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2007 Assessment

Papua New Guinea: Integrity Indicators Scorecard

Papua New Guinea (NEW): Integrity Scorecard Report > Sub-Category: Media
Indicators		Score
5	Are media and free speech protected?	100
6	Are citizens able to form print media entities?	94
7	Are citizens able to form broadcast (radio and TV) media entities?	81
8	Can citizens freely use the Internet?	100
9	Are the media able to report on corruption?	83
10	Are the media credible sources of information?	65
11	Are journalists safe when investigating corruption?	100

Indicator and sub-Indicator Details

Are media and free speech protected?

5a: In law, freedom of the media is guaranteed.

Score:

YES

Comments: It is guaranteed by the Constitution, except to the extent that the exercise of that right is regulated or restricted by a law.

References: Constitution, Section 46.

5b: In law, freedom of speech is guaranteed.

Score:

YES

Comments: It is guaranteed by the Constitution. It is a democratic right for every citizen and according to the constitution freedom of speech is a basic right.

References: Constitution, Section 46.

Are citizens able to form print media entities?

6a: In practice, the government does not create barriers to form a print media entity.

Score:

100

Comments: The government does not impose any barriers. However these days foreign media who want to cover PNG news can only come in now with permission from the Prime Minister's media office run by the PM's immediate relative. Approval is often denied or left pending for a long time.

References: www.theage.com.au/news/World/PNG; [ LINK ]

6b: In law, where a print media license is necessary, there is an appeal mechanism if a license is denied or revoked.

Score:

YES

Comments: Media organizations do not need licenses. They simply have to register their business name with the Investment Promotion Authority and operate.

Yes, mechanisms are in place for appeal like any other businesses.

References: Investment Promotion Authority Act 1992

6c: In practice, where necessary, citizens can obtain a print media license within a reasonable time period.

Score:

100

Comments: As mentioned one does not need a license. Registering with IPA to obtain the business certificate can take between a day to more than a week depending on the workload, but as long as the requirements are met the certificate is issued.

References: media reports

Peer Review Comments: This is Not Relevant in PNG's case as there is no separate category for media licensing. The time taken to incorporate companies which intent to undertake media business ventures is relatively quick.

6d: In practice, where necessary, citizens can obtain a print media license at a reasonable cost.

Score:

100

Comments: The following are the costs (in PNG Kina) for the various certificates: Business Name = K50.00 (US$18) Business Group = K100.00 (US$36) Company Name = K260.00 (US$93) Apparently these costs are considered very low. Among other reasons, once registered, company names only belong to the person registering it. Once having established a reputation, company names also bring a lot of money. Moreover, considering the fact that people who register names have sufficient money to start business, one can confidently say that this is well below reasonable cost.

References: Mr. Timil Tape, Senior Enforcement Lawyer - Investment Promotion Authority of PNG

Peer Review Comments: These costs relate to company incorporation's which cover media concerns.

Are citizens able to form broadcast (radio and TV) media entities?

7a: In practice, the government does not create barriers to form a broadcast (radio and TV) media entity.

Score:

100

Comments: The government does create barriers to new broadcast media entities but not existing entities. The National Policy on Information and Communication encourages local participation and major shareholding of broadcast services by Papua New Guineans.

References: National Policy on Information and Communication of PNG

7b: In law, where a broadcast (radio and TV) media license is necessary, there is an appeal mechanism if a license is denied or revoked.

Score:

YES

Comments: Breaches of the Telecommunications Act and the Radio Spectrum Act and the Radio Regulations can lead to denial or revocation of a license. Firstly, PANGTEL will not process any new application for licensing if it is incomplete and does not satisfy or meet technical and project requirements. Secondly, for existing licenses, if there is a breach PANGTEL will give them written notices 30 days prior to varying or cancellation of the license. A license holder, on whom a notice is served, must within 30 days of the date of service of the notice, make representations to PANGTEL as to why the license should not be varied or canceled and PANGTEL will then consider any such representations before making a final decision as to whether or not to vary or cancel the license

References: Radio Spectrum Act 1996, Part IIA

Peer Review Comments: Apart from the statutory appeal bodies and companies mentioned by the researcher, PNG has a functioning common law legal system (at least in the higher courts) and appeals can also be taken to the courts if appeals through regulatory bodies are unsatisfactory.

7c: In practice, where necessary, citizens can obtain a broadcast (radio and TV) media license within a reasonable time period.

Score:

100

Comments: Yes but they (potential companies) will have to meet prerequisite requirements including technical and registration requirements for the service license and spectrum license for them to pick it up within a reasonable time period.

References: media reports

7d: In practice, where necessary, citizens can obtain a broadcast (radio and TV) media license at a reasonable cost.

Score:

100

Comments: The cost of the spectrum license ranges, depending on the type of service (whether it is TV, FM, AM etc) per annum and the service license is a percentage of the gross revenue. The service license fee is applicable only to services that are commercial or deemed commercial.

References: media reports

Can citizens freely use the Internet?

8a: In practice, the government does not prevent citizens from accessing content published online.

Score:

100

Comments: It is illegal to access illicit publications on line, anything that is deemed illegal under the laws of the country (e.g. pornography).

References: media reports

8b: In practice, the government does not censor citizens creating content online.

Score:

100

Comments: As long as the content is not illegal.

References: media reports

Peer Review Comments: Only pornography would be considered illegal content. Where a court orders name suppression (or suppresses the publication of other details during a hearing) in a trial, this too would not be able to be legally released by creating it as online content.

Are the media able to report on corruption?

9a: In law, it is legal to report accurate news even if it damages the reputation of a public figure.

Score:

YES

Comments: While there are no specific media laws, the threat of defamation suits acts as a deterrent to media reporting inaccurately. Moreover, it is the code of ethics for journalists to report accurately balanced stories and news etc without fear or favour. The media through the PNG Media Council have always resisted suggestions by government to impose controls (which they do at times).

References: media reports

9b: In practice, the government or media owners/distribution groups do not encourage self-censorship of corruption-related stories.

Score:

100

Comments: Information on corruption are public information, hence for public consumption. However sometimes self-censorship does occur and government criticizes articles or commentaries and threatens injunctions with some media organizations to protect their own interest. For instance comparing the two major dailies, the Post Courier shows a lot more enthusiasm in extensively covering corruption and illegal practices in the forestry sector (logging) while The National doesn't. The former has declared war against corruption and plays a crucial role in the fight against it.

References: Mr. Pearson Kolo, Journalist - Post Courier; Mr. Paul Barker, Director Institute of National Affairs

9c: In practice, there is no prior government restraint (pre-publication censoring) on publishing corruption-related stories.

Score:

100

Comments: That would be against the public's right to have access to information. However it does sometimes happen through court orders, usually restraining release of a report/inquiry. E.g. PNG's PM Sir Michael Somare's attempts to quash the findings of an inquiry into the escape of Australian fugitive lawyer Julian Moti, to the Solomon Island in a PNG military plane last year breaching all relevant laws, and his subsequent refusal to make the final findings public. Also foreign press (e.g. Rowan Callick, Financial Review Weekly of Australia) are often prevented from entering the country to cover stories usually by delay to issuing permits/visas etc by the PM's own media director who happens to be an immediate relative).

References: media reports

Peer Review Comments: It is standard practice in common law jurisdictions such as PNG for courts to restrict release or public access to reports or commissions of inquiry.

Are the media credible sources of information?

10a: In law, print media companies are required to disclose their ownership.

Score:

YES

Comments: It is not a requirement by law in PNG. However it is never confidential, though all companies must provide annual returns to the companies office (Investment Promotion Authority).

References: Investment Promotion Authority Act 1992

10b: In law, broadcast (radio and TV) media companies are required to disclose their ownership.

Score:

YES

Comments: As determined by the National Policy on Information and Communication in terms of ownership, they are required to disclose their ownership.

References: National Policy on Information and Communication

10c: In practice, journalists and editors adhere to strict, professional practices in their reporting.

Score:

100

Comments: They have their code of ethics to adhere to and Media Council have an investigation or enforcement unit (though it has been meddled for a while)

References: media reports

10d: In practice, during the most recent election, political parties or independent candidates received fair media coverage.

Score:

100

Comments: As long as they were involved in news worthy activities and programmes, they were covered. Infact there was substantial coverage, but much of the coverage on the National Broadcasting Commission (government owned radio station) was on the Prime Minister's party.

References: media reports

10e: In practice, political parties and candidates have equitable access to state-owned media outlets.

Score:

100

Comments: Parties and candidates had reasonable access to all media organizations though on some channels,e.g. on the state-owned national radio station (NBC), there was much coverage on the PM and his party with TV crews from the only TV station travelling with him.

References: media reports

Are journalists safe when investigating corruption?

11a: In practice, in the past year, no journalists investigating corruption have been imprisoned.

Score:

YES

$Scoring Criteria :: YES: A YES score is earned if there were no journalists imprisoned related to work covering corruption during the study period. A YES score is positive. NO: A NO score is earned if any journalist was jailed because of his/her work covering corruption during the study period. The causal relationship between the official charges and the journalist\'s work may not be explicit, however the burden of proof here is low. If it seems likely that the journalist was imprisoned due to his or her work, then the indicator is scored as a NO. Corruption is defined broadly to include any abuses of power, not just the passing of bribes.$

Comments: None have been imprisoned as yet in the country.

References: media reports

11b: In practice, in the past year, no journalists investigating corruption have been physically harmed.

Score:

YES

Comments: No one has been harmed as yet. But there have been numerous phone threats to journalists. Recently a journalist had to hide in a gutter when a mob came to her house. The reporter had to be relocated to another province after receiving serious threats over stories she wrote about the Taiwan dollar diplomacy saga.

References: media reports

Peer Review Comments: The question that has to be asked is - does intimation which causes changed physical behavior ("hiding in the gutter") constitute a form of "physical harm"?

11c: In practice, in the past year, no journalists investigating corruption have been killed.

Score:

YES

$Scoring Criteria :: YES: A YES score is earned if there were no documented cases of journalists being killed because of their work covering corruption-related issues during the study period. A YES score is positive. NO: A NO score is earned if there were any documented cases where a journalist was killed in relation to his or her work covering corruption-related issues in the study period. The relationship between a mysterious death and an individual\'s work may not be clear, however the burden of proof here is low. If it is a reasonable guess that a person was killed in relation to his or her work on corruption issues, then the indicator is scored as a NO. Corruption is defined broadly to include any abuses of power, not just the passing of bribes.$

Comments: No journalists have been killed as yet.

References: media reports

Peer Review Comments: