Commentary

Fiji’s Online Safety Act – why it poses risks for journalism



Fiji’s Online Safety Act raises important questions for journalism, but also freedom of expression more broadly. The current review of the Act presents an opportunity to better safeguard the media’s…

Maher Nazzal: Shame on New Zealand’s mainstream news media



COMMENTARY: By Maher Nazzal
Thousands of people took to the streets across Aotearoa New Zealand on Saturday, standing in solidarity with Palestine as part of the Global Day of Action

‘Flying High Dubai’ – Michael West Media responds to ABC Media Watch



ABC Media Watch this week accused Michael West of “perpetuating unsubstantiated conspiracy theories” online. We say the failure of journalism by ABC and other legacy media makes them culpable in…

Palestinian researcher exposes Israel’s list of so-called ‘terrorist’ journalists slain in Gaza as smear



PACIFIC MEDIA WATCH: By Stephen Prager
Seeking to discredit reports of its unprecedented killing of journalists in Gaza, the Israel Defense Forces last week published a list of 170…

From Resistance to the Ponsonby People’s Union, a courageous tale of struggle for justice



BOOK REVIEW: By David Robie
The seeds of resistance and later community empowerment began in Tāmaki Makaurau in a humble but lively bookshop in a rundown two-storeyed shop at 436…

In the wake of MIDA, Fiji’s news industry has turned full circle for media freedom



COMMENTARY: By Anish Chand in Savusavu
In 2023, Fiji’s Media Industry Development Authority (MIDA) was scrapped, marking a significant moment for Fiji’s media landscape.

A year later, at the PINA…

Australia’s social cohesion, far-right astroturfers and the Bondi Royal Commission



Right-wing astroturfers were given a platform at the Bondi Royal Commission, their history concealed and their testimony uncontested. APMN member Wendy Bacon reveals what the Commissioners ignored for Michael West…

NZ elections: Where are much-needed party policies on media?



KNIGHTLY VIEWS: By Gavin Ellis
Two months out from New Zealand’s general election, and we have yet to see new policy from any of the seven main political parties…

Posting profits but what is the future bottom line? - Knightly Views with Gavin Ellis


COMMENTARY: By Gavin Ellis
We have become all too familiar with New Zealand media company interim and full year reports oozing red ink, so it was pleasant surprise to see…

Never again for anyone: Why the NZ Holocaust Centre shouldn’t be involved in developing a new curriculum



CAFÉ PACIFIC: By Jeremy Rose and Rick Sahar
Rick Sahar, a former board member of the New Zealand Holocaust Centre, soldier in the IDF, and son of concentration camp survivors…

China Daily, collaborations, media education and Pacific outreach



PACIFIC MEDIA WATCH: By David Robie, editor of Asia Pacific Report
Some years ago when I headed the Pacific Media Centre that I founded at Auckland University of Technology, we…

Why can’t Israel be held accountable for its genocide in Gaza? It’s the media



ANALYSIS: By Robin Andersen
In a Double Down News (DDN) video report, British filmmaker Richard Sanders begins a summary of a “horrific new [United Nations] report” with a listing…

The ABC’s intellectual and moral decline comes at the worst possible time



PACIFIC MEDIA WATCH: Commentary: By Joel Jenkins
Of late, Australia’s public broadcaster ABC has been altering the way it sees the world around it. Bound by a national charter, but…

Media avoids Israel’s sadism like a crocodile-infested moat



COMMENTARY: By Jeremy Rose of APMN
Israel’s Environment Ministry has removed the protected status of Nile crocodiles to allow them to be used in a moat guarding the country’s largest…

It’s the ABC’s job to be accurate and fair, not to chase the dangerous fallacy of ‘balance’


ANALYSIS: By Peter Greste
One of the oldest tropes in journalism is that it should be balanced; that journalists have a responsibility to present all sides of a given issue…

The Gaza doctrine – Israeli ‘journacide’ and the muted NZ media response


COMMENTARY: By David Robie, Pacific Media Watch
A friend and colleague, Solidarity columnist Eugene Doyle, posed a brief question on the Facebook media page Kiwi Journalists Association last week.

“Kiwi…

Saige England: Praise for Australia’s Jewish Council but NZ’s council is a hasbara propaganda campaign



COMMENTARY: By Saige England, an APMN member
Good on the Jewish Council of Australia (JCA) for its submission to the Royal Commission.
The New Zealand Jewish Council is so…

Alifereti Sakiasi: The geopolitical battle for Pacific media narratives



COMMENTARY: By Alifereti Sakiasi in Suva
The contest for influence in the Pacific is no longer confined to diplomacy, aid projects or infrastructure.

Increasingly, it is being waged through information…

Gaza freedom flotilla – reluctance of the West to protest Israel’s thuggery enabled the abuse



The failure of Australia and Western governments to hold Israel to account has enabled the abuse of Gaza flotilla detainees, including New Zealanders, argues Jerusalem Peace Prize recipient Stuart Rees…