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The official site of the Journalism Education Association of New Zealand (Jeanz)
Cavanagh joins Auckland conference line-up More than 80 delegates from across Australasia and the Pacific/Asia region are expected to attend the joint conference. Interest has also been shown from the northern hemisphere, including the US and Pakistan. Convener Allison Oosterman (AUT University) is thrilled with the way the conference is shaping up. “The variety of speakers and papers is most encouraging. It’s obvious, in this fast-changing media landscape, that the theme of the conference has caught people’s imagination. “There’s even a book on the conference theme being launched on the second day.” Organisers are urging would-be delegates not to leave it too late to register or find accommodation. “It’s at the start of summer and we’d hate for people to miss out,” said Allison. “We’ve kept the costs as low as possible. It’s a really affordable international conference.” The conference is sponsored by AUT University’s School of Communications Studies, TVNZ, Sunday Star-Times, New Zealand Herald, National Business Review, Printsprint, the University of Canterbury and the JTO. GT/AL Further details: JEANZ/JEA Conference website Conference grants go to PhD candidate and Solomon Is journo Yevgenia's paper will present a tool for news-texts assessment, which focuses on the quality of reporters' news articles. The tool is essentially a set of descriptions of more than 20 criteria, from importance and accuracy to attribution of sources. Descriptions are arranged in rubrics from un-publishable to outstanding. The criteria are arranged in dimensions, including newsworthiness, factual quality and structure. Yevgenia is a Candidate of Science in pedagogy (a first-level postgraduate degree in Russia) and has also studied journalism at City University in London. As Yevgenia Borisova she was a staff reporter with The Moscow Times and The St Petersburg Times from July 1993 to October 2004, where she wrote on a variety of topics, including economics, business, politics, the military, election fraud, corruption, weapons of mass destruction and human interest issues. The first-time presenter is funded by Jeanz and the JEA, and is available for a new researcher in New Zealand to present a paper at the JEA conference. Meanwhile, Robert Iroga has won this year’s Maori/Pacific Island scholarship to attend the conference. He will present a paper on "The media’s contribution to peace in post-conflict Solomon Islands”. Robert is a senior journalist with the Solomon Star specialising in political reporting. He was heavily involved in covering the ethnic conflict in the Solomon Islands. He did his journalism training at the Thomson Foundation in Wales and Manukau Institute of Technology, and is currently studying at the Divine Word University in Papua New Guinea. The grant provides $600 and its aim is to promote academic research among Maori and Pacific Island students. In 2004 this award went to Masters student Christine Gounder and in 2005 to Kennedee Jeffs. The scholarship is funded by Waiariki Institute of Technology and the Dept of Communication and Journalism at Massey University. GH/RT/AL Waiariki programme moves into new school The School of Te Pakaro A Ihenga, where the programme sat previously, has been absorbed into a bigger area and journalism elected to identify with computing and technology. The main reason for this was so students could draw on the staff and resources available in that area as well. There is to be a strong bicultural focus through the entire institution so the Waiariki programme will not lose any of that focus or its point of difference. AS/AL (Pic: Waiariki students at a JTO hui on media law and ethics). AS/AL Three journalism education jobs on offer AUT journalist runs media freedom course in Vanuatu The book’s original foreword was written by the country’s founding prime minister Walter Lini, an elder brother who declared Vanuatu nuclear-free. He hosted the Rainbow Warrior crew and journalists a week before the Greenpeace ship was bombed in Auckland harbour on 10 July 1985. Dr Robie ran a two-day workshop in Port Vila in August on Pacific political reporting and ethics and freedom of information for local journalists and media managers. Organised by the anti-corruption agency Transparency International Vanuatu with NZ aid, the workshop also included a public forum where media representatives, politicians, bureaucrats and civil society groups discussed freedom of information. The agency is promoting a campaign to introduce a draft Freedom of Information Bill but has faced resistance from some politicians and chiefs. TIV president Marie-Noelle Ferrieux-Patterson, Vanuatu’s former Ombudsman, says the workshop helped strengthen the local Media Association Blong Vanuatu (MAV). “The training has served as a cornerstone for the MAV to be able to take positive steps now in addressing issues and challenges that affect the Vanuatu media industry,” she says. MAV president Moses Stevens says the course was successful and his organisation is working closely with TIV to continue training. The Vanuatu Institute of Technology plans to introduce a journalism course next year to complement the regional programme at the University of the South Pacific. DR/AL. Vanuatu Daily Post: issue 1791 issue 1794 PJR focuses on media anti-terror laws “Australia has clearly taken a strong anti-terrorism position, reflecting its partnership with the United States and the United Kingdom in the so-called ‘coalition of the willing’ invasion of Iraq,” write Bond University media law Professor Mark Pearson and researcher Naomi Busst.
According to the authors, “journalists have faced real and potential impositions, including restrictions on their reportage of some terrorism operations, new surveillance and interception powers jeopardising the confidentiality of journalists’ sources, and a reinvigoration of ancient sedition laws”. The New Zealand approach, say the authors, appears to be more moderate. However, legislation since 2001 has increased the potential of NZ law enforcement agencies to compromise journalists’ sources via tracking devices and computer access. Pearson and Busst add that the 2006 jailing of a pamphleteer under the ancient law of sedition indicates “the New Zealand legislators may feel pre-9/11 laws suit their post-9/11 needs”. Pacific countries have failed to implement the bare minimum anti-terrorism initiatives expected by the United Nations conventions to which they are signatories. The anti-terrorism laws article is among a series of research papers about “eco-journalism and security” published in a special edition of PJR, including an article exposing the “privatisation” of Fijian military personnel seeking contracts in Iraq. Editor Dr David Robie, of AUT University, says the edition highlights how the democratic foundation stone of press freedom in the region is being eroded. DR/AL www.pjreview.info Draft rules for Jeanz incorporation “The next stage is for Jeanz to draw up a set of rules that cover its operations, including all relevant matters under the Incorporated Societies Act,” Hannis says. The Act requires that the following are included in a society’s rules:
Beyond these legal requirements, Jeanz is free to establish whatever rules for itself it sees fit.“ Members can make their comments on the draft rules at this year’s annual general meeting, which will be held as part of the Jeanz/JEA conference in Auckland,” Hannis says. If a member can't attend the meeting, he/she can email comments to Hannis (g.d.hannis@massey.ac.nz) and he will table them at the AGM. At least 16 members must be at the AGM for the vote to be valid. “Hopefully, the rules can be finalised at this year’s annual general meeting, in which case I will then ask the membership to vote in favour of incorporation,” Hannis says. GH/AL
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He joins UK professor Roy Greenslade (print stream) and Maori TV’s head of news Te Anga Nathan (television) as the conference’s main drawcards. Each speaker will be followed by a panel discussion on the future of their particular medium. These morning sessions will also be open to the public.
The journalism programme at Waiariki has moved into a new school following a restructure by the new CEO, Pim Borren.
AUT University’s David Robie presents a copy of the memorial edition of his book Eyes of Fire on the Rainbow Warrior bombing to Vanuatu Prime Minister Ham Lini at the opening of a media training course in Vanuatu. 
The authors also cite the terrorist bombings in the tourist hub of Bali in 2002 and 2005 as major factors in the tough Australian laws. Australia’s “spate of legislation since 2001 has made it a model jurisdiction for the tightening of the powers of enforcement and security agencies in the battle against terrorism, but in the process it has drawn strong criticism from civil rights groups and media organisations for compromising the basic freedoms of its citizens and the press”.