Bringing the News

Lautoka Women

Assist In—

Bringing the News to Fiji

A DOZEN enterprising women of Lautoka, Fiji are producing a roneoed newspaper (News and Views ) which is providing more local, personal news for that large area of Fiji than any of the com mercial newspapers in the Colony.

The women are all members of the Lautoka branch of Red Cross, and proceeds are for that organisation.

The paper has been appearing fort nightly at a cost of 6d per copy.

Advertisements also have been a source of revenue.

The paper is, however, temporarily suspended at present, pending the clarification of some legal point in regard to its registration as a news paper.

It would be a thousand pities if the enthusiasm of these women was dampened because, at the moment, Fiji is rather short on local news services. And the Fiji Broadcasting Commission, in spite of its magnificent headquarters and impressive set-up, produces no local news at all, apart from shipping and weather broad casts. The only local news broad cast from the FBC is through the Newsletter which is compiled

and presented by the Public : lations Officer, in a half-hour sess once weekly. (The Public Relati Office in Fiji performs a rather traordinary service for a Gove ment instrumentality. Most G ernment PRO s merely present Government view in any ma pertaining to administration.

Fiji PRO does this, of course, as well, performs the function c local news agency).

To make an odious comparis The ABC in Papua-New Guii with largely makeshift quarters, revenue from advertising, and n of the ballyhoo that attended setting up of the FBC in Fiji, produce local news bulletins f] 9PA daily. News gathering is ur the control of a special hig qualified journalist in Port More and each township in the Terril has a part-time correspondent y dispatches local news to HQ.

Certainly, residents of PNG c< plain about the service—maybe cause they don’t know how well

they are-

JT.