 | This article needs to be updated.(August 2020) |
The Republic of Vanuatu is an officially trilingual state in the western Pacific, the three national languages being English, French and Bislama. There is a diversity of newspapers, but only one, state-owned television channel. Private radio stations are a recent development; there were reportedly none in 2007. [1]
Freedom House in 2007 categorised Vanuatu's media as "free", noting however that "journalists have been censored or intimidated" by members of the police in isolated incidents, leading to apologies by the Police Commissioner. [1]
In 2001, Marc Neil-Jones, British-born publisher of the Vanuatu Daily Post , "was unlawfully deported from Vanuatu before being able to publish an article critical of the government". His deportation was subsequently overturned. [2] In June 2011, Harry Iauko was convicted of aiding and abetting damage to property and aiding and abetting intentional assault, for having led a group of men into the offices of the Daily Post, where they assaulted Neil-Jones for the newspaper's criticism of Iauko, who was at the time Minister for Infrastructure and Public Utilities. Iauko was fined Vt15,000. [3] Reporters Without Borders denounced the fine as "risible", saying it was "not commensurate with the gravity of the crime", and that such a small fine for an assault on a journalist risked pushing other journalists to censor themselves rather than criticise politicians. [4]
The Commonwealth of Nations reports in 2013 that "Vanuatu is widely-considered by independent observers as a country with an unfettered freedom of press". [5] [6]
The Vanuatu Weekly is a state-owned paper published in all three national languages. [5] [6] The two main daily newspapers are both private: the Port Vila Presse (in French and in English), and the Vanuatu Daily Post (in English). [5] The Daily Post has a sister weekly newspaper in French, L'Hebdo du Vanuatu . [6] The Vanuatu Independent, Nasara and the Ni-Vanuatu are all private weekly papers. [5]
The state-owned Radio Vanuatu is operated by the Vanuatu Broadcasting and Television Corporation. [6] Its origins lie in the colonial era, prior to the country's independence from France and the United Kingdom in 1980. During the colonial period it began as Radio Vila, then Radio New Hebrides, initially broadcasting only ten minutes a day. As of 2013, it broadcasts "16 hours of news, information programs, music and entertainment". [7] The station "has achieved almost nationwide coverage", and, as of 2000, used Bislama "approximately 80 percent of the time". [8]
Private radio stations are Capital FM 107, 96Buzz FM, and the Christian station Laef FM. [6] [7]
Also available are foreign radio broadcasts tailored for an international audience: BBC World Service, Radio France Internationale, Radio Australia, and China Radio International. [6]
1NOMO TV Channel Is a project of Telsat Pacific, a locally owned and operated company. 1NOMO prizes itself as being a family friendly, free-to-air and high quality content that all peoples, local or expat, can enjoy. 1NOMO broadcasts local content and international content and the languages broadcast are predominantly Bislama and English. At the same time as supporting the local producers in Vanuatu by seeking sponsorship funding for them.
Television Blong Vanuatu (Bislama for "Television of Vanuatu"), is operated by the state's Vanuatu Broadcasting and Television Corporation (Government owned). "Established with the help of Radio France Overseas", it broadcasts both in French and in English. [5] As of 2010, it reached only about 20% of the population, and 80% of its content was borrowed from the New Caledonian channel Nouvelle-Calédonie 1re. France provided assistance to extend its coverage to a greater part of the country. [9]
KAM TV (Komuniti Akses Media) is the second TV channel locally produced in Vanuatu by Marke Lowen. It broadcasts 24x7 and the programming consists of approx 95% local content. KAM is operated as a free Open public channel promoting local cultural knowledge and education under a 'not for profit' structure. It is broadcast FTA as Channel 1 on Telsat Pacific's UHF DVB-T2 digital TV system. (www.telsat.vu)
The mass media in Poland consist of several different types of communications media including television, radio, cinema, newspapers, magazines, and Internet.
The telecommunication systems in Vanuatu provides voice and data services to the island nation.
The media of Canada is highly autonomous, uncensored, diverse, and very regionalized. Canada has a well-developed media sector, but its cultural output—particularly in English films, television shows, and magazines—is often overshadowed by imports from the United States. As a result, the preservation of a distinctly Canadian culture is supported by federal government programs, laws, and institutions such as the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), the National Film Board of Canada (NFB), and the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC).
Religious broadcasting, sometimes referred to as faith-based broadcasts, is the dissemination of television and/or radio content that intentionally has religious ideas, religious experience, or religious practice as its core focus. In some countries, religious broadcasting developed primarily within the context of public service provision, whilst in others, it has been driven more by religious organisations themselves. Across Europe and in the US and Canada, religious broadcasting began in the earliest days of radio, usually with the transmission of religious worship, preaching or "talks". Over time, formats evolved to include a broad range of styles and approaches, including radio and television drama, documentary, and chat show formats, as well as more traditional devotional content. Today, many religious organizations record sermons and lectures, and have moved into distributing content on their own web-based IP channels.
The mass media in South Africa has a large mass media sector and is one of Africa's major media centres. While South Africa's many broadcasters and publications reflect the diversity of the population as a whole, the most commonly used language is English. However, all ten other official languages are represented to some extent or another. Afrikaans is the second most commonly used language, especially in the publishing sector.
Mass media in Nepal include radios, televisions, newspapers and the online services.
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Media in Cambodia is largely unregulated and includes radio, television and print media outlets. Private sector companies have moved into the media sector, which represents a change from years of state-run broadcasting and publishing.
The mass media in Indonesia consist of several different types of communications media: television, radio, cinema, newspapers, magazines, and Internet-based websites.
Mass media in Sierra Leone began when the first modern printing press in Africa arrived at the start of the 19th century. In the 1860s the country became a journalist hub for Africa with professional travelling to the country from across the continent. At the end of the 19th century the industry went into decline and when radio was introduced in the 1930s this became the primary communication media. Print media is not widely read in Sierra Leone, especially outside Freetown, partially due to the low levels of literacy in the country. In 2008 there were 15 daily newspapers in addition to those published weekly. Among newspaper readership young people are likely to read newspapers weekly and older people daily. The majority of newspapers are privately run and are often critical of the government.
Television, magazines, and newspapers have all been operated by both state-owned and for-profit corporations which depend on advertising, subscription, and other sales-related revenues. Even though the Constitution of Russia guarantees freedom of speech, the press has been plagued by both government censorship and self-censorship.
Mass media in Kenya includes more than 91 FM stations, more than 64 free to view TV stations, and an unconfirmed number of print newspapers and magazines. Publications mainly use English as their primary language of communication, with some media houses employing Swahili. Vernacular or community-based languages are commonly used in broadcast media; mostly radio.
Mass media in the United Arab Emirates is subject to government control and censorship. Media freedom is severely curtailed in the UAE. Most UAE media is owned by the government or by groups that have ties to the government. UAE law permits the government to censor content critical of the government. Journalists and writers who criticize the government are subject to repression.
Television Blong Vanuatu (TBV) is a digital service that is now a joint business venture between BTC and Guilin CEKE Communication Equipment Co Ltd, a Chinese private company that is specialized in digital television. Their studios and offices are located in Port Vila.
Mass media in the Democratic Republic of the Congo are nationally and internationally state-owned and operated.
The Cabinet of Vanuatu is the cabinet of the government of the Republic of Vanuatu.
Harry Iaris Iauko was a Ni-Vanuatu politician. He was a Member of Parliament for Tanna, representing the Vanua'aku Pati, from 2008 until his death.
The mass media in South Sudan is underdeveloped compared to many other countries, including fellow East African states like Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda. Poor transportation infrastructure and entrenched poverty in the country inhibit both the circulation of newspapers, particularly in states located far from the capital of Juba, and the ability of media outlets to maintain regular coverage of the entire country.
A by-election was held in the Tanna constituency in Vanuatu on 27 May 2013. It followed the death of incumbent MP Harry Iauko, who was also the Minister for Infrastructure, Public Utilities and Public Service.
Marc Neil-Jones, born 14 October 1957, is a Vanuatuan journalist. A campaigner for freedom of the press, he has been assaulted several times, as well as briefly deported and imprisoned. Radio New Zealand has described him as "one of the Pacific's most significant journalistic figures".
