FHRC report baseless-Parkinson

Skin colour has nothing to do with how the media organizations in the country operate and provide news to the people.Communications Fiji Limited Managing Director William Parkinson has labelled the FHRC Report compiled by James Anthony on the media in Fiji as absolutely baseless.Parkinson has also criticized the recommendations by Doctor Anthony that Fiji Human Rights Commission should take necessary steps to strongly recommend to government that all existing work permits in the media industry not be renewed and that no further work permits be issued. He has questioned why only the media is being targeted.Parkinson has also lashed out at the FHRC for listing a number of companies including media houses as members of the SDL's Duavata Initiative Company without any evidence. Meanwhile, Parkinson said that some media companies will go bankrupt if the government comes up with a 7 percent tax across the board on all media advertising revenue and further 7 percent on all revenue generated from licence and monthly user fees on consumers as recommended by Dr. Anthony.Editor of Fiji Times, Netani Rika has strongly condemned the contents of the Fiji Human Rights Commission report which is blaming the media for the 1987 coup.Rika said Dr. Anthony should understand that the coups have not been staged by any media organization.Rika added that Dr. Anthony's allegations are baseless and its his personal view that white men are running the show in the media industry.Meanwhile, other media organizations are still going through the report and are expected to comment later today.Doctor James Anthony writes that the power of the media was found to be in the hands of about eight whites (mostly expatriates) operating in the shadows, acting in concert as members of a private club, deciding not only what to print but also deciding what not to print.