agency formalising news, legal status

PRESS RELEASE

avaiki nius agency - nius means news - has begun formalising its news structures and legal status.

Firstly, the agency has finally decided on an easily understandable split between its two main blogspots - avaiki and avaiki nius.

1. avaiki = media news and leading issues affecting pacific islands
2. avaiki nius = emails, press releases, projects, others from the agency itself.

LEGAL STATUS

The agency is seeking legal and other advice on how best to set up the agency as a supplier of news services to mainstream media and non-profits.

As envisaged, the agency covers events and issues not getting timely, indepth coverage from mainstream media in the Pacific Islands region, including Australia and New Zealand. Once more formally established, the agency will count down to a hand-over period, when the founder steps back and passes daily operations to counterpart trainees.

Medium term, the goal is for founder Jason Brown to step out entirely, creating what will be an all-indigenous news agency, monitored by community panel.

NEWS STRUCTURE

To help keep things clear, all news about this agency will appear on this blogsite, as press releases:

www.avaikinius.blogspot.com
www.avaiki.blogspot.com

The second website will be the delivery end, feeding news, updates, links to the general public - who can check any aspect of the website if they want.

TOTAL TRANSPARENCY

This ties in with agency policy for total transparency tools, using email-2-web software like gmail to autopublish emails, bank accounts and other information direct to web.

Questions, proposals, and other previously confidential materials will also appear here first, with the ability for anyone to comment directly.

Comments provide accountability to readers, including potential access for critics opposing agency activities.

ENDS

un report - make 'em pay

EDITORIAL

Alarming trends away from already pitiful aid funding levels for developing media appear to be gaining favour among United Nations agencies, including UNESCO.

“
The World Association of Newspapers and the Media
Development Loan Fund are asking funders – development
aid agencies, corporations, foundations, vendors and
newspapers – to lend, not give, money, at a low rate (optimally
zero percent). This is a novel approach to media assistance
which ties in well with the desire of many funding sources
to support projects that carry a long-term, self-sustainability
goal. Funders will also be able to add grants to their loans,
if they wish, to give an additional boost to worthy press
projects.

”

In a report published 3 May 2006 for World Media Freedom Day, UNESCO chose the theme of media and poverty eradication - apparently believing a solution is to further impoverish developing media. UNESCO claims media organisations have to strive for commercial sustainability before aid "dries up, as it eventually will..."