Conferences & Events
State Pressure on the Broadcaster
by Nanise Fifita, Manager Radio and Chief News Editor, Tonga Broadcasting Commission
Backgrounder:
The Tonga Broadcasting Commission, TBC, was established in 1961, as a government department, operating Radio Tonga. In the early 1970’s, TBC became a statutory board, with the Prime Minister as the chairman of its board of directors. The other four board members are picked by government to represent the community, businesses and non-government organizations – who are the major customers of the organization. The General Manager of TBC is also a member and the secretary of the Board.
At present, TBC also operates an FM station that came into being in the late 80’s, as well as a Television station since 2000. TBC has about 80 staff.
Since TBC was set up under the Broadcasting Act, it has a mandate to inform, educate and entertain. I believe these mandates should be the underlining thrust of the theme of this 27th CBA General Conference of Empowering the people.
As a small island broadcaster, we must endeavour to fulfil our obligations to the 100-thousand people on the entire Tonga Group. Radio Tonga One (AM Station) covers the entire Tonga Group with about 100-percent listeners. Radio remains as the most efficient means of communication, even reaching the remotest northern islands. Radio Tonga Two, popular among youth, covers the main island of Tongatapu and another close-by island, totaling about 65 percent of the population. TV Tonga again has the same coverage but targeted for the general audience.
When TBC became a statutory board, it marked the end of government’s budgetary allocation it used to enjoy. Since then, TBC must rely heavily on advertising dollars as its major source of revenue, together with a monopoly then of a radio and electronic shop.
Businesses, Government ministries, community groups as well as individuals buy air-time. (As opposed to what we have heard yesterday from our Namibian colleague, when people want to send out personal messages to the outer islands – like funeral notices, birthday greetings or any type of messages, they must pay a certain fee.) Now TBC is rather in a dilemma – because we have a mandate to be a public service broadcaster, yet at the same time, rely heavily on advertising dollars.
So where are we in line with the Government’s Reform (ie. TBC’s linkwith Government’s REFORM?)
Our Statement of Corporate Intent has been designed to augur well with the vision for Tonga to be stable:-
• Politically
• Socially
• Economically
This SCI strengthens the link between Government and civil society by informing and educating (empowering) the people (the community) on the various Government’s policies and programs through the use of media.
MILLENIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS
TBC understands that the MDGs being pushed by Government for the benefit of her people, cannot be achieved without the use of media, ie: Radio & Television.
1 Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger
2 Achieve universal primary education
3 Promote gender equality and empower women
4 Reduce child mortality
5 Improve maternal health
6 Combat HIV/AIDS and non-communicable disease
7 Ensure environmental sustainability
8 Develop a global partnership for development
The role of TBC is being enshrined in its vision – To continue to be the best provider of broadcasting.
As the nation is going through a changing political and social environment, TBC has developed as its missions:
• To produce and broadcast quality programs that inform, educate and entertain the people of Tonga;
• To address the challenges of using up-to-date information technology and to be commercially viable.
Having said that – now let’s focus on how the State puts pressure on TBC:
When we’re reminded of this year’s theme of Empowering the People, I believe that we must be careful of what kind of information, we as media, empower our people with.
Let me give this illustration. To my knowledge, TBC is perhaps the only media outlet in Tonga with a written formal broadcasting standard guidelines and code of ethics, that have been in place and implemented since it was established.
Since the early 1980’s, people have become aware of some failures of the present Constitutional Monarchy System of Government. This began a rather long road to push for political reforms – towards a democratic system of government. It also began a so-called ‘party-politics’ as our present system does not accommodate that. This trend continued and became rather stronger, gaining an increasing number of supporters. Their causes were made known when the leading member of the democratic movement established his own monthly publication that later became a weekly paper in recent years up to now. This paper gained much popularity through its own kind of reporting and ethics that TBC cannot even dare use for the “don’ts” in our ethics and broadcasting standards and guidelines become all “do’s” in theirs. And what has government do to bring them in line with the rest of the media? Virtually nothing at all!
Now the interesting part here is that – to many people, Radio and TV Tonga (TBC) news coverage is ‘dull’, ‘slanted towards government’, or perhaps reporters don’t know how to make the news interesting – but of course – that would be through sensationalism and exaggeration – while the other privately owned media may be seen as smart in doing.
Now, the media plays a vital role in empowering the people, as our theme goes. But it should be important to stress here that the media has a heavy responsibility in ensuring that the information being disseminated is truthful, accurate, objective and fair, and to exercise responsible journalism – even if some of you may regard this as old fashion!
In the 1990’s a privately owned TV came into being in Tonga, in the guise of a gospel TV. After a few years of broadcasting imported gospel programs from the U.S., it slowly switched code and became a vehicle for the democracy movement to air their political views and what they’re pushing for. This trend gained tremendous momentum when the movement went out to the villages and held public gatherings where their supporters would say something that are often regarded an inflammatory, subjective and dangerous in any newsroom. With the absence of broadcasting guidelines and media ethics, this TV station – being run by non-reporters – posed to be the “people’s TV” and aired these uncensored and inflammatory views. Now the question is - Did the PM and his government, as responsible for the Communications portfolio, take any measure to control this privately owned TV? Nothing at all.
But in 2006, Tonga saw and experienced an unprecedented event when the first riots took place. Supporters of the democracy movement took to the street, burned down several businesses that belonged or associated with the Royal Family and the Prime Minister’s family as well as foreign-owned businesses, mainly Asian, together with innocent by-standers including some Chinese, Indian and Tongan businesses. From November of 2006 the day of the riots to this day, most of these businesses that lost millions of dollars in the riots, are yet to rebuild, secure loans to start anew or pay huge debts, not to mention some who opted to close their doors permanently.
In a survey carried out by a local website, some of the people they interviewed believed that the media played a major role in creating and inciting the riots. Some even blamed government for not acting soon enough to enforce some elements of responsibility on this TV station from airing inflammatory statements and views from the public.
As a state owned media, I feel TBC is being closely scrutinized by the government and the general public to lead the way or become role models on performing in accordance with our broadcasting guidelines and to report ethically. Government would be the first to remind or perhaps warn us of our obligations as a public service broadcaster, to inform and educate the people. Even following the riots, we’re still expected to be the avenue and platform for nation-building and reconciliation to take place. I must say that one may feel suffocated by these expectations, but is this still the way to empower the people – while the privately owned media still enjoy their “liberty” of disseminating inflammatory information – perhaps their own way of empowering their followers and perhaps the people in general?
The stance being taken by TBC in this scenario often led people to accuse us of taking side with the government, or we are the government mouth-piece or simply too afraid to break every rule of being a responsible media, for the sake of keeping everyone happy in the decision making level. But one may wonder, why does government perhaps turn a blind eye to what the “other” media is doing, after all the Ministry of Communications is under the Government and also, Government is responsible for issuing and renewing their business licence.
Another aspect of State pressure on TBC is on Reporting from parliament.
During the middle of last year’s parliamentary session, a partial ban was placed on our coverage from the House, due to – according to the Speaker and the PM – a seemingly biased portrayal of the proceedings. They believed that through the use of the camera, we only focus more on the pro-democracy MPs rather than what the government MPs said during that particular debate. It should be pointed out here that Parliament only allowed a one-hour of recorded TV coverage to be carried in our news, and during that hour-long debate, how could we proportionately present both sides to the public, if – during that one hour – the debates were dominated by one of the sides. Since then, the Speaker imposed a temporary ban on our using of camera footage. However, our reporters can still sit in the House during the entire proceedings and write his own notes for his news. We also have access to the daily minutes of the parliamentary proceedings. This allowance still does have an impact on our radio and TV coverage, with the absence of necessary sound bites as well as video footage from the House.
Another example is the airing of programs seemed to be lop-sided towards one side – whether it the government, the democracy movement or any other party. With the prolonged emergency powers still enforced since the 2006 riots, Government often remind us that as the national broadcaster, we have an obligation – as in our public service mandate - to help maintain law and order, peace and unity, in the Kingdom. And this should be reflected in our program and news contents, or any information that may be aired over Radio & TV Tonga.
In terms of general information and programming, we refuse to air notices by government or any other organization that has some elements of personal attacks or does not comply with our broadcasting guidelines, unless they reword their initial statement. It may take some time to clarify matters, but in the end, it can be sorted out.
Now, one may wonder how could government exert this – seen here perhaps as a pressure – on the state-owned media, while privately owned media are at liberty to criticize, sensationalize, exaggerate and even say inciting and inflammatory views over sensitive issues or otherwise.
Is this a way of fully empowering the people or simply to empower them to make wise and informed decision about their future and the future of the country and the generations to come? Or, this is a pressure by government on its state-owned media as a way of dictating its way through? I believe, in the context of Tonga, the public’s views dictate the answer.