independent Press"

"Micronesia lacks an independent Press"

By Victorio Uherbelau, In Saipan

Sometime back the Honolulu-Star Bulletin carried an editorial quoting Mrs. Ruth Van Cleve, former Director of Office of Terri tories under the US Democratic administration, as saying that one of the most prevalent problems faced by officials involved with the administration of the overseas territories of the US is the lack of an independent Press which would readily criticise their programmes.

Micronesia, with the US as her administering authority, suffers this same predicament a great deal. Two years have elapsed since this honest admission by this high official was made and the problem is still with us. Perhaps possible solutions have been explored; obviously, none has been arrived at.

An attempt is hereby made to point out some unique problems of the Press operation in the Trust Ter ritory of the Pacific Islands, and simultaneously to emphasise the two most urgent needs basic to its development. Namely, (a) the need for an independent, territory-wide newspaper, and (b) the need for enough Micronesians with adequate training in journalism to man such a paper.

There are two possible approaches to tackling the Press problems in Micronesia. One is via the Trust Ter ritory Government; the other is by way of a private, non-government Press agency.

"Dictatorial"

A quick review of the government role in Press matters for the 24 years of US rule over these islands reveals that the Trust Territory Government has been assuming a dictatorial position with respect to all mass media in general and the Press in particular. Most of the information disseminated, both for internal and external consumption, via radio broadcast or through written words, has been pretty much controlled by the Territorial Government.

While the history of Micronesia, under the present administration, shows a lack of a territory-wide newspaper, government-sponsored newsheets have been developed in each of the six administrative dis tricts with an ultimate goal of turn ing them over to private enterprise.

The Marshall Islands Journal be came privately run due to the generous help and guidance of a Protestant missionary, the Reverend Donald Daughtry, who is himself a journalist. However, he left the ter ritory some time ago, entrusting the overall operation of the newspaper to self-educated Billy Sawej, a young Marshallese.

Ponape’s Senyavin Times pulled out from the government fold through the initiative of a few Ponapeans, who have no practical journalistic training at all.

Semi-independent (government sub sidised) Met Poraus replaced the Truk Tide due to the combined efforts of some Trukese and a Peace Corps couple.

After about a year without a news paper, the people of the Marianas founded a private newspaper corpora tion—Marianas Star.

Yap’s Mogethin and Palau’s Didil A Chais were financed by the Office of Economic Opportunity. Mogethin closed down for eight months, but recently re-opened as an independent newspaper carrying some advertise ments. Didil A Chais, on the other hand, is still financed by funds from

the Office of Economic Opportunity and is staffed by local people with a Peace Corps Volunteer or two as advisor.

Why the Territorial Government has not established a newspaper of a territorial scope is difficult to pin point. Certainly the government alone is not to blame; the responsibility lies with the private Micronesian citizen as well.

A new action needed

Nevertheless, after 24 stagnant years, it is not too presumptuous to contend that the “via government” approach to Press problems in Micro nesia has not been adequate, let alone successful. It is time to take another course of action! The only logical alternative to fall back to is the “private, non-governmental ap proach”.

No reasonable person in Micro nesia will deny the growing urgency for an independent newspaper of ter-

US Trust Territory headquarters o n

Capitol Hill, Saipan.

The TT's Govern ment has taken a "dictatorial" a p proach to the Press over the years, writes Victorio Uherbelau.

"Information censored"

ritory-wide scope. Nor would anyone question that the primary task of such a paper, once established, is to safe guard and preserve its independence amid widespread censorship and re pression.

The pressing need for this kind of newspaper is paramount in light of the anticipated plebiscite on Micronesian political status. (During his administration, President Johnson projected the date of the plebiscite to be not later that June 30, 1972).

Until now, in the absence of an independent Press, the government has invariably controlled all media.

Thus no information ever becomes public unless it has been scrutinised, censored and finally released in a pretty much mutilated form.

Another Press problem is the lack of trained Micronesian journalists.

Up to this time, only three Micro nesian students have enrolled to study journalism. This does not indicate a lack of awareness of the importance of journalism, nor does it show a lack of interest on the part of the Micronesians themselves. It is due to the limited number of Ter ritorial Government scholarships offered in this field.

Must be trained

Micronesia, without doubt, can use a few more journalists to serve its population of 95,000, scattered over three-million-square miles. And Micronesians must be trained as journalists before a workable Press in the territory becomes a reality.

Will there be immediate benefits from the establishment of a free Press manned by qualified local inhabitants?

The answer is definitely yes, and for the following reasons; • To decrease illiteracy by in creasing reading opportunities to the Micronesian public. • To unite the islands in a sense of national autonomy. • To promote a spirit of oneness among the ethnically and culturally diversified people of Micronesia. • To serve as a political organ through which political education can be extensively carried out. (Micronesians should know more about the critical issues which will determine their future political status). • To act as a vehicle of con structive criticism, not only of the programmes of the Administration,

They give the wrong image

but of legislation and judicial decisions as well. • To create an avenue for Micro nesian commoners to express their views openly without possible gov ernmental censorship or repercussion. • To give a voice to a few dis senters, a minority long overlooked and unheeded. • To make the Micronesians more aware of the outside world. • To establish a Micronesian sponsored newspaper with which Micronesians themselves can proudly identify.

But why is it imperative that Micronesians be required for the job? Two reasons: First, it has been a standing policy of the Trust Territory Government to recruit expatriates for public information services. Such personnel leave at the end of their tenure, and the territory reverts to where it started. The proper thing to do is to educate enough Micronesians for the job who will definitely be here to stay. Second, outside journalists tend to give a wrong picture of Micronesia. A few prominent re presentatives, for instance, of the Time Life, Newsweek, Saturday Evening Post, the New York Times, and other news media, have visited these islands. Their prime assignment has been to report on Micronesia, and some of their accounts have been read the world over.

A small voice

However, the “Micronesian Image”, as they have portrayed it, has not always been in line with the islanders’ views. It is true a few Micronesian students abroad challenged the authenticity of their reporting, but, apart from their small and often unheard-of voice, very little in the way of self expression has come from the natives themselves.

Granted, there are other needs that the Administration is attending to. The problem child of the Press has been neglected, however. To promote Micronesia socially, econom ically, politically and educationally, as required by the Trusteeship Agreement, the Administration needs to revamp its attitude towards the Press in the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands.