In The Firing Line

ALL FORMS of mass communi cations are affected by the pro posed media bill: cinemas, video outlets, cable television and ad vertising. The outcry at the moment, however, is over a perceived threat to the news media.

PNG has two daily newspapers, the Papua New Guinea Post Courier and Niugini Nius. Both are foreign owned.

The Post Courier is owned by Mr Ru pert Murdoch’s News Ltd. Niugini Nius was recently bought by airline op erator Dennis Buchanan after it went into receivership in October, 1986.

Two weekly newspapers, Wantok and Times of PNG, and the youth mag

azine New Nation are published by Word Publishing. This is the only lo cally owned newspaper publishing house and is run by the mainstream churches in the country.

The PNG Government finances and controls the National Broadcasting Commission, the only radio network in the country, as a statutory organisa tion. NBC has local stations in all 19 provinces and runs a national com mercial FM service as well as the pub lic service AM station. Recent proposals have been put to the Govern ment to privatise the FM station.

Mr Ramoi supports this move.

The newest additions to PNG’s me dia are Niugini Television Network, owned by Australian Mr Kevin Parry’s Newcastle Broadcasting Network, and Media Niugini, owned by the Bond Corporation. The television com panies gained their licences to operate just as the Wingti Government was taking office and have seen some tur bulent times in and out of court.

Mr Ramoi maintains that tele vision is still not a Government prior ity. Television has been limited to the capital, Port Moresby, but both com panies plan to extend to at least three provincial centres this year. □

Mr Alan Bond

Mr Kevin Parry