WHY STUDENTS ARE RIGHT NOT TO TRUST THE MEDIA - THE POST-COURIER CORRUPTION EXAMPLE, OTHER MEDIA, AND THE PM’S FLOOZIE DOOZIES AND SPIN-KINGS.
* Journo
whistleblowers are invited to contribute to cleaning up the media by contacting
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University
students across the nation are right not to trust the mainstream media
(although that does not mean that banning certain sections is justifiable, or
beneficial to their cause).
Outlets
like the Post-Courier, the National and EMTV are compromised from top to bottom
by their own corruption and by fear of the O’Neill Regime’s standover tactics.
Some of
their journalists are no better than the media prostitutes (the FLOOZIE
DOOZIES) paid by Peter O’Neill to spread his word on social media.
My
example will be the Post-Courier, the nation’s oldest surviving daily newspaper
and for decades a paragon of media excellence, along with the NBC.
Today it
is a shadow of its former self, its reputation in tatters and its circulation
declining.
There
are two aspects to the Post’s corruption - senior management interference in
editorial on behalf of the O’Neill Regime, and journalistic corruption.
These
aspects apply to other news outlets to different degrees and with different
emphasis but with the same outcome.
The
National and EMTV suffer more from management interference and the fear
engendered by the O’Neill regime - personal physical fear and fear of forced
takeover/regulation/closure.
O’Neill
has made it perfectly and brutally clear to EMTV’s succession of owners that
unless it does things his way, it will lose its broadcast licence. Now that it
is owned by the Government, any deviation from the O’Neill media line is even
less likely.
The
Rimbunan Hijau-owned National, of course, is indebted to O’Neill for not
fulfilling his promise to shut down all SABLs, which have enriched the
Prime Minister and many of his colleague Ministers.
General
Manager Andy Ng prevents stories critical of Rimbunan Hijab from appearing in
the paper, and if that cannot be avoided he twists them to suit RH. RH pays
overseas timbert industry “analysts” to attack its opponents in print. Ng
writes fake letters to the editor promoting RH and the O’Neill Regime.
Senior
management of both outlets keep close watch on their newsrooms to enforce
pro-PNC coverage.
At the
Post, the rot begins with managing director Kevin Smith, who is a drinking
buddy of PM O’Neill and his cronies and manipulates the news to suit.
He also
ensures that dissenting voices are either banned from the Post, or given
minimum coverage. Much of the decision-making about censoring editorial
coverage opposing the O’Neill regime is made at the Bacchus Bar at Airways.
Some
sources say journalists have been dismissed for writing stories unfavourable to
O’Neill, or questioning the actions of his flunkies and business cronies -
although Smith is careful to give other reasons for dismissal.
High-level
sources say that in late 2011 Smith gave undertakings of favourable treatment
of O’Neill during a meeting with Prime Ministerial crony and contract
beneficiary Sir Theo Constantinou, and O’Neill in person.
It is
not known whether such an agreements exists with the National, but it is
unlikely given the hold O’Neill has over the company through SABLs and logging
permits.
However
such an agreement did exist between the National and the Somare Regime until
its overthrow by O’Neill in 2011.
Both Arthur
Somare and the family’s then media advisor Brian Gomez monitored the National’s
editorial coverage, with Gomez physically being present in the newsroom and
editing journalists’ copy at critical times.
Today
Gomez is a media advisor to the Treasury, and is part of the O’Neill media
mafia. He was formerly in charge of media at the PNG Chamber of Mines and
Petroleum.
But as
with other media outlets, the problem is greater than just Kevin Smith, Andy
Ng, and a succession of compliant executives and editorial managers at EMTV
such as former journalist Neville Choi.
The Post
is not alone in its corruption but it is the worst, including in the newsroom.
Before I
give details of newsroom corruption, It is important to state that not every
journalist is corrupt and unethical.
There
are many journalists committed to the public interest and the truth, and
they abide by their code of ethics. They fight the good fight.
An
excellent example here is the struggle of NBC staff against the standover
tactics of PMO media staff, officers of the Communications Department and
Ministry, and political appointees in management.
I have
been made aware that former NBC managing director Memafu Kapera, acting on
behalf of PM O’Neill, conducted a heavy-handed campaign against the
independence of his journalists, at times personally preventing anti-O’Neill
stories from being aired in news bulletins.
Kapera
has sacked and demoted journalists who stand firm for their ethics and their
responsibility to the people and the nation.
There is
a hard core of independent, professional and ethical journalists at the NBC,
and supporting them and their ideals is THE test for new acting MD Kora Nou.
Mind
you, the NBC is not immune from outbreaks of idiocy, as exemplified by this
recent Facebook post by one senior journalist:
Rebecca
Passingan
14 hrs ·
I pity
those UPNG students who are crying foul over the media not giving prominence to
their story. Who are you again???? You stop the media up until yesterday and
then cry foul that your issue has not been given prominence? Ban the media and
they (journalists) will enforce their gate keeping role and your story won't
have any prominence. FYI, you may have Fb but you are NOTHING without the
media. Because a huge percentage of the population still access the dailies and
the radio networks for news.
Ms
Passingan and her colleagues must understand that the media is not a personal
tool of revenge for anti-media sentiments.
Threatening
diminished coverage, or banning it entirely, just because someone has insulted
your feelings is unethical and just as deplorable as banning sections of the
media and burning newspapers in the first place.
To
return to the example of the Post, it is now appropriate to focus our spotlight
on the newsroom.
Its
chief reporter, Gorethy Kenneth, has been the subject of rumour and innuendo on
social media for a considerable period of time.
Public
suspicions about her are demonstrably well-founded, despite her many
protestations of innocence.
Kenneth
has been a faithful servant of Prime Minister O’Neill and PNC for a very long
time.
Here are
some examples of how she cannot be relied upon to present fair and balanced
stories:
She is a
fund-raiser for PNC and the Prime Minister’s secret slush fund the PM O’Neill
Foundation.
Most
recently she was a ticket-seller for the PNC fund-raising this year, including
pressuring shocked fellow journalists to buy tickets from her.
Journalists
have complained to PNG Blogs about her activities.
Kenneth
gets paid to run favourable stories. One senior Government MP boasted of that
to PNG Blogs. One Governor confirmed that he did the same.
Kenneth
is a regular at the PM’s Paddy’s Bar, where if she is short of cash she can put
her drinks and pokies are on the tab (she is not the only Post journalist doing
that).
Kenneth
is the secret conduit between the Post and PM’s lawyers Tiffany Twivey and Cath
Porter, chief of staff (now chief secretary) Isaac Lupari, PMO media
executive Daniel Korimbao and the rest of the PM’s flunkies and spin doctors.
Information
given to her publicly and even privately by unsuspecting contacts is passed to
PM’s Office. PMO even writes stories for her to run.
Post
chief of Staff Isaac Nicholas is another corrupt journalist, an expert exponent
of the “lunch money” brand of bribe-taking.
While he
was covering politics last year he became famous during parliamentary sitting
weeks for fronting up to PM’s Office and asking for “lunch money” for his
colleagues.
Hundreds
of kina changes hands, usually through chief of Staff Isaac Lupari. A few kina
goes towards lunch for himself and other reporters, the rest stays in his
pocket.
Nicholas,
along with other Post editorial staff such as editor Todagia Kelola, is another
regular visitor to Paddy’s Bar where they also get special treatment.
Other
journalists have revealed that former Post chief of staffs and chief
sub-editors have been bribed for favourable coverage by lawyers representing
the Prime Minister. The lawyer in question has confirmed this in email and txt
exchanges leaked to PNG Blogs
Stories
that are not on the Posts’s daily news list mysteriously appear in the next
day’s newspaper, and letters get replaced.
One
former senior reporter told PNG Blogs about mysterious night-time visits to the
Post offices by twin-cabs and Troopies with tinted windows, and meetings
between the occupants and PC editorial staff, where cash would change hands.
It is
widely known amongst politicians and their cronies that the Post Letters pages
are available to the highest bidder. K50 will get you the lead letter.
Another
source recently told PNG Blogs of a PC journo, and others, lining up at Dream
Inn recently to receive cartons of beer for favourable coverage from yet
another MP following the passing of the Manam Island Resettlement Bill.
It is
easy to see why students and others, including prominent Opposition MPs such as
Gary Juffa and Sam Basil and many members of the public, do not trust the
media.
The O’Neill
Regime has a vast media machine, consisting of people in his own office,
foreign consultants, Facebook trolls, staff in the Department and Ministry of
Communications, the government newspaper and many others hidden away in
Government departments, State Enterprises and semi-government authorities.
O’Neill’s
Spin King is Daniel Korimbao, who works closely with Isaac Lupari and together
launder their money in Australia (the Cairns Casino) and other lax
jurisdictions such as Fiji.
Korimbao,
formerly a corrupt journalist and editor at the National, was a major player in
the Paraka scandal over which the Prime Minister has been charged.
The
incriminating letter was signed by the Prime Minister himself on or about the
24th of January 2012 at the Airways hotel.
The
letter was co-authored by Korimbao, Minister Ben Micah and Paul Paraka, and
taken to Airways about 2.00pm for signing by the PM.
Also
present were Jimmy Maladina, O’Neill’s main partner in crime, Chris
Haiveta, former corrupt politician and new political fixer, and Sir Theo
Constantinou, O’Neill crony and owner of the Airways.
Haiveta
has claimed privately that he opposed the signing of the letter, knowing the
risks it posed for the PM, and later attempted to retrieve all copies.
Many
people, including Korimbao, received large cash and in-kind payments from
Paraka both directly and indirectly. Korimbao’s present was a house in Fiji.
Another
major player is Chris Hawkins, formerly in charge of media for the corrupt
Skate Regime.
Hawkins
has been paid millions of kina out of the public purse to provide media
communications strategy and advice to the O’Neill Regime.
Now
Hawkins has been put in charge of the APEC event in 2018, where he will have
approximately K3 billion of public funds at his disposal.
More
prominent in O’Neill’s media mix are his so-called Facebook Floozie Doozies,
Susan Merrell, Tiffany Twivey, Cath Porter and Sonja Barry Ramoi.
These
media prostitutes get paid handsomely to do their dirty work - sometimes by
cash in the hand, sometimes through crooked contracts, sometimes through
payment in kind, and sometimes through third parties.
As with
Hawkins, all of the many millions they have been paid is taxpayers’ funds.
Merrell
and Ramoi do most of O’Neill’s dirty work on social media, assisted by Twivey
and Porter.
Twivey
is one of O’Neill’s leading lawyers and has recently been charged with
perverting the course of justice, and further charges are likely.
Others
involved on the sidelines of O’Neill’s media and communications network include
Nii Cragnolini and Michele Monsour, who assist with corporate relationships,
and engage in fund-raising, money-laundering and other behind-the-scenes
activities.
Other
O’Neill business cronies wine and dine journalists and media executives and
provide them with free trips and accommodation and other payments in kind.
It can
be seen from this that the O’Neill Regime exercises effective control over the
media in many diverse ways, direct and indirect.
The
media is a pillar of a strong free and fair society, yet it receives neither
support for its independence and integrity nor constructive criticism of its
obvious failings.
Professional
and ethical journalists are fighting an uneven battle against well-financed and
powerful interests promoting corruption, against political interference and
against intimidation (including physical assaults on the media).
They get
little to no support from institutions that could help them defend themselves
such as Transparency International and the Community Coalition Against
Corruption. The Media Council, even now that it is not corrupt, is a toothless
tiger as well.
It
should not surprise anyone that students are burning piles of daily newspapers
at UPNG and elsewhere.
Nor
should it be surprising that they should discuss banning the National, the Post
and EMTV from their campus, and call on the international media instead as
their last big hope.
The
media has failed society, and society has failed the media.