Attacks on David Robie, the veteran New Zealand journalist, author and educator offered the post of journalism co-ordinator at the University of the South Pacific (USP), have intensified.
The attacks come after conservative media quarters in Fiji failed to have an alternate candidate selected for the senior job in USP's journalism department.
Robie, 52, who has successfully revamped the University of Papua New Guinea journalism program over the past five years, was selected as the best candidate and has now been offered the job by USP.
A story attacking Robie was originally carried by Fiji's Sunday Post on
9 November 1997, and was subsequently carried around the Pacific by the Pacnews
news digest.
The unsubstantiated unbylined allegations about Robie stated he was "controversial" and referred to alleged contacts with lobby groups and media unions.
On December 23, 1997, Pacnews distributed an item titled "Rabuka's office probing
Robie appointment at USP". The story has since appeared in several forms
around the Pacific region.
The Pacnews item said:
"The office of Fiji Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka
has assigned one of its officers to investigate how a New Zealander was
selected for a top job at the University of the South Pacific.
David Robie
has been appointed to head the USP journalism program. He was chosen over
Fiji's Sarita Singh, who was backed by the Pacific Islands News
Association, The Daily Post reports.
Secretary to Cabinet Jioji Kotobalavu
told The Daily Post that the Prime Minister's office is examining the matter.
Robie, he said, had written a series of articles attacking the 1987 coups and also accused international and Fiji journalists of being propagandists and apologists for the Rabuka
regime."
Robie has declined to comment to Pacific Media Watch on the issue. PINA's regional training planner Peter Lomas has not replied to several requests for comment.
Media sources say PINA has singled out USP for attempted interference in journalism staffing recruitment. PINA is understood to have never attempted to influence the two other Pacific journalism schools, at UPNG in Port Moresby and Divine Word University at Madang.
Pacific Media Watch's Sydney convenor, Peter Cronau, has condemned the attacks on Robie by journalists as being "shameful and unethical".
"For some in the media who don't like David Robie's honest approach to
journalism, to resort to crude unprofessional and unethical character
assassination in the media is shameful.
"If those same people are now responsible for prompting the Prime
Minister's office to investigate Robie, then they ought to be identified
and ostracised by their fellow media workers.
"Robie has a reputation for hard work and integrity, and is a journalist
not afraid to run away from the big issues of the day. His critiques of
media ownership in Pacific nations, and his championing of media freedom
have helped highlight the delicate state of democracy and basic freedoms in
the region."
Robie is presently employed as Lecturer in Journalism and coordinates the Journalism Studies program at the University of Papua New Guinea, and is founding editor of Pacific Journalism Review.
In five years at UPNG, he has transformed the journalism program, and in 1995 its newspaper, "Uni Tavur", won the Ossie Award for Best Journalism Training Newspaper in Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific.
His 1996 "Who's Who" listing shows he has over 15 years experience
reporting on the Pacific region and recently gained a postgraduate degree
in journalism from the University of Technology in Sydney. In 1985 he was
awarded a UN Media Peace Prize, and is the author of six books on social
change in the Pacific nations.
Peter Cronau is an Australian journalist specialising in Pacific affairs. He is a former director of the Australian Centre for Independent Journalism.
See Pacific Media Watch for more information.
