Your favourite daily is No 1 - by a long way

THE National has again surpassed the 30,000 copies mark in the first quarter of the year and, in doing so, distanced itself further from the other daily newspaper, Post-Courier.

According to the internationally-recognised Audit Bureau of Circulation (ABC), which audits both newspapers, the circulation of The National during the January-March period of this year averaged 30,439 copies, while the Post-Courier was about 30% less at 21,352 (9,087 fewer).

In the previous quarter, The National’s average circulation was 27,765, compared to the Post-Courier’s 20,636 (7,129 copies or 25.6% less).

The ABC report, released two weeks ago, confirms that The National not only remains the number one selling newspaper in PNG for the past year and a half, but is likely to grow further.

For the January-March period of 2008, The National averaged 26,450 copies.

In the second and third quarters, it increased to 28,167 and 30,053 respectively.

In the last quarter, circulation went down to 27,765 as expected due to the holiday season before increasing to more than 30,000 in the first three months of this year.

The Post-Courier fared differently.

From 25,799 copies for the first quarter of last year, Post-Courier dropped to 24,140 (second quarter), 23,139 (third quarter), 20,636 (fourth quarter) before finally picking up about 700 copies in the first quarter of this year.

Meanwhile, after some initial delays, work on a new building to house a bigger printing press at The National’s headquarters in Port Moresby is progressing smoothly.

The new press will provide for a bigger print run with more colour pages to meet the newspaper’s growing circulation and demand of advertisers.

A similar press will also be installed in the company’s second printing plant in Lae, which caters mainly for the northern region.

Both presses are expected to be in operation in a few months’ time.

The National will also be setting up at least two new offices this year and expanding others to improve coverage.

Recently, veteran journalist Oseah Philemon was recruited for the Lae regional office to head editorial operations in the northern region.

Round 3 pictures

Round 3 pictures from last Saturday, May 23.
Results and ladder to come as soon as they are made available.

Malum

7 to 8 DIGIT NUMBERS FOR MOBILE PHONE NUMBERS (Please click to enlarge)

 

Some pictures just do not need captions!

Something to put a smile on your face this Monday morning!

Round Two results and ladder (please click to enlarge)

Pacific Media Summit (please click to enlarge)

 

 

Wagambie Lawyers sponsors Media Pool Competition team

By BURI GABI

Law firm Wagambie Lawyers has come forward to support Tribe FM with K2, 600 to compete in the 2009 Media Pool Competition.
According to principal lawyer, Michael Wagambie, it was good to give back to the community in terms of supporting sporting events and the Media Pool Competition was no exception.
It is the first time for Wagambie Lawyers to come out and support such sporting events in the country.
It is the first time for Wagambie Lawyers to come out and support such sporting activities in the country.
Pictured here are some of the participants who will be competing in this year’s pool competition.

Full draws for 2009 season (please click to enlarge)

Results and ladder after Round 1 (please click to enlarge image)

2 Fast Motors car donation to Media Pool Competition

"This is the first time in a long time that a car dealer has actually given a car to a competition - it's quite rare these days," says Media Pool Competition chairman Colin Taimbari.
"Normally, sponsors give money and uniforms - but not a car - to the organising committee of the competition to assist with transport in running the competition. I am grateful that a little-known car dealer like 2 Fast Motors can come out in a big way to support the competition. The car, which carries the company logo, will be a mobile advertising for 2 Fast Motors and people should go and buy cars there as well as get their cars tinted, spray painted, waxed and fixed etc. "

The quest for the Holy Grail begins!

Competion chairman Colin Taimbari and victorious skipper of the 2008 Cool Graphics Tony Sipa with the Auld Mug of the Media Pool Competition. Pictures by WILLIAM WILLIANDO

2 Fast you are!

Managing Director of 2 Fast Motors Bill Lin hands over keys for the vehicle (background) to Media Pool Competition Chairman Colin Taimbari

Used car dealer 2 Fast Motors has donated a K40, 000 vehicle to the Media Pool Competition.

This was revealed by deputy chairman Joe Kaiyo during the launch last Friday and will certainly offset the transport burden of managing the affairs of the competition.

23 teams confirmed for 2009 competition

Telikom PNG's Martha Rupa hands over the K10,000 sponsorship to Media Pool Competition chairman Colin Taimbari and his deputy Joe Kaiyo

National Broadcasting Commission's Joe Kaiyo (left), also the deputy chairman of the Media Pool competition, gives NBC's K10,000 offering to chairman Colin Taimbari. Pictures by WILLIAM WILLIANDO

A total 23 teams have been confirmed for this year’s Media Pool Competition which starts in earnest next Saturday, May 9.

The teams were confirmed during the launching of the competition at the Lamana Hotel last Friday.

Telikom PNG, National Broadcasting Commission and National Gaming Control Board will chip in with K10, 000 each.

Telikom’s public relations officer Martha Rupa and NBC’s Joe Kaiyo presented their contributions to competition chairman Colin Taimbari last Friday.

City manager Leslie Alu chipped in with K5, 000 from National Capital District Commission.

Niugini Tablebirds has joined the part with chcken and flour, while Lamana will be the venue free of charge.

New teams are Parliament Tambaran, Kundu 2, Media Council, CPL, Post-Courier and 2 Fast Motors/Advance Signs.

Existing teams are NBC Wokabaut, Poi Nangu, Post-Courier Weekender, Post-Courier Nambawan, Sunday Chronicle 1, The National, Wantok, NCDC Sivarai, NCDC Yumi Lukautim Mosby, PNG FM, Nau FM, Spin Doctors, FM 100, News Makers, Business Times and Freelancers.

Press freedom declines in every region, says Freedom House

Israel, Italy and Hong Kong lose 'free' status
www.freedomhouse.org

WASHINGTON (Freedom House /Pacific Media Watch):  Journalists faced an increasingly grim working environment in 2008, with global press freedom declining for a seventh straight year and deterioration occurring for the first time in every region, according to Freedom House's annual media study. The rollback was not confined to traditionally authoritarian states; with Israel, Italy and Hong Kong slipping from the study's Free category to Partly Free status.

"The journalism profession today is up against the ropes and fighting to stay alive, as pressures from governments, other powerful actors and the global economic crisis take an enormous toll," said Jennifer Windsor, Freedom House executive director.

"The press is democracy's first defence and its vulnerability has enormous implications for democracy if journalists are not able to carry out their traditional watchdog role."

Freedom House formally released its findings from Freedom of the Press 2009 on Friday, May 1 at 10 a.m. in Washington in front of the organisation's giant Map of Press Freedom at the Newseum:  www.freedomhouse.org

The study indicates that there were twice as many losses as gains in 2008, with declines and stagnation in East Asia of particular concern. While parts of South Asia and Africa made progress, overall these gains were overshadowed by a campaign of intimidation targeting independent media, particularly in the former Soviet Union and the Middle East and North Africa.

There were some notable improvements. The Maldives made the study's largest jump, moving to the Partly Free category with the adoption of a new constitution protecting freedom of expression and the release of a prominent journalist from life imprisonment. Guyana regained its Free rating with fewer attacks on journalists and a government decision to lift a boycott on advertising in the main independent newspaper.

Out of the 195 countries and territories covered in the study, 70 (36 percent) are rated Free, 61 (31 percent) are rated Partly Free and 64 (33 percent) are rated Not Free. This represents a modest decline from the 2008 survey in which 72 countries and territories were Free, 59 Partly Free and 64 Not Free. The new survey found that only 17 percent of the world's population lives in countries that enjoy a Free press.

Key regional findings include:

- Asia Pacific: Cambodia dropped to Not Free status because of increased violence against journalists. Hong Kong slipped to Partly Free as Beijing exerted growing influence over media. China's media environment remained bleak. Media in Taiwan faced assault and growing government pressure. South Asia saw improvements in the Maldives, Bangladesh and Pakistan, while Sri Lanka and Afghanistan suffered setbacks.

- Central and Eastern Europe/Former Soviet Union: The region suffered the biggest drop in press freedom of any region, with journalists murdered in Bulgaria and Croatia and assaulted in Bosnia. Russia's score declined with the judiciary unwilling to protect journalists from attacks, as well as the frequent targeting of independent media by regulators.

- Middle East and North Africa: The region continues to have the world's lowest level of press freedom. Restrictions on journalists and official attempts to influence coverage during the Gaza conflict led to Israel's Partly Free status. The Israeli-Occupied Territories/Palestinian Authority saw declines with both Hamas and Fatah intimidating journalists. Iraq saw the security environment for journalists improve and new legal protections for media in the Kurdish areas.

- Sub-Saharan Africa: Press freedom suffered in Senegal with an increase in both legal and extralegal action taken against media. In Madagascar, media outlets critical of the government were targeted. Other declines were seen in Botswana, Chad, Congo (Brazzaville), Lesotho, Mauritania, South Africa and Tanzania. Comoros, Sierra Leone, Angola and Liberia improved.

- Americas: Guyana regained its Free rating, while Haiti and Uruguay saw significant improvement. However, Mexico's score dropped again because of increased violence, the government's unwillingness to make legal reforms, and pressure on media from local and state officials. Bolivia, Ecuador, Guatemala and Nicaragua registered major declines.

- Western Europe: The region continues to boast the world's highest level of press freedom. However, Italy slipped back into the Partly Free category with free speech limited by courts and libel laws, increased intimidation of journalists by organised crime and far-right groups, and concerns over the concentration of media ownership. Greece also suffered a significant decline.

World Press Freedom Day 2009: Dialogue, mutual understanding and reconciliation

23-04-2009 (Paris)

 

The way the media influences thought and action and its capacity to foster dialogue, understanding and reconciliation will be the focus of discussions at a UNESCO conference marking World Press Freedom Day 2009, to be held in Doha (Qatar) on 2 and 3 May.

In his message for World Press Freedom Day 2009, the Director-General of UNESCO, Koïchiro Matsuura, stressed: “We must strengthen our efforts to build a media that is critical of inherited assumptions yet tolerant of alternative perspectives; a media that brings competing narratives into a shared story of interdependence; a media that responds to diversity through dialogue.”
Based on the premise that only a free media will innately contribute to the dialogue and understanding across divides, the two-day programme will be divided into four sessions, during which media professionals from around the world will discuss:

§         The capacity of the media for intercultural dialogue and mutual understanding;

§         The need to establish ethical and professional standards in order to build models of accountability as well as effective self regulation for journalists;

§         What specific place for media in promoting interreligious dialogue and mutual understanding?

§         Media and enhancing dialogue as a tool for empowering citizens.

The conference has been organised under the patronage of Her Highness Sheikha Mozah Bint Nasser Al Missned, consort of His Highness the Emir of Qatar Shiekh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al Thani.
H.E. Sheikh Hamad bin Thamer Al Thani, Chairman of the Board, Doha Center for Media Freedom (Qatar), will open the event with George Anastassopoulos, President of UNESCO’s General Conference, and Abdul Waheed Khan, UNESCO Assistant Director-General for Communication and Information.
South-African journalist Allister Sparks, the author of several critically-acclaimed books on his country’s transition from apartheid including, most recently, Beyond the Miracle: Inside the New South Africa, will present the keynote speech.
During the conference, Mr Matsuura will present the 2009 World Press Freedom Prize, awarded posthumously to murdered Sri Lankan journalist Lasantha Wickrematunge. Mr Wickrematunge’s widow, Sonali Wickrematunge, will accept the prize, which is supported by the Ottaway and Cano foundations and JP/Politiken Newspaper LTD

 

 

World Press Freedom Day

Happy World Press Freedom Day,

 Every year, May 3 is dedicated to World Press Freedom; to remember, celebrate and emphasise the importance of press freedom, which is crucial for the functioning of a healthy democratic and free society.

This year, World Press Freedom Day will be celebrated in Papua New Guinea with events in Port Moresby and Lae over this week, and termed as “Media Freedom Week”, where the central theme will be 'Media Freedom is your Right'.

International guests including Ray Martin and Simon Dring will join PNG in celebrating its media freedom events, and so please invite as many stakeholders as possible through your contacts.

Please find attached some useful resources for Editorial, Adverts, Cartoons, and Photos on http://www.worldpressfreedomday.org/ from the  World Association of Newspapers (WAN).

 

 

Profile of Chairman Colin Taimbari

Colin Taimbari is the founding Chairman of the Telikom Media Pool Competition.

While in the final semester of his Bachelor in Journalism program at the University of Papua New Guinea, he was employed by the Post-Courier newspaper and went on to spend 10 years as a print journalist.

He resigned from mainstream journalism as the Chief Political Reporter of The National newspaper in late 2003.

As a journalist, Colin Taimbari has widely covered PNG and the region.

He was awarded the PNG Journalist of the Year Award by the Divine Word University in 2002 and in 2003 won the Commonwealth Press Union's prestigious Harry Britain Fellowship spending two months in the United Kingdom on a study trip.

Colin Taimbari is currently the Public Relations Coordinator for the PNG Tourism Promotion Authority and also serves as a Director on the Board of the Surfing Association of PNG.

 

Launch of 2009 Media Pool Competition

By COLIN TAIMBARI

Chairman

Telikom Media Pool Competition

 

 Dear All,

The Media Pool competition Launch is this Friday, May 1, 2009. It will be at the Balcony - Lamana Hotel - 5pm start.

We are hoping to get all our major sponsors there on the evening.

Unfortunately, given our limited resources, the Launch is not open to all teams and players - each team is only allowed a captain and three players - all must be in team uniforms.

Please, email or text me the names (72002404) by 10am Friday.

 Invitation cards are also been printed and we will deliver to news directors, editors and managing directors of respective media houses as well as our sponsors.

 Invitations will also be given to sports reporters to cover event for publicity purposes.

Telikom will be presenting their cheque on the evening as well and as part of the program we will ask sponsors to draw names of teams to make up the competition draw for the year.

Majority of the teams have paid up their registrations except for two or three teams due to internal accounting processes etc, please, do so before midday Friday so we can lock in the 22 teams for this year.

EM Tasol.

 

Colin