Tag: media

International Federation of Journalists accepts MJA

The Maldives Journalist Association (MJA) has become an associate member of the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), giving its members international credibility and recognition as media professionals.

Founded in 1926, the IFJ is the world’s largest journalist organisation with 600,000 members in over 100 countries, and speaks for journalists within the United Nations system. The organisation itself is apolitical but nonetheless promotes human rights, democracy and pluralism. It vehemently condemns the use of media as propaganda or to promote intolerance and conflict.

President of the MJA Ahmed ‘Hiriga’ Zahir said the membership was a “significant achievement” for the rights of the press in the Maldives, and a goal the association had been striving towards for since April last year.

While the membership grants international recognition, ongoing education and development of journalism in the country was still needed, Hiriga explained.

“I know the Faculty of Education is running a course in journalism, but I’ve heard it’s mostly history – I haven’t heard of any experienced specialists teaching there,” he said.

Seeking assistance for the development of Maldivian journalism was one of the requests made by MJA members during a recent trip to the embassies in Colombo.

“We asked for support to help give us training and fund scholarships for Maldivian journalists, but most said they had a tight budget,” Hiriga said.

“They did say they were most concerned about the situation in the Maldives following the recent gang attacks [on media].”

Hiriga said the MJA had also expressed its concerns about indirect oppression of the media “behind the scenes.”

“There is press freedom [in the sense] that the government is so far not directly jailing journalists,” he noted.

In a letter to the MJA, the IFJ said it was pleased to accept the MJA’s membership “and work with it to address the challenges and pressures the Maldives media faces.”

Editor of daily newspaper Miadhu, Abdulla Latheef, said he did not think the IFJ membership would be beneficial for the Maldivian media at-large as “because half [the MJA’s] senior members are from Haveeru [the daily newspaper of which Hiriga is editor].”

Latheef said after gang attacks on television station DhiTV and a Haveeru printery staff member, “the MJA did not even hold a meeting or even check to see whether its members were fine.”

”I believe the organisation is trying to take over the media,” he said. ”I am a member of it, anyway.”

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Cameraman and journalist forced out of MDP rally, claims DhiTV

A journalist and cameraman from DhiTV attending an MDP rally last night were threatened and forced outside last night, the station claims.

Editor of DhiTV Midhath Adam said it was not the first time MDP supporters had threatened DhiTV’s journalists and cameramen.

”They sometimes used to say they would destroy our property,” he added.

Adam said “a well known MDP activist” ordered them to leave last night.

”Alhan Fahmy and some other senior members of the party were also there,” he said, noting that ”they did not seem to care about it.”

Adam said although the party “treats journalists this way”, the station would continue to attend MDP’s rallies.

”They used to attack our journalists verbally and threaten us but we would still go to cover their meetings.” he said.

MDP MP Alhan Fahmy said he was not present when the incident occurred.

”If I was there I would not had let it happen.” Alhan said. ”As soon as I knew about it I went to stop them from leaving but they were gone.”

Alhan agreed such actions brought the party a bad name.

”It is not MDP’s policy to stop the media doing its duty,” he said.

DRP Vice President Umar Naseer said he was “not surprised” by the incident as “they hate DhiTV.”

“DhiTV is the best political media in the country,” Naseer said.

He claimed MDP hated DhiTV mostly because it showed old footage of President Mohamed Nasheed and reminded people about the government’s unfulfilled pledges.

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DhiTV interested in commercial arrangement with public broadcaster TVM

Privately-owned television station DhiTV is among six parties to have expressed interest in a joint venture arrangement with the ailing Maldives National Broadcasting Company (MNBC), which broadcasts rival channels including Television Maldives (TVM) and Voice of Maldives (VOM).

DhiTV CEO Yoosuf Nawaal said the station had approached MNBC and offered to buy TVM’s land for Rf100 million (US$7.78 million), “and they would pay us a monthly rent of Rf1 million (US$77,800).”

“We actually gave them quite a clean business offer; in terms of interest it was about 10 per cent,” Nawaal said, adding that DhiTV was only interested in the land not the property on it as “TVM’s equipment and staff are quite old.”

As for the broadcaster’s independence, “they would be running the show and we would not be involved.”

MNBC’s Managing Director Ibrahim Khaleel did not confirm that DhiTV was one of the interested parties but did state that one was “local” while the others were foreign interests.

“During last year six parties expressed interest, five foreign and one local company. But their interest was a commercial interest and not our interest,” Khaleel said. He added that the local company concerned was a “very established company”, and “if we do some business with them it may not be as a partner, but to share some services. That would be one way of doing it.”

He emphasised that media reports this morning suggesting that MNBC was selling its stations “are not true. We are not going to sell, and we are not looking to sell. We are looking for a partner for a joint venture [agreement].”

MNBC was currently trying to “reduce and restructure” TVM, he explained, “as at the moment it is an expensive operation.”

If the partner turned out to be another local media company, he noted, “I think we have to think about a lot of things.”

“Public service broadcasting is very important. We are trying to become a developed nation and that means developing not only buildings, but the intellectual community [as well],” he said.

“I think if someone was interested, the partner should agree that TVM and VOM would remain as public service broadcasting. We have to set standards and editorial guidelines, because it will be a problem if they are not there.”

MNBC’s other channels, including YouthTV and RaajjeFM, represented commercial opportunities for the right partner, Khaleel said.

“As well as commercialising YouthTV and RaajjeFM, they could create another channel or develop internet, mobile and cable [broadcasting],” he suggested. “If someone expresses interest we will sit down together and discuss how we can handle it.”

There were many successful models for running state media, he agreed, but Maldives was unique because of its small population.

“Everyone says the BBC model is great, but the population, technology and human resource situation is completely different here in the Maldives. We have 300,000 people, and the expenditure for a public broadcasting service is huge.”

The current program of “reducing and restructuring” would not affect the editorial quality of the state broadcaster because of the organisation’s investment in training, he insisted.

“We need to develop our staff. For 47 years of radio and broadcast there has not been a single human being with a diploma or a degree involved. We are funding 14 journalist diplomas and have sent 15 staff to study degree-level journalism abroad. Most important thing is not numbers [of staff], but quality and experience.”

President of the Maldives Journalist Association Ahmed ‘Hiriga’ Zahir said he was not in favour of foreign influence on local media, and that furthermore he felt “state TV should remain state TV, even if it was run with a much lower budget.”

“TVM’s budget is Rf100 million (US$7.78 million), they could cut that in half. I think the state would provide that,” he said.
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Journalists ask for government subsidies

The Maldives Journalist Association (MJA) has sent a letter to parliament asking for media subsidies to balance the “fragile” state of the country’s media.

The letter urged parliament to provide the subsidies “in a sensible way” to “vitalise” Maldivian journalism, in order for it to continue its “important role” of holding the government accountable.

Several newspapers have closed down while others have reduced staff numbers and salaries, it said, as a direct result of the government moving its advertisements to an in-house gazette.

“Moreover, MJA has been receiving complaints that there are many obstacles to practicing responsible journalism,” the letter read, adding that subsidies were necessary “to protect and preserve independent journalism in the country” and that failing to provide them “would have an adverse effect on this burgeoning democracy”.

President of the MJA and editor of the newspaper Haveeru, Ahmed ‘Hiriga’ Zahir, proposed that media outlets be given subsidies based on circulation, in a similar system to the way political parties are funded.

“A small community [like the Maldivian media] won’t survive unless we are given support,” he said, adding that this money would not compromise the media’s independence if it was allocated by the state rather than the government.

“We have 300,000 people [in the Maldives] and that’s not enough of a market for fully private enterprise,” he argued. On the other hand, “state TV should be privatised to ensure it has a commercial component. Until recently most of the time people relied on the 8pm news on TVM (Television Maldives) to get their information, and now so much of it is biased towards the current government.”

Hiriga said he was also concerned that fully privatising media ownership would consolidate control in the hands of a few wealthy individuals.

There are no provisions in the current budget for media subsidies, although this has yet to be passed by parliament which has stalled the process at committee level, citing various concerns and “confusions”.

Chairman of the budget review committee, MP Ahmed Nazim, told Minivan News last week that there were no subsidies for the Maldives National Broadcasting Corporation (MNBC) included in the budget.

“Can TVM [Television Maldives] and VoM [Voice of Maldives] finance their 2010 operations on their own? Surely not,” he said.

State Finance Minister Mohamed Assad said the government was “not closed to the idea of state-funded media”, but did favour corporatisation of the sector.

“The whole idea of corporatisation is to budget your own operation and not to rely on support,” he said, claiming this made the media less independent “as its income is hidden.”

He said he was concerned at the way parliament was interceding on the budget, and suggested that “we seem to be moving more to a parliamentary rather than presidential system of government.”

“We are proceeding with the budget and have not said otherwise,” he said, adding that there were contingency plans in place “because in the worst case scenario the government still has to operate. Parliament can’t bring the government to a standstill by not passing the budget.”

He dismissed the concerns of the review committee and said parts of the document were “highly technical and misunderstood, [for example] whatever is earned this year will [only] show up as next year’s income,” he said.

“I think Nazim just wanted a break, it was as simple as that.”

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