the hour of our death

I am thinking pretty dark thoughts as I sit here amidst the piercing darkness tapping away at a reluctant keyboard, my fingers are automated, my gaze unmoving, my breathing uninterrupted save for the hint of hindrance as i draw every breath, it is probably safe to say, that I am trying to kill time, precious minutes of my life by typing down thoughts that are non existent, thoughts that have persisted in my head until the moment when I decide to elucidate them through the power of technology.

Its an unGodly hour in Carlton, I am certain that Melbourne has yet to sleep, so the few souls whose thoughts still wonder while their eyes are wide awake share this moment with me. I don't know why I can't sleep but I know I will pay for it dearly!

For now, it is just me and the world.

The silence of the night reminds me of my grandmothers death, how she shed tears before she succumbed to that eternal sleep, I cursed when I heard this, why after all she has been through, after all her faith in God, the prayers every single night as she lay in that bed for fifteen years, why did she have to go like that, why could she not have gone in her sleep, peaceful and silent. The feeling of helplessness that overcame all of us in that precious hour emphasises yet again the sad truth about death, that it takes as it may.

Ariès, Philippe was right in The Hour of Our Death, which says that death lurks at the edge of our consciousness, ready to destroy us and demolish whatever meaning we attribute to our lives.

the pens contribution to the economy

How do we as Journalists contribute to the economic development of a nation? Awardwinning AUstralian business and economics columnist and writer whois well known for his independence in thought and materials was straighforwardand refreshingly blunt about Australias lack of interest in the Pacific.Todays discussion explored the possibilities for change through our work. It is, I believeour strength of conviction in an idea that leads to a good story, and then other factorscome into play such as relevance, timing, balance, peg source but ultimatelyit should do good and provide an avenue for change, positive change. It is howevera personal dilemma at times, where I ask myself, who am I to make that change,do I have a right? But why not? Kenneth saied that the media creates a genuine sense of nationhood which leads to legitimate change!I tottally and utterly agree!

how many cofees is too many?

When establishing sources and strengthening relationships with those that we need information from on a weekly basis, a cup of cofee with them was suggested to strengthen those ties, however it how many coffees with that person is too many. I think that the Journalist should draw a line between them and a source so as to ensure a certain degree of objectivity, how many cofees indeed does it take until the source becomes a 'friend.'

I think that once the journalist and the source sit down for more than two cups of coffee, undesirable expectations will come into place, thus interfering with the purpose of the alliance! Concepts such as integrity, burnt source and others come to mind.

Gender and self censorship in a free press

Of course there is freedom of the press in Samoa/
Although there are constraints that hinder a full appreciation of press freedom, I still believe that Samoa enjoys free press and a healthy media.
So on what basis do I say this? I say this on the basis that I, a Samoan Journalist am able to write on any issue or topic daily without the intrusion or obstruction of the forces that be, the Government or certain arms of the law.
This is a rare privilege of occupation or passion in my case. But freedom of the press cannot be discussed without a consideration of the gender of a Journalist. During the JAWS Editors Forum, I enlightened our participants to the fact that women Journalists certainly face a stigma or discrimination that our male counterparts will not necessarily feel.
I speak for instance, of my early days in Journalism, a bright eyed, young Journo, keen to please the Editor and get my hands on any piece of news I can get. I was slowly, but surely developing what my Journalism Lecturer referred to as a ‘nose for news.’ Unfortunately for me, my mere appearance worked against my keenness and ‘nose,’ so to speak. The fact that I am half-caste (others may call it fake-palagi), that I am short (others may call it fikipu’u), I was small in size (others may call it underfed), under 25 and a woman really did not help my case. Those characteristics translated to inexperienced, immaturity, or even intrusion. The first Politician I interviewed asked a fellow Journalist: “Who is the little girl,” he said with a smirk. Because of my physical features working against me, I found I had to work hard and sharpen my writing skills to undermine the pre-existing misconceptions that plagued those of my gender. So in this case, it is fair to conclude that my perception of freedom of the press differed slightly to that of a male or a somewhat taller or more matured looking female Journalist. Today, some seven odd years later, I am still small, now just 25, still white, still female, but now with a better view of press freedom.
Indeed I now exercise that freedom daily in my work as News Editor, Foreign Correspondent and Feature Writer, and frankly, I love it!
Although freedom of the press exists, it does not deter from the fact that freedom of expression and freedom of information are not highly implemented nor advocated in Samoa. Seeing that our Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister are advocates of free press, there is no doubt they would agree to the encouragement of these two fundamental aspects of democracy.
The Press itself is one of the founding pillars of democratic Samoa, and Journalists, Editors and Media Owners sustain the existence of this foundation. But in saying that, we do have an obligation to the public, to our readers, listeners and watchers to be accurate, unbiased and seek the truth above all else. We have the ability to make a difference in our society, through our pen (these days a laptop or blackberry). We, through our work as informants, can contribute to ensuring that concepts such as transparence, accountability and good governance are observed and do materialize.
I would like to pay tribute to Savea Sano Malifa, who recognizes this, that the press plays an important role in democratic Samoa and the freedom of any society. Savea paved the way for a free press in Samoa, his stubborn journalistic persistence has given us the freedom to write accurate reports freely without fear of unfair repercussions. I would like to thank him for inspiring me to become what I am today, a passionate Journalist, fearless and yet like him, stubborn still.
I would also like to acknowledge the new breed of young, vibrant and ardent Journalists, you are what Samoa needs. The path of a Journalist is hard, it is long and winding, but well worth every step.
We must never forget that we are the voice of the voiceless, that freedom of the press is really the freedom of our people, not the Journalist, not the Editor nor the media Owner. We should never forget this fact, that what we print and broadcast will influence the lives of real people, so we must, regardless of all possible obstacles, strive to be accurate and uphold integrity in every word we write and utter.

May free press continue to prevail in Samoa

am i an agent of change?

In our session today, on what hinders free media I came to the conclusion that it is us, that most of the influencing factors on freedom of the media are generally self imposed and observed, even if the factors that provoke them are external. An interesting point war raised by our colleague from West Papua, according to him in order to excercise and truly commit to free media, we must be agents of change. I agree whole heartedly, but the change must be good and honourable and it should stem from an intention to make a difference and to create a better society. Paolo Coehlo a most admirable author of spiritual phenomenons says that we are warriors of light, that if we fulfill our personal legends, we contribute to the soul of the world, to what makes humanity. Along the lanes of my sometimes utterly confused and ideologically polluted mind, I came to the conclusion that if we want to see change in the world, we have to be that change. We have to live it, define it or do everything in our power to aspire to be it. So in that sense, we are indeed agents of change, whether we be journalists, plumbers, hairdressers or even rubbish collecters, we all contribute in our own way, others inadevertantly and others more directly. Whats important is that we do it with passion, that we make it our responsibility to make a difference.

but what constitutes sanity

Sanity, ah but the aspiration of the insane, of the illogical and the fool and the comfort of the reluctant routine-addict... thats it, ive officially lost the will to write, ive tried and tried and i cant for the life of me put my words onto paper, put patterns of literature into the every hungry microsoft word document. This is the most I have written in days, and it pains me to the deepest extent that i have lost this part of myself, that I have succumbed to the temptations of technology and the world wide web giving it constant permission to divert my attention, to fill my head with shallow images, ideologies and words that does nothing for the soul, that assists in no way, shape or form to the growth of my spiritual being.

to be or not to be a journalist

After almost ten years in this profession, I sometimes wonder, in the wee hours of the morning when I am contemplating yet another headline: "Is this all worth it?" Is living ones passion for the written word worth the criticisms, verbal abuse, sometimes physical abuse and all other attempts to silence that voice?
Never in my whole career have I viewed Journalism as just 'work' it is more than that, and the more Journalists I meet that share the same ideals and values as I, the more I am convinced that indeed this is a passion and my own way of contributing to society, to the betterment of society.
I am currently in Australia on a six week fellowship courtesy of the Australian Government, I was fortunate enought to be an awardee for the Australian Leadership Awards in Economic Affairs Reporting. In the next few weeks, nine of us from PNG, Vanuatu and Indonesia will be given a crash course on Economic Affairs Reporting, with three day attachments to various news media in Australia. This should be interesting.
I find, that I am always a bit more outspoken than my colleagues in the Samoa, so it is always good to mingle with others from the region.
Yesterday we tackled the question of ethics, how far can we go and where do we draw the line in terms of conflict of interest. I admitted, albeit reluctantly, that my participation in the fellowship may compromise my future writing on Australia, I mean, would I really want to bite the hand that feeds me? No :) But perhaps this is modern-day progress, my most respected colleagues have accepted fellowships and famil visits without patting and eyelid in the last few years, so why shouldn't I.
But more then anything I want to learn about this grey area in reporting.
I should probably consider going to bed now.