‘Four Worlds’ news values revisited: A deliberative journalism paradigm for Pacific media

Abstract

South Pacific media face a challenge of developing forms of journalism that contribute to the national ethos by mobilising change from passive communities to those seeking change. Instead of the news values that have often led international media to exclude a range of perspectives, such a notion would promote deliberation by journalists to enable the participation of all community stakeholders, ‘including the minorities, the marginalised, the disadvantaged and even those deemed as “deviant’” (Romano, 2010). Critical deliberative journalism is issue-based and includes diverse and even unpopular views about the community good and encourages an expression of plurality. In a Pacific context, this resonates more with news media in some developed countries that have a free but conflicted press such as in India, Indonesia and the Philippines. This has far more relevance in the Pacific than a monocultural ‘Western’ news model as typified by Australia and New Zealand. Early in the millennium, this author examined notions of the Fourth Estate in the South Pacific. These were applied through a ‘Four Worlds’ news values prism in the global South that included the status of Indigenous minorities in dominant nation states (Robie, 2001, 2004, 2005, 2009b). This article explores how that has been modified over the past decade and its implications for media and democracy in the Pacific.

Strengthening the voices of human rights defenders in the media

“…Nevertheless, but also because of this, the representations in the media of violence related to human rights abuses need to be examined. This further aligns with previous propositions of a deliberative journalism or development journalism that seeks not only to highlight or expose a problem in the media, but also to investigate possible solutions to the issue (Robie, 2013;Romano, 2010). There is a need for alternative forms of representation that can, on one hand, support journalists, and on the other hand, strengthen the depth of reporting on the issue.…”

“…In the case of reporting on sorcery accusations in PNG, we demonstrate what Robie (2013) would call a 'conventional or Western journalism', as opposed to the development journalism that is suggested for the South Pacific media to best contribute to social development. Development journalism, according to Robie (2013), includes certain characteristics that we have highlighted through the way we have engaged with HRDs in community and participatory media, including considering the causes of events, providing alternative solutions identified by people and community, and promoting understanding, attitude and behaviour change.…”

Rethinking journalism for supporting social cohesion and democracy: case study of media performance in Fiji

“…Such discourse has often lacked specifics, although Robie (2012a) has gone further than most in proposing the Four Worlds news values paradigm for Pacific media. Based on the principles of deliberative journalism (Romano, 2010), Four Worlds news values would focus on a range of perspectives often disregarded by the "mono-cultural" Western news model, as typified by Australia and New Zealand.…”

Covering cops: Critical reporting of Indonesian police corruption

“…Further, a desire by Indonesian audiences to consume celebrity gossip and sensational stories also makes it hard to publish critical pieces (Coutas, 2006;Hobart & Fox, 2008). Other approaches to coverage, such as deliberative journalism where diverse and unpopular views about the community good are presented to encourage expressions of criticality and plurality, might be one way forward for Indonesia's media (Robie, 2013).…”