MCPNG National Press Club - 'The Future of PNG Media: Standards and Accountability'

Good Afternoon Ladies and Gentlemen,

Thank you for giving us some of your busy day today.

Today I will be presenting to you our Media Council of Papua New Guinea Code of Ethics and Professional Practice 2024.

You may have been asking the question why this Code is so important to warrant a National Press Club event to discuss it?

To answer this question, we have to look back at the past three or five years. During this time, the media in PNG has been in the crosshairs of readers, viewers and audiences from around the country. Our national leaders led the charge, and while there was merit in one or two of their views on the kind of rights the media has, the responsibility that is expected of it while it does its work.

With all of this conversation, came the call for the media to be answerable to some level for their actions, and the official line has been: to develop and grow the media sector, while using its influence to help develop the country.

Coupled with this, have been the questions of 'who is qualified to work in the media sector', even to suggest that its persons who aren't trained and qualified journalists who are responsible for what has been perceived and thrown around so freely, as a drop in journalism standard; or 'there is no investigative journalism being practiced'.

Throughout all this rhetoric against the media, there has been no mention, or acknowledgement, that our education system has been broken for some time, and for years, the media training institutions have had to deal with lower-than-average school intakes from secondary and national schools of excellence.

Never has it been mentioned anywhere, that Papua New Guineans, everyday people like you and I, continually push ethical and common-sense boundaries every time they get immersed in social media sites which are 'unregulated' and have no national guidelines to follow.

And of course, there are the misconceptions of how the media works. Our 'bigman' mentality tells many of us that it is wrong to report on issues in the public domain such as the Court system, or yes, even on social media, if it involves someone of prominence.

And…there is the misconception by everyone who consumes media, that ALL ethical and moral considerations around news and information presented for public consumption is the sole responsibility of the Media.

Let's start with this last perception. Many Papua New Guineans feel entitled enough to criticize the media about every little mistake it makes, as compared to how many times the media gets it right. And yet, many of them who criticize the media, are quick to share news and information on social media, without doing any form of fact-checking at all before sharing.

I point all of this out here, to illustrate the point that the media has very stringent systems of information vetting and management before anything is released to the public.

These important newsroom information vetting systems are crucial because they protect against libel, defamation, misinformation, disinformation, and malinformation.

These systems operate according to guidelines set by their own organisations, and the Media Council Code of Ethics and Professional Practice.

The Code is now the closest thing to what we can refer to as a standard for practicing journalism in Papua New Guinea. It is a set of guidelines that not only apply to media, but can also be used as guidelines for producing news and information on social media.

So to journalists and editors, learn, understand, and live by this code. You can find solutions to many challenges you may be facing in your newsrooms every day.

To former journalists now operating in Public Relation spaces, get involved. You are also covered by this code. Repeating the lines of 'There is a drop in standard' without explaining your perspective is no longer a good look. And it's disrespectful of the work that the Media Council has accomplished to date.

To all those who deal and engage with the media on a regular basis not all PNG journalists expect to be wined and dined at every news job we attend. We appreciate some form of refreshment to keep our media personnel energized while covering your news event, but do not give cash to journalists. It speaks to the level of integrity you have as a Papua New Guinean.

And to every PNG Journalist, cameraman, photographer, graphic artist or every media worker operating in the PNG News and Information media space, this Code will help you navigate bad habits and expectations that do not align with our profession.

And to every PNG citizen out there. If you see a media worker doing something that breaches the MCPNG Code of Ethics and Professional Practice, name and shame them. 

If there is any journalist, sub-editor, video editor, or even News Manager who breaches anything in the MCPNG Code of Ethics, please make this information known to the Editors of our mainstream media organizations.

Yours In Media.