J.A.W.S LAUNCHES PARLIAMENTARY BOOKLET
Caption : Speaker of The House Papalii Li'o Taeu Masipau with his copy
of the booklet.
Photo By : Anetone Sagaga
The Journalism Association of Samoa in collaboration with the Pacific Media Assistance Scheme (P.A.C.M.A.S) and the Legislative Office have officially launched its first ever "Parliamentary Reporter's Handbook''.
The project aims to set out guidelines to protect the integrity of the 4th Estate and the role of the media to act as a watchdog of Samoa's government
The booklet contains a variety of written regulations and guidelines, which is provided for the media community as they cover and report proceedings from Parliamentary sittings. This followed assistance by the Legislative Assembly who informally presented a workshop for the media earlier on Friday , clarifying how to approach Parliament for news context.
The President of the Journalism Association of Western Samoa (J.A.W.S) Lagi Keresoma, during her remarks stated the essence and predominance that was invested in constructing the project , which was funded by the Australian High Commission in Samoa.
"We sincerely acknowledge and appreciate P.A.C.M.A.S for their constant assistance and endowing this project we are here to launch today. This isn't the first time they have assisted us (media) ," she said.
"I hope that our journalists will not treat this handbook as an ornament or a decorative object because it is a very important book that will surely assist parliamentary reporters," she said.
Veteran Australian parliamentary journalist Steve Chase also relayed during his remarks that he hopes the handbook will be of great assistance to the reporters.
"We hope that this publication will allow parliamentary reporters to write accurate, impartial and fair parliamentary news stories" said Mr. Chase.