Across the globe, journalists continue to work under mounting pressure from a demanding and often unforgiving public.

Today on World Press Freedom Day, we take a pause to reflect on the important role we play as an industry in a constantly evolving environment.

The changes in the way our audience consume news, the way they engage with the media and constant technological innovations continue to challenge the way we operate.

The global COVID-19 pandemic was really the test of our fate, at least for media organisations in this part of the globe.

But the resilience and commitment of our media workers and newsroom managers have seen us through one of the toughest times in our history.

COVID-19 saw journalists constantly putting their lives on the line as frontline workers.

While keeping the public informed, journalists also faced a lot of stress from financially challenged newsrooms.

The story is the same across the world with many newsrooms shutting down at the peak of the global pandemic.

But as Fiji slowly emerges from the pandemic and heads into the general election – different views, opinions and ideas will abound.

Ensuring that the information that we disseminate to the public is factual, accurate and balanced remains key.

General Secretary of the Fijian Media Association Stanley Simpson made the following observation: “World Press Freedom Day provides us a moment to reflect on the importance of media freedom and pay tribute to the courageous and committed reporting being done by Fijian journalists over the past year.”

“Particularly the role Fijian media played in keeping the country informed during the worst of the Covid 19 pandemic, and its great role in keeping democracy alive in Fiji, while media organizations themselves struggle to remain economically viable.”

“Journalists today work under great stress and scrutiny – largely under the harsh glare and spotlight of a critical and often unforgiving public.

They reported of people who were fearful of the pandemic and under stress from losing their jobs, while the journalists themselves were fearful and stressed about losing theirs.

They had to put themselves out onto the frontlines to tell the stories that matter – stories of struggles, stories of loss and emotion, stories and pain and suffering and ultimately stories of resilience and survival.

“As we come out of the pandemic yet remain watchful and try to rebuild our lives and our economy, and as the country heads towards an important general elections – we urge people to continue to respect and commit to the values of media freedom for credible news and information.”
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