Record GMMP Participation in Fiji

Violet Savu, Fiji Media Watch, GMMP Coordinator

A record 25 monitors took part in the GMMP 2009/2010 – the highest number of participants in Fiji so far. About 95% of monitors were participating in the GMMP for the first time.

Keresi Nakarawa, a student at the Fiji Institute of Journalism, who was part of the newspaper monitoring team found the monitoring experience both educational and inspiring. “As a student, I was able to see and learn how to monitor the news. A watch-dog for the watch-dogs! It was very enriching and I enjoyed being part of the newspaper team,” said Nakarawa.

Prior to monitoring day, Fiji Media Watch organized a national training workshop for monitors. Led by Violet Savu, the workshop on 31 October 2009 drew participants from a diverse background including students from the University of the South Pacific, Fiji Institute of Technology’s Departments of Journalism, Fiji’s Ministry of Information, and non-governmental organizations such as femLINKPACIFIC, Fiji Media Watch and the Ecumenical Centre for Research, Education and Advocacy. With many volunteer monitors participating in the GMMP for the first time, the workshop enabled monitors to develop a common understanding of the monitoring methodology.

“The GMMP workshop was very helpful. It was an eye opener on how media monitoring is done. For print media, we are able to identify stories that were gender-related and differentiate how women and men are represented in news stories. Overall, it gave us a broader perspective on how women are perceived by the media,” said Priscilla Govind of Fiji’s Ministry of Information. She was part of the newspaper monitoring team.

On monitoring day, news articles from Fiji Times and Fiji Sun as well as the major newscasts from Radio Fiji Gold, Legend FM News and the Fiji One News were monitored. The day long exercise left many exhausted yet inspired by the systematic monitoring and the outcomes of the exercise. “Being part of the Global Media Monitoring network has been a learning experience for me in the sense that it will help me become a better journalist ,” said Eliki Drugunalevu, a journalism student at the University of the South Pacific.

Fiji has participated in the GMMP since its inception in 1995.

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