World Press Freedom Day : Bloggers vs Journalists

Fifteen years ago, I entered journalism - a profession that I truly and utterly believed in, as a fundamental aspect of democracy. In my innocence, I developed a nose for news, I finessed my writing skills and developed and sustained the art of feigning interest in subject matters that can put a baby to sleep.

My passion for this trade is so great that even after the usual death threats, the burning of the Newsline Newspaper office while I was Editor, a black eye by a generous member of the public and various other unfortunate incidences resulting from my writings – as faced by many of my colleagues, I still write, and I still advocate for press freedom and I still think journalism is an awesome job, even though it is no longer my primary income source, because, frankly, my kids need to eat.

On this World Press Freedom Day however, I think we need to talk about facts, about fake news and the ignorant public that consumes it. We need to have a serious conversation about social media and its role in propagating the hate, the fake and the lies. We need to talk about free speech and its limitations, but more importantly we need to talk about a responsible press.

This Press Freedom Day, for the first time in Samoa, we are faced with a case so unique and so vile in a way, that it brings to the fore - key issues relating to the fourth estate.

In response to articles about O le Palemia (OLP) and the continuous unfortunate fiasco, many have pointed out that freedom of speech has its limitations and that press freedom is not absolute. To this I agree and have written about extensively. The OLP fiasco has become, in my view, a perfect confluence of all the complex issues that have led to the blurring of the lines between a journalist and a blogger. OLP is not a journalist, nor do they claim to be, but it is very important to make that distinction now, a blogger is not a journalist. Journalists must be trained, learn the basics of the trade, the ethics, standards and values, either through school or working as a cadet. Writing your opinions on a blog maketh you not a journalist.

It is very important that Samoans understand that blogs are spaces for people to freely publish and share their views whether they be right, wrong, interesting, dull, exciting or otherwise. Blogs lack the verification aspect that real news sites can and must adhere to. The blurring of these lines between bloggers and journalists have ultimately lead to a confusion between news media and social media, between real news and fake news.

The unfortunate thing about this blur of lines is that it has ultimately lead to press freedom violations that Samoa has worked so hard to overcome in the past twenty years. The search warrant issued by the Police to Samoa Observer some weeks ago may seem procedural in nature, but in the landscape of democracy, it is actions as such that cause an affront to the fourth estate.

As a teenager entering journalism, I worked for some of the pioneers of press freedom in Samoa, and my first boss and mentor was Savea Sano Malifa. His was a journey of hardship and persistence amid rising censorship and direct threats to the Samoa Observer, to his workers, family and himself. Through Savea and later on through Mataelina Pio Sioa, Publisher of Newsline Samoa Newspaper I learnt of the injustices faced by the media in its very early days and the rising threats of regulatory censorship and assaults to the fourth estate. The threats were so severe it led to the burning of both Samoa Observer in the early 1990s and Newsline in 2007 and the usual daily threats to ones life – as you do when you are a journalist.  So when Savea keeps referring to suppression of the media – it comes from a place of painful experience.

Anyhow – it was from learning and experiencing those direct threats that I developed a true appreciation for the protection of sources – especially sources who are within oppressive situations, who need protection. It is through these sources – who are willing to share information in their pursuit of justice and interest in democratic processes that give true meaning to freedom of the press. Through the press – the public can be protected when decrying deceit, they can take shelter in the role of the press in the relevant privileges afforded to the media.

During the Passport scandal in Samoa in the 1990s – it was whistle-blowers within Government who exposed the story the sale of Samoan passports to the Chinese.  It was Savea who suffered the lashback and the anger and the threats, but he did not reveal his source, ever. At a time when Criminal Libel was still in the Crimes Ordinance, and there were no particular protections for journalists within the law – it was highly risky for anyone to interact with the media in such a way, but the source was protected.

However, that incident lead to the enactment of the Printers and Publishers Act 1993 which essentially gave power to authorities to force journalists to reveal their sources when requested through the Act.

Fortunately, Samoa saw the light and advancements were made. Samoa dropped Criminal Libel from the Crimes Ordinance 2013 – which signaled great advancement in our treatment of freedom of expression and press freedom. This same stance was extended when a Consequential Amendment was inserted in the Media Council Bill 2014 thus substituting the source disclosure section in the Printers and Publishers Act 1992/1993. The substitute Section is a textbook example of press freedom legislature – and points to the extremely well informed and broad understanding of the Lawyers who drafted the Bill.

Anyhow – the substituted Section states:

1. Protection of journalist’s sources-(1) A journalist is not compellable in a civil or criminal proceeding to answer any question or produce any document that would disclose the identity of the informant. (contd)

The search warrant issued on Samoa Observer does have impact on freedom of the press, in that it brings into question the power of the Media Council Bill 2014 but more importantly it sets a scary precedent regarding Police powers infringing on press freedom.

If anything is to be learned this Press Freedom Day, is that we need a strong and robust news media, now more than ever. We need to support our journalism schools, we need to bolster the works of people like Misa Vicky Lepou, Head of the Journalism School at the National University of Samoa so that we can foster solid journalists in the future.

There needs to be better awareness of the role of news media in our country, so that members of the public can hold journalists into account when we err or when we falter. The Journalists Association of Samoa needs to be supported by Government and partners to assist in ensuring that this awareness occurs. But we also need to encourage and acknowledge the work of underpaid, overworked journalists who continue to report daily with under resourced news rooms and a demanding public. We need to support journalists like Jack Seumanutafa and others. Take a moment to appreciate the fact that journalists continue to provide you with daily news even though they are threatened, abused, harassed and seen as the scum of the earth at times. There’s more to a journalist than meets the eye.

But to fight the tide of fake news and propagation of deceitful news on social media, the change must also start with you, the reader. Ultimately it is your decision to click on that fake news, to read, endorse, share and amuse it with your attention. Ultimately we all need to make a judgement call on what we are reading, whether or not it plays to biases, our preexisting misconceptions and so forth. We are all responsible in ensuring that we consume verified information from bonafide news media organizations, with trained journalists and credibility beyond clickbait headlines.

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Guest Writer: Lagipoiva Cherelle Jackson