Department of Communication Arts (Journalism)
Publications
In Papua New Guinea, as in other south pacific islands, there has been a noticeable lack of research into media and little information about how people use the media. Lack of proper research in this field has further contributed to a general perception that communication is not a priority for the country’s development.
A number of articles as well as books have been written over the years sketching the PNG media profile, but not enough has be done to offer an in depth analysis of PNG media that would contribute to a better understanding of media’s role in PNG. Equally no audience research has been carried out so far in order to identify the information needs of the majority of the population and ways to meet them.
There is a need to build on previous work and encourage young Papua New Guinean researchers to provide their insights on the role of communication and media in their country. There is an increasing need in the south pacific to generate indigenous research and address thus the lack of locally trainer researchers. The expansion of media and cultural studies from a Pacific perspective would contribute to developing interlinked indigenous research cultures in media and non-media disciplines.
DWU journalism graduates indicated, in an extensive survey undertaken as part of the curriculum review of the Communication Arts Program in 2004 that they were aware not only about this gap in locally driven research - “Let students do more research into what journalism really is” - but also in the lack of skills - “More research theories and methodologies should have been included”. The Communication Arts Department at DWU looked at this gap and tried to address it by putting an increasing emphasis on equipping its students with research skills. Early results from the efforts to create a research culture in the journalism program at DWU are positive. In an effort to encourage indigenous research, we invited some of the 2004 degree student at the Communication Arts Department to contribute with their research.
This publication is the collective effort of degree students, staff and associates to the Communication Arts department at DWU. The book touches a wide number of media issues in PNG but maintains a focus on media and development. This is expected to be the first in a series of volumes containing the best of CA staff, associates and student research every year.
Papua New Guinean society is a vibrant culture in constant change, and in conflict between the past and the present. There's so much promise in the air. There's also a lot of pain. This rapid move from the ‘Stone Age' into the modern era is a portrait worth capturing. In this special publication we, third year journalism students of Divine Word University, aim to do just that.
New@gewoman magazine can look at these issues for its women readers. But we asked ourselves, what about the men?
We set out to find out what makes a modern Papua New Guinean man. What are his ideals as we move into modernisation? This is the result: New@geman .
In this issue we listen as the older generation of men speak to us of family values, while the younger generation tell us about the pressure of being a man today.
We get frank views in “What does it take to be a man?”. Some men are now taking a stand against beating their wives. Others are less positive, but we believe in showing the truth.
We delve into the concept of initiation in male society, from traditional skin cutting as practised along the mighty Sepik to the ‘skelim bros' and beer drinking of today's youth.
This publication is a jouney into what it means to be a man in PNG today.
We hope you enjoy it.
See Award Winning Publications
See some articles
Papua New Guinea is a young nation, and a nation of young people. Forty-two per cent of the population are under the age of fifteen.
Every child in PNG grows within a complex network of extended family, clan and community. Yet the traditional ties and relationships, which nurtured previous generations, face new tensions today as urbanization and economic development force social change.
One of the key issues confronting Pacific islands is a poverty of opportunity for their people. Talents, skills and aspirations are frustrated and wasted, and people are denied the chance to lead productive and satisfying lives. This is especially so for young people.
Journalists need to understand the range of issues impacting on families and communities in this rapidly changing society. Yet this is a story that the media finds difficult to tell. It has relied on the publication of official reports and on experts discussing the issues at conferences. Or there are individual events, such as five children killed in tribal fighting or an island on the brink of starvation.
Rarely are the voices of the ordinary people heard.
Journalism students in the Communication Arts Department at Divine Word University, Madang, are being taught that the media should aim to give a voice to the voiceless.
2001 has been designated the Year of the Child, and students set out to listen to the children of PNG and to report on their lives.
Four communities were selected: a settlement, a village on the outskirts of town and two remoter villages on islands off the coast of Madang Province. The aim was to explore what life is like for children in these communities.The children and their parents know there are difficult problems to be solved, but their dreams for the future shine through them all.
See some articles
It is often said that the media in PNG is one of the freest in the Pacific. The PNG constitution protects freedom of speech and there are no overt constraints on the" media.
Yet journalists know that there are other, more subtle pressures which sometimes make it difficult for them to tell the full story.
This magazine aims to tell some of the stories behind the news. Journalists and journalism students describe their own experiences on the trail of news that someone, somewhere, did not want them to write.
The magazine also examines the context in which journalists in PNG are working. In doing so it aims to give an insight into the state of the media in PNG today.
Why should this be of any interest to you, if you are not a journalist (or training to become one)? The views of other people included here show that it does matter to you if the media is not free to report the news in full. PNG, inevitably and inexorably, is becoming part of the "global village". On World Press Freedom Day, it is also worth remembering some of the attacks on freedom that are a daily part of life elsewhere in the world.
If it were needed, this is reminder enough that we must be vigilant if we wish our media to remain free - free to report the news without fear of intimidation or censorship or punishment; and free to write the truth, without favour to anyone who might not want that truth to be known.
See some articles
Return to Communication Arts Home Page
