Women dominate newsrooms

Women outnumber men in Fiji’s newsrooms, with a media leader describing the shift as “natural justice” after years of male dominance in the industry.

Fijian Media Association (FMA) general-secretary Stanley Simpson said the growing number of women in media reflected their willingness to take on challenging situations and commitment to the profession.

“Maybe it’s some kind of natural justice. We’ve been dominating the newsrooms for many years,” Mr Simpson said yesterday during a press conference for the Women in Media Fiji (WiM) inaugural conference.

“And if women numbers are there now, you know, so be it. The thing is, we need to put good journalism out.”

Mr Simpson said women’s increased presence showed greater commitment to the industry, which is notoriously difficult to survive in long-term.

“Not everyone lasts in this industry. It’s very hard to last in this industry. And if women create the numbers in a newsroom that shows that they have more commitment,” he said.

“They really bring a lot of balance and a lot of greater insight into the stories that we cover here in Fiji.”

Fijian Media Association (FMA) president and WiM co-founder Rosi Doviverata said the focus was now on building capacity and confidence among female journalists.

“In the last survey that we did in 2022, most of them, all they wanted was a little bit of encouragement,” Mrs Doviverata said.

“Providing that safe space for our women journalists to be able to share some of the challenges; and we might not have all the answers, but we are there to listen.”

She acknowledged male colleagues and FMA executives for their support in releasing female journalists to attend training workshops and professional development sessions.

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