CORRUPTION remains one of the top concerns for citizens across the Pacific, with communities calling for more sustained investigative reporting.
This is according to BBC Media Action Project Director Dipak Bhattarai.
Bhattarai highlighted findings from their surveys conducted in Fiji, Samoa, the Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, Tonga, and Vanuatu that explored public perceptions of the media and the issues most important to audiences.
“Our research shows that corruption consistently ranks in the top five challenges across all six countries,” he said.
“People perceive high levels of corruption, which aligns with what Professor Shailendra Singh mentioned and what is reflected in Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index.”
Respondents also highlighted jobs, cost of living, crime, and security as key concerns.
They stressed that media coverage of corruption should be evidence-based, sustained, and follow up, not just limited to naming and shaming.
“People are frustrated when media raises these issues, but authorities do not act,” Bhattarai said.
He noted that investigative reporting requires time, resources, and access to sources — challenges for Pacific newsrooms, which are often small and under-resourced.
He also emphasized the need for journalist protections and access to transparent data to report complex stories safely and effectively.
Dr Shailendra Singh, Head of the Journalism Programme at USP and a journalist with more than 30 years of experience, highlighted the regional context for media and corruption reporting.
He noted that while Fiji has seen improvements, including the lifting of the Media Industry Development Act, the country remains a transitional democracy where tolerance for media criticism cannot be taken for granted.
“Journalists need institutional protection,” Singh said.
“We have achieved media freedom, but that is only half the job. Whistleblower protection and other anti-corruption legislation must be prioritized across the region.”
He warned that such legislation often moves slowly through parliaments, leaving gaps in accountability.
“Media freedom is an important step, but without supporting frameworks like whistleblower laws and the right to information, journalists cannot fully perform their watchdog role,” he said.
Singh also praised efforts to strengthen investigative reporting but highlighted ongoing challenges.
“Investigative journalism is time-consuming and resource intensive. Newsrooms in the Pacific are small, turnover is high, and young journalists are often thrown in the deep end without adequate training. Development partners must include journalism students in capacity-building programs, so the next generation is ready.”
He added that corruption disproportionately affects vulnerable populations, including women, youth, persons with disabilities, and the elderly.
“We cannot address poverty in the Pacific without tackling corruption. The two are closely linked, and history shows both will persist unless leadership commits to accountability and governance,” he said.
The panel also highlighted initiatives supporting investigative journalism. Marie Pegie Cauchois, UNODC Pacific Head of Office, explained that providing small grants through the Pacific Anti-Corruption Journalists Network, now part of CCRP, has helped journalists investigate and report corruption in culturally relevant ways.
“One great example is Tonga journalist Kalafi Moala who investigated gift-giving during elections,” Cauchois said.
“Through a grant, she conducted research on the ground, and a few months later, seven MPs lost their posts. This shows how supporting journalists with ideas and resources can lead to tangible accountability.”
Adding the perspective of emerging journalists, Jake Wise from The Fiji Times noted: “Newsrooms today are seeing more young journalists entering the field, but from my experience, there is not enough training on how to report corruption effectively. We need greater support and capacity-building for emerging journalists, because sooner or later, we will be responsible for covering and exposing corruption across the country and the region.”
Effective anti-corruption journalism, they concluded, requires both skilled reporting and supportive institutional frameworks to ensure stories lead to real impact.