.Tohi Fanongonongo - Tongan - Wesleyan Church
5.Lali Buzz - A community newsletter
6. Tonga Star - Tongan - owned by Sangster Saulala
Several applications are still in the process of ensuring their compliance with
the law, and these together with late applications, are being processed. Of the
six licences granted, three went to church-owned publications and one to a
government run newspaper.
Denied licences were:
1. Vula News Co Ltd. - a newly established company which had applied for a
licence owned by a former office manager of Taimi 'oTonga
2. Kelea - owned by Akilisi Pohiva, Member of Parliament and leader of Tonga's
pro-democracy movement.
3. Lali Media Limited - publisher of the Auckland-based Taimi 'oTonga
4. Vavau Press Ltd - publisher of Matangi Tonga, owned by Pesi Fonua of
Tonga, whose wife, a New Zealander, holds 49% of the company. (Under the new Media Operators Act, publishers are restricted to a maximum 20% foreign ownership.)
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