Niu FM denies bid for political influence
Title -- 5366 NZ: Niu FM denies bid for political influence
Date -- 12 March 2008
Byline -- None
Origin -- Pacific Media Watch
Source -- Pacific Media Watch/Avaiki Nius 12/03/08
Copyright - PMW/AN
Status -- Unabridged
Post a comment on PMW's Right of Reply: PMW feedback pmc@aut.ac.nz
NIU FM DENIES BID FOR POLITICAL INFLUENCE
By Jason Brown, editor of Avaiki Nius
AUCKLAND (Pacific Media Watch): Editorial change at New Zealand's newest Pacific news service is not an attempt to exert crucial influence on this year's general election, says Niu FM chief executive Sina Moore.
Appointment of public relations consultant Vienna Richards as "interim" news editor at Niu FM has sparked behind the scenes controversy over allegations of potential nepotism.
Richards is sister to Su'a William Sio, deputy mayor of Manukau who will resign to stand as replacement Labour candidate to contest the crucial Mangere electorate.
She replaces longtime news editor Lito Vilisoni, founding editor of the Pacific Radio News service. Vilisoni is being moved to a current affairs role.
Pacific Radio News was commended in last November's NZ Media Peace Awards inaugural Pacific development prize for its coverage of political and social upheaval in Fiji and Tonga.
The news service was off air last week and has missed some scheduled bulletins this week.
Criticism of the appointment was reported in a Television New Zealand news item tonight.
Moore says the nepotism allegations are quite "ludicrous", if not "outrageous".
However, she says she Is also "flattered" by the suggestion that she made the news editor appointment "with the idea that it could somehow influence an outcome of an election".
Speaking shortly before meeting news staff this afternoon, Moore says criticism lacks context and knowledge of review processes that date back to last year.
Community and funding stakeholders gave the okay for an expansion of news services to include current affairs, which will take the form of a nightly half hour programme.
"We saw there was a need for more indepth examination of some issues, because there is just so much going on in the Pacific community," she says.
Before being appointed editor, Richards was involved in reviewing the news service, with sources suggesting the review was critical of newsroom performance under her predecessor.
Moore said there was "no agenda" in having Richards do the review ahead of appointing her as editor.
"I am quite clear that Lito and I sat down before Vienna was involved. Lito and I discussed the new current affairs programme, and reached agreement on how to proceed."
She also deflected criticism of the fact that news bulletins were suspended for a week to allow the review to go ahead, saying this followed precedent set for reviews of other programmes like language, with further precedent established two years ago in Richards filling in as interim editor in similar circumstances.
"Why Vienna? As you know we are dealing with a very small resource base of skills, of people that can operate at this level within the Pacific Islands community," says Moore.
"Of course I was aware that she was sister to William Sio, deputy mayor of Manukau and replacement Labour candidate - I took that into account.
"But in our small community if I started ruling people from our Pacific Islands community out on the basis of conflicts of interest then I would have no one to work here."
She agreed that a 2005 review had called for greater news focus on Pacific Islanders in New Zealand rather than its signature coverage of events in the Pacific Islands themselves - but that any shortcomings in meeting this review goal was further reflection of a "lack of resources".
Niu FM is one of a range of broadcasting operations funded by the Ministry of Culture.
Richards is listed online with her own company as a "consultant" in customer relations, and has advised on communications strategies here in New Zealand and the Pacific Islands, as well as producing freelance journalism pieces.
PACIFIC MEDIA WATCH is an independent, non-profit, non-government organisation comprising journalists, lawyers, editors and other media workers, dedicated to examining issues of ethics, accountability, censorship, media freedom and media ownership in the Pacific region. It is now published by the Pacific Media Centre at New Zealand's AUT University. Launched in October 1996, it has links with the Journalism Programme at the University of the South Pacific, Journalism Studies at the University of PNG (UPNG) and the Australian Centre for Independent Journalism (ACIJ), Auckland University of Technology in New Zealand. The website is hosted by the Association of Progressive Communications (APC).
© 1996-2008 Copyright - All rights reserved. Items are provided solely for review purposes as a non-profit educational service. Copyright remains the property of the original producers as indicated. Recipients should seek permission from the copyright owner for any publishing. Copyright owners not wishing their materials to be posted by PMW please contact us. The views expressed in material listed by PMW are not necessarily the views of PMW or its members. Recipients should rely on their own inquiries before making decisions based on material listed in PMW.
For further information and joining the Pacific Media Watch listserve,
go to http://lists.apc.org.au/listinfo.cgi/pacific_media_watch-apc.org.au:
Email: pmc@aut.ac.nz
Pacific Media Centre
Fax: (+649) 921 9987
Mail: PO Box 92006, Auckland 1142, Aotearoa/New Zealand
Website: www.pmw.c2o.org
Return to Pacific Media Watch