Fiji Now MIDA under ASKs nose to take full control of MEDIA !!! The public also waited in vain for the Media Industry Development Authority chairman (Ashwin Raj) to exercise an independent regulatory impact on the media in the run-up to the election. The Fiji Times was perpetually on notice having already been fined a massive $400,000 and its editor (Fred Wesley) given a suspended six month sentence for what some might call a trivial offence, while the owner remained overseas with a bench warrant out on another charge. Three months before the elections, the MIDA chairman refused to respond to very specific questions addressing the very core of a free and fair media industry relating to: millions of tax-payers advertisement funds being channelled by the Bainimarama government only to Fiji Sun with The Fiji Times being denied; outright massive subsidies given to FBC (whose CEO was the brother of the Attorney-General) via government budget and government guarantees of loans from FDB; the intimidating renewal of the licence for Fiji TV on a six-monthly basis; the sacking of a senior Fiji TV journalist (Anish Chand) who wanted more critical programmes covering the elections, because of complaints from the Bainimarama government. A month before the election, the MIDA chairman refused to respond when complaints were made about the biased role of the media and some media journalists in the coverage of the elections and the debates between parties and candidates. The MIDA chairman refused to respond when it was pointed out that Veena Bhatnagar, who had been a clearly pro-Bainimarama media host of the FBC’s Aina programmed during a debate between Professor Biman Prasad (leader of NFP) and Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum (secretary of FFP), a mere week later appeared as a candidate for FFP. So also did the MIDA CEO (Matai Akauola). None of these were apparently of concern to the MIDA chairman, who now applauds the media for their conduct during the elections, a supine media being clearly to his liking.
Posted on: Thu, 22 Jan 2015 09:35:50 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015