Journalists working in Tonga enjoy more press freedom than their counterparts in the United kingdom or the United States, according to a new report from Reporters Sans Frontiers.
And the rise in press freedom has coincided with the country’s introduction of democratic elections, according to RSF.
The World Press Freedom Index, which was published yesterday, placed Tonga 37th out of 180 countries. That represented a seven point rise over the RSF’s 2015 survey.
Last year Tonga rose 19 places to 44th on the global listing.
Pacific Media Watch attributed the 2015 rise to “an independent press, which has established its role as a counterweight to the government.”
Reporters Sans Frontiers said the independent media in Tonga had progressively assumed their watchdog role since the first democratic elections in 2010.
“They really began asserting themselves in 2014 in their criticism of the government and its policies,” RSF’s 2016 report said.
“However, some political leaders have not hesitated to sue media outlets, exposing them to the risk of heavy damages awards. Some journalists say they are forced to censor themselves because of the threat of being bankrupted.”
The highest ranking Pacific Island nation is Samoa, which placed 29th.
The RSF report said the country’s placing was due to what it described as the liveliness of media groups such as Talamua Media and the Samoa Observer Group of Newspapers, and individual publications such as Iniini Newspaper.
“The Media Council law adopted in early 2015 decriminalised defamation, but some media outlets have remained on their guard.
“The Human Rights Protection Party, which has ruled the archipelago for decades with no real political opposition, could be tempted to meddle in the Council’s business in order to exercise more effective and less visible control over the Samoan media.”
Papua New Guinea ranks 55th, a one place rise from 2015.
However, RSF warned that the requirement for Internet users to use their real identity on social networks could constitute a serious threat to online freedom of expression in PNG, where internet penetration rate is only about five percent.
The RSF report continued: “The government’s announcement in November 2015 that it was planning to create a special media tribunal to deal with ‘deliberate misinformation, spreading of falsities and malice,’” as the communications minister put it, could encourage widespread self-censorship in Papua New Guinea’s media.”
Elsewhere in the Pacific, Fiji ranks 80th, up 13 places. RSF said that despite the threats the constitution and legislation pose to journalists, the media had asserted their independence, improved the public debate and succumbed less and less to self-censorship.
Of the two largest regional economies, New Zealand ranks at 5th place, while Australia is 25th.
While New Zealand has the highest ranking of any country in the region, it is not without its problems. Reporters Sans frontiers noted that while the New Zealand media is free, it is not exempt from political pressure.
“The issue of whistleblowers and the confidentiality of journalists’ sources continues to be debated,” the RSF report said.
It said the media also continued to demand changes to the Official Information Act, which obstructed the work of journalists by allowing government agencies a long time to respond and making journalists pay several hundred dollars for the requested information.
Australia was criticised for the restrictions placed on journalists trying to report on conditions in the country’s notorious refugee detention camps on Nauru and Manus nor the operations ion Australia’s secret services.
Globally, however, the World Press Freedom Index shows a decline in respect for media freedom, with many countries introducing legislation that makes it harder for journalists to do their job or actively persecuting them.
The UK now ranks 38th, below Tonga, as does the United States (41st) and France (45th).
The World Press Freedom Index ranks 180 countries according to the level of freedom available to journalists. It is a snapshot of the media freedom situation based on an evaluation of pluralism, independence of the media, quality of legislative framework and safety of journalists in each country.
The degree of freedom available to journalists in 180 countries is determined by pooling the responses of experts to a questionnaire devised by RSF. This qualitative analysis is combined with quantitative data on abuses and acts of violence against journalists during the period evaluated. The criteria used in the questionnaire are pluralism, media independence, media environment and self-censorship, legislative framework, transparency, and the quality of the infrastructure that supports the production of news and information.
The main points
- Journalists working in Tonga enjoy more press freedom than their counterparts in the United Kingdom or the United States, according to a new report from Reporters Sans Frontiers.
- And the rise in press freedom has coincided with the country’s introduction of democratic elections, according to RSF.
- The World Press Freedom Index, which was published yesterday, placed Tonga 37th out of 180 countries. That represented a seven point rise over the RSF’s 2015 survey.
- Last year Tonga rose 19 places to 44th on the global listing.
For more information
Media freedom: A nice RSF postcard from the Pacific, but not Asia (Asia Pacific Report)
Tonga, Fiji improve sharply in latest RSF World Press Freedom Index (Pacific Media Centre)
