PlM’s new publisher

Pacific Islands Monthly has a new publisher. He is Mr Garry Barker, formerly General Manager of the Fiji Times and Herald Ltd.

Mr Barker has more than 25 years’ interna tional experience as a journalist and publisher, and a very long family association with the Pacific. He is a grand-nephew of Sir Alport Barker, who was the owner and publisher of the Fiji Tinneduntil its purchase in 1955 by R. W.

Robson, founder and first publisher of Pacific Islands Monthly. Another great-uncle was curator of the Fiji Museum and an authority on Pacific customs, history and artifacts.

Prior to his four year term in Fiji, Mr Barker was for seven years managing editor of the Melbourne Herald and Weekly Times Ltd’s European bureau in London, covering the major news events of Britain, Europe and the Middle East.

Earlier he had served some four years in the United States, and seven years in South-East Asia as a foreign correspondent covering such diverse events as the rise of Fidel Castro, the

election of President Kennedy, a plethora of summit meetings, the formation of Malaysia, the fall of President Sukarno, a bunch of battles in Vietnam and Borneo, and much else besides. In between he was Overseas Services Editor for The Herald and Weekly Times, in Melbourne.

Mr Barker is a member of the British Institute of Directors, a Fellow of the Fiji Institute of Management and of the Institute of Advertising.

He was one of the founders of the Common wealth Journalists’ Association and sat on the Council of the Commonwealth Press Union.

Mr Barker’s appointment opens a new era for PIM in which it not only will be maintained as the region’s premier news magazine and forum, but also will be developed to further reflect the great changes occuring in this most important of the world’s oceanic areas.

Even now, as this issue reaches the news stands Mr Barker is already travelling the area, renewing old associations, meeting community and business leaders, and briefing PlM’s exten sive network of correspondents, agents and distributors.