59 regional perspectives Changing Paradigms in Media Education Aid in the Pacific David Robie three N ews media in South Pacific countries have faced mounting criticism over professional and ethical standards. Criticism in the region focuses on lack of professional training of journalists, poor educa- tional standards, lack of knowledge of the political and social institutions, cultural insensitivities, and a questionable grasp of ethical issues. The media, some argue, is too “Western” and not the “Pacific way”. Others, particularly politicians, are keen to introduce regulatory controls to “rein in” the media (Iangalio, 1996; Kaitani, 2003; Iangalio, 1996; PMCF, 2005; Robie, 2001, 2004, pp. 33–60, 2007; Singh, 2002a, 2005; Vayeshnoi, 1999a, 1999b). How- ever, the media industry is usually quick to defend its integrity and, while acknowledging some shortcomings—including a lack of training—insists on relying heavily on international aid to improve standards. Media training and education policies in the region are fraught because of the wide range of contrasting modes of news publication and broadcast- ing outlets and hugely variable needs between the 14 independent Pacific Islands Forum countries—Cook Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Republic of the Mar- shall Islands, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu—plus Australia and New Zealand (PMCF, 2005). Since 2006, New Caledonia and French Polynesia have been associate members. The contrasts range between the largest Pacific Islands nation, Papua New Guinea in the west, with a population of 5.9 million (2005 est.)—84 per cent of them living in rural areas, 867 languages (tok ples), two national daily newspapers and one national weekly, one television station and three major radio networks, and the smallest country, Niue, population 1,492 (2007 est.), which currently manages two online publications. Several international donor organisations have played critical roles in media training and education in the region, including AusAID, NZAid (particularly in Papua New Guinea in the 1970s), French government aid (initially funded the degree programme at the University of the South Pacific in the mid 1990s) and UNESCO, which established the first regional media training programme in 1984, based in Port Moresby. Regional media organi-