Reporting is risky, but duty comes first: Professor Shameem

Journalists must understand the difference between reporting a story and becoming the story, University of Fiji Vice-Chancellor Professor Shaista Shameem told Journalism and Media Studies students marking World Press Freedom Day on May 3.

Professor Shameem said journalism remained a dangerous profession and no level of protection could guarantee reporters’ safety.

“They must enter the profession not as just any job, but as a vocation,” she said. 

“They must uphold the highest standards and draw strength from that principle.

“Journalists are like soldiers, knowing they do the job at their peril, but doing it anyway. Those are the journalist's history will remember.”

To examine the demands of reporting, the university’s Journalism and Media Studies programme will host Fijian journalists for a screening of the film Civil War on May 7 at 7pm at the UniFiji Central Campus in Suva.

Professor Shameem said the 2024 dystopian film follows veteran and rookie journalists covering a war-torn United States and a government in crisis.

The story tracks a group of war correspondents travelling from New York to Washington, DC, to interview the President before rebels seize the capital.

The former journalist said the film highlights the role of journalists operating on difficult and often unclear moral ground.

“The programme teaches journalism beyond sound bites or stories sourced from social media,” Professor Shameem said.

“We need students to understand the duty of a reporter, which is to report. Personal beliefs, politics and prejudices should be left at the door from the first day in the programme.”

She said the film offered a stark portrayal of the benefits and risks of press freedom and would also serve as a refresher for working journalists in Fiji.