Open AccessCook Islands: The Cook Islands News and the genesis of FOI
Author(s) -
John A. Woods
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
pacific journalism review
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.308
H-Index - 13
eISSN - 2324-2035
pISSN - 1023-9499
DOI - 10.24135/pjr.v16i2.1028
Subject(s) - cabinet (room) , secrecy , newspaper , prime minister , salary , publishing , political science , law , journalism , project commissioning , media studies , management , history , sociology , economics , politics , archaeology
Commentary: The Cook Islands News is challenging the Prime Minister and his Cabinet for maintaining secrecy and nondisclosure around all of Cabinet’s business in spite of the country’s Official Information Act. And the newspaper is fighting several defamation actions which in legal fees are chewing up the equivalent of a whole annual salary for a senior journalist. This is a waste of limited resources, but the cost of being a ‘free press’.