BY MIKE TUA
DISCUSSIONS about the value of journalism education and journalism training institutions in the South Pacific region are healthy.
This week, Pacific’s media practitioners have participated in the Pacific Anti-Corruption Journalist Network (PACJN) pre-summit workshop at the 6th Pacific Media Summit 2022 on ‘Media Role in Investigating the Management of Public Resources’ in Honiara.
Associate Professor Shailendra Singh, Head of Journalism at the University of the South Pacific (USP) in Suva, Fiji, clarified to that just like the media industry, journalism education institutions in the Pacific region are struggling with lack of resources.
“The pacific news media sector has high staff attrition because of uncompetitive salary and other issues. The industry needs well trained journalists on a constant basis to fill the gap.
In an interview with Sunday Isles, he said we should be forward looking by focusing on young trainees’ journalists as well rather than rooted to the present.
“On the question of the quality of graduate journalism, it should be seen in the context of training institutes lack of resources including lack of education opportunities for lecturers and in some cases no pay. Training institutes lack resources with impacts on teaching ABC graduate quality.
“So it’s unfair and no use to blame the institutions or the student graduates. It’s more important to help them address their problems.
“On their part training institutes should be accommodative of the industry needs and work with it to improve the situation.
“How journalism graduates perform also depends on newsroom leadership including how much support, guidance and mentoring they receive. Many graduates do very well.
“In simplistic to put all journalism schools and all journalism students in one basket and to say they are not performing because many journalism graduates are the ones who are running the media industries in their respective countries and they have done a good job under the circumstances.
“Graduates have opened business, are freelancing for ABC and Radio NZI besides working there full time as well. One Solomon Island graduate Priestly Habru has won a very prestigious PhD scholarship and we are proud of him.
“So don’t take statements on the face of it and don’t make decisions on hearsay – do your research and analysis and then you can assess a situation and make a decision,” he told the participants.
“In terms of what training we have provided at USP – we do whatever we can within what resources we have and we are satisfied with what our students have achieved. USP journalism is the only fully functioning journalism school in the pacific,” Associate Professor Shailendra Singh, Head of Journalism at the University of the South Pacific (USP) in Suva said.
