Reporting war: Covering the Pacific – Radio NZ International and West Papua as a case study

Abstract

Commentary: Publicly funded, Radio New Zealand International has a broadcasting role that is not ratings-driven; it has no circulation figures or advertising revenue to worry about. The broadcaster’s work is simply to produce the first draft of history. Or, as the advertisement of a national television network in New Zealand says, ‘It’s all about the story’. This commentary was one of a series in a panel of journalists at the Reporting War conference, jointly organised by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and Massey University's Department of Communication, Journalism and Marketing in Wellington on 22 May 2009.

Keywords

• Bougainville war
• conflict reporting
• foreign correspondence
• insurgencies
• propaganda
• public broadcasting