Foreign Aid in Pacific Media Education

Abstract

Since New Zealand development assistance helped establish the South Pacific’s first journalism school at the University of Papua New Guinea in 1975, many international aid agencies have contributed to media training and education in the region. Among the donors in a competitive environment, have been AusAID, Commonwealth Fund for Technical Cooperation (CFTC), Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES), Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ), International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), NZAid, UNESCO and the World Association of Christian Communication (WACC). Since the late 1990s, the influence of AusAID has become dominant in the region through the establishment of multimillion dollar media and governance aid projects that have included the Pacific Media Initiative (PMI), Pacific Media and Communication Facility (PMCF) and Media in Development Initiative (MID). Many United Nations agencies and non-government organisations have established media training in the region. “Chequebook diplomacy” rivalry between China and Taiwan has also impacted on the media. The trend has major implications for the Pacific media and governance in the 21st century. This paper examines the politics of aid in an abridged three-decade history of Pacific journalism education and training, considers the impact on Divine Word University, University of Papua New Guinea and the University of the South Pacific journalism schools and reflects on the efficacy of international aid policies on media development in Oceania in the digital age.