Three developments came out of Savusavu ahead of this year’s PINA Media Summit in Fiji. Pacific Islands News Association (PINA) president Kalafi Moala called for greater protection for journalists who report on organised crime networks. The Fiji Media Association (FMA) and the Fiji National University (FNU) signed a memorandum of understanding to establish a Pacific Centre for Media and Journalism. And FMA president Rosi Doviverata said Pacific women in media are waiting months for answers from government ministries.
This report draws on RNZ‘s reporting of 23 September 2026 and on reporting by FBC News. Fiji News was not at the panel and has not independently verified either account.
Key facts
- The call: Moala, who is also RNZ Pacific’s correspondent in Tonga, said journalists investigating drug trafficking face increasing threats to their personal safety, according to RNZ.
- The example: He recalled an incident involving a journalist from Tonga’s Kele’a newspaper who reported on Tongan gangs; RNZ reports a gang member went to the newspaper’s office the following day and threatened the journalist.
- No mechanism stated: Neither RNZ nor FBC News reported a specific protection scheme, law change or funding commitment attached to the call.
- The MOU: The FMA and FNU have signed a memorandum of understanding to establish the Pacific Centre for Media and Journalism at FNU’s Samabula Campus, FBC News reported.
- The access problem: Doviverata said Pacific women in media continue to face challenges, including delays of two or three months in getting answers from government ministries, RNZ reported.
- The summit: More than 200 people are taking part, which Moala said is the association’s biggest gathering yet. It officially begins on Wednesday.
1. Threats to reporters covering gangs
Moala’s argument, as reported by RNZ, is that scrutiny of criminal networks has to continue as crime grows, and that the people doing that reporting need to be shielded from threats and violence while they do their job. He said organised crime in Tonga alone has become more sophisticated.
What the Kele’a account does and does not establish
RNZ reports that a journalist from the Tongan newspaper Kele’a wrote about Tongan gangs, and that a gang member came to the newspaper’s office the following day and threatened the journalist. That is the extent of what was published from the panel.
What is not established in either source: the date of the incident, the name of the journalist, whether the threat was reported to Tongan police, whether any charge followed, and whether the reporter continued covering gangs afterwards. Fiji News has not been able to confirm those details independently and is not inferring them. On the reporting available, the account is offered as an illustration of how quickly retaliation can reach a small newsroom, rather than as a documented case study.
Why it matters
Fiji News notes — as this outlet’s own observation, not as something reported from the panel — that Pacific newsrooms are typically small, and that in a jurisdiction the size of Tonga the distance between a reporter and the subjects of a gang story is short. On RNZ’s telling of the Kele’a case, the response did not arrive through a lawyer or a press council complaint; it arrived at the office door the next day.
The call also lands against a documented regional crime picture. Fiji News has previously reported rising cocaine detections across the Pacific, citing UNODC figures, and a police raid on an alleged scam house in Port Moresby — the kind of transnational trafficking and organised-fraud stories delegates at this summit are covering. Whether the volume of such reporting is rising or falling is not something either source measured, and this report does not claim it.
2. A new Pacific media training centre at FNU
FBC News reported that the FMA and FNU signed an MOU to establish the Pacific Centre for Media and Journalism, with Doviverata and FNU Vice Chancellor Professor Unaisi Nabobo-Baba pictured at the signing in Savusavu.
Doviverata said the centre will put the industry at the heart of journalism training, with working editors helping shape what future journalists learn. She told FBC News: “The industry is not a guest in this program. It is a founding partner.”
The centre is also expected to serve journalists from smaller Pacific Island nations, FBC News reported, with Doviverata encouraging them to come to Fiji for training rather than relying on Fiji to supply experienced journalists. Nabobo-Baba said the FNU Department of Media has been struggling for a while and that the university has long wanted to strengthen its media programme; she said the partnership with Doviverata, PINA and the FMA is a way for the national university to better serve communities across Fiji and the Pacific.
Neither outlet reported a start date for teaching, a budget, a funding source or student numbers.
The training theme runs through Moala’s remarks too. He told RNZ Pacific he hoped the summit would address fundamentals — storytelling, engagement with government and other powers, research for stories and fact-checking — and said those need to be re-emphasised in training because a lot of young people are coming into the profession. On the value of the association itself, he told RNZ: “It is always better to stand together than to stand alone.”
3. Women in media and the wait for official answers
Speaking before the launch of the summit, Doviverata said Pacific women in media continue to face challenges in the industry, including accessing information from government agencies, RNZ reported. She told RNZ’s Pacific Waves that reporters can sometimes wait two or three months for answers.
She said the delays hold up reporting on issues affecting communities, and that people in the community ask why a story has not been reported while newsrooms are still waiting on ministries to respond. She also said support from colleagues and editors helps Pacific female reporters advance, describing male allyship as part of why women in Fiji’s industry are where they are.
One note on sourcing: RNZ identifies Doviverata as being from the Women in Media Fiji organisation, while FBC News identifies her as president of the Fiji Media Association. The descriptions are not necessarily contradictory, as regional media figures commonly hold roles in more than one body; Fiji News has put the question to the FMA and will update this report with its answer. Until then both descriptions are reproduced as published.
What to watch next
- Whether the summit produces an agreed protection measure for journalists covering organised crime — a regional safety protocol, legal support, or a mechanism for reporting threats.
- A timeline, budget and intake plan for the Pacific Centre for Media and Journalism at FNU’s Samabula Campus.
- Any response from Fiji government ministries to the complaint that media requests can sit unanswered for two to three months.
The summit officially begins on Wednesday. Fiji News will update this report if PINA, the FMA or FNU release further details, and continues to follow the region in our continuing Pacific coverage.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Kalafi Moala and what is his link to Tonga?
Moala is the president of the Pacific Islands News Association (PINA), the regional body for news organisations. According to RNZ, he is also RNZ Pacific’s correspondent in Tonga. He told the Savusavu panel that organised crime in Tonga alone has become more sophisticated, and cited a case in which a journalist from Tonga’s Kele’a newspaper was threatened at the paper’s office.
What form of protection is Moala asking for?
Neither RNZ nor FBC News reported a specific mechanism. As reported, Moala’s argument is that scrutiny of criminal networks has to continue and that the journalists doing that reporting must be shielded from threats and violence. No funding commitment, legal proposal or protection scheme was attached to the call in the reporting available.
Where will the Pacific Centre for Media and Journalism be based?
FBC News reports the centre will be based at the Fiji National University’s Samabula Campus in Suva. It is being established under a memorandum of understanding signed by the Fiji Media Association (FMA) and FNU in Savusavu, alongside the summit.
Why does the Fiji Media Association want journalists from other Pacific countries to train in Fiji?
FBC News reports that FMA president Rosi Doviverata is encouraging journalists from smaller Pacific Island nations to come to Fiji for training, rather than relying on Fiji to supply experienced journalists to their newsrooms. The centre is expected to serve those countries.
What did FNU say about the state of its media programme?
FNU Vice Chancellor Professor Unaisi Nabobo-Baba said the Department of Media has been struggling for a while, according to FBC News. She said the university has long wanted to strengthen its media programme and sees the partnership with the FMA and PINA as a way to better serve communities in Fiji and the Pacific.
Why is Rosi Doviverata described differently by the two outlets?
RNZ identifies her as being from the Women in Media Fiji organisation; FBC News identifies her as president of the Fiji Media Association. The two are not necessarily in conflict, as regional media figures often hold positions in more than one body. Fiji News has put the question to the FMA and will update this report with its answer.
How big is this year’s PINA Media Summit?
Moala said more than 200 people are taking part, which he described as the association’s biggest gathering yet, RNZ reported. The summit is being held in Fiji and officially begins on Wednesday.
