Abal paranoid of UK tabloid saga’s impact on daily paper

THE government has accused the Post-Courier newspaper of publishing and sensationalising news which undermine the integrity of the leaders and the government du­ring the past two month.

It sees it as a “suspicious move to prompt regime change” in the government.
Acting Prime Minister Sam Abal made the comment while revealing that the government was watching with keen inte­rest the unfolding events of the last two weeks involving Rupert Murdoch’s media empire which rocked the world after the revelation of phone hacking by re­porters of the London-based tabloid, News of the World, which was forced to close down last week.

The Post-Courier news­paper, published by the South Pacific Post in Port Moresby, is part of News Ltd, Murdoch’s Australian-based media corporation.
Abal said while the Post-Courier was a meager part of the Murdoch media empire, what was happening in the United Kingdom as a result of phone tapping was also a cause for concern for his government.
He said that the ap­palling headlines and editorial by its journalist and editors over the past month portrayed negative implications on the government.

Abal questioned whe­ther this had been part of a tacitly-designed global strategy and direction to divert attention away from the London revelations of illicit behaviour and conduct by journalist of the Post-Courier’s sister tabloid paper.
“However, my immediate concern is that of the many shareholders of the Post-Courier newspaper comprising ordinary citizens and the semi-state agencies.

“I am observing with keen interest too of the behaviour and editorial attitude of Post-Courier in its sensationalised go­vernment and leader-bashing headlines,’’ he said. “I have been observing too the appalling conduct of journalists in manufacturing stories and demonstrating clear leanings towards determining po­litical outcomes in the country.

“Their reporting has been lacking objectivity, fairness, balance and responsibility to a point where the behaviour of the paper seems akin to the behaviour and edito­rial attitude of the overseas tabloid.
“If the editorial beha­viour and attitude of the paper is instructed out of London and the empire headquarters, then I have real reason to be wary of the way my government, its readers and shareholders of the paper stand to be treated.”

He said the Post-Courier must assure PNG shareholders and government that its editorial conduct of the past two months was independent and free of any globally-driven strategy to undermine and prompt regime change in governments around the world.

- The National

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