Pacific Journalism Review: Twenty years on the front line of regional identity and freedom

Abstract

Pacific Journalism Review has consistently, at a good standard, honoured its 1994 founding goal: to be a credible peer-reviewed journal in the Asia-Pacific region, probing developments in journalism and media, and supporting journalism education. Global, it considers new media and social movements; 'regional', it promotes vernacular media, human freedoms and sustainable development. Asking how it developed, the method for this article was to research the archive, noting authors, subject matter, themes. The article concludes that one answer is the journal's collegiate approach; hundreds of academics, journalists and others, have been invited to contribute. Second has been the dedication of its one principal editor, Professor David Robie, always, somehow providing resources-at Port Moresby, Suva, and now Auckland-with a consistent editorial stance. Eclectic, not partisan, it has nevertheless been vigilant over rights, such as. monitoring the Fiji coups d'etat. Watching through a media lens, it follows a 'Pacific way', handling hard information through understanding and consensus. It has 237 subscriptions indexed to seven databases. Open source, it receives more than 1000 site visits weekly. With 'clientele' mostly in Australia, New Zealand and 'Oceania', it extends much further afield. From 1994 to 2014, 701 articles and reviews were published, now more than 24 scholarly articles each year.

EDITORIAL: Under the pandemic siege

“…PJR has been, he added, dedicated to Adopting its own 'Pacific' style of discourse and inquiry, [f]or 20 years it has been focused on Pacific issues, for and by people and institutions of the region-while always open to linkages and inputs from major global centres. (Duffield, 2015).…”

Editorial: Two decades of critical inquiry

“…Two testaments to the contribution of PJR to scholarly journalism studies are published in this edition with Walter Fraser, head of AUT's Office of Pacific Advancement, saying the journal has 'positioned itself as a quality publication … where those committed to the development and advancement of the Pacific island region can find a platform to debate Pacific media issues' and Lee Duffield who has prepared a comprehensive and rigorous analysis of two decades of research and publication (Duffield, 2015). As Fraser notes:…”

Editorial: An investigative legacy

“…While the ACIJ has now passed into history, the Pacific Media Centre, Pacific Journalism Review and the activities they support in the Pacific and Australia, as well as New Zealand, go from strength to strength (Duffield, 2015). And in both countries it is important that the sense of crisis in the journalism profession and the threat of increasing concentration of mainstream media ownership does not overwhelm the many worthwhile initiatives and projects that continue to be undertaken.…”