Earlier in the year, the online version of Tahiti Pacifique was looking rather dated with a March cover edition ushering in readers to the August website. However, the Alex duPrel-edited magazine underwent an online design revamp. The home page now welcomes readers with the bold scarlet masthead logo and a blurb describing itself as a magazine known for its "free expression, fiesty independence and critical analysis" on local political and economic life. It also notes that it is the strongest selling French-language magazine in the French-speaking Pacific. No doubt it is, but this sort of claim always carries more weight with audited figures.

But frankly I prefer the old web design with a link straight to the front page and table of contents. You can easily pick up the housekeeping details, address, subscription rates and so on later, if you're still interested. The latest edition on line was October with the cover story "Le Matriarcat" and a Gauguinish design of a matriach walking two children to church. (Tahiti Pacifique's covers, when they're acrylic works by Philippe Dubois, are also far better than anything in the English-speaking Pacific news media). Also featured were the Pacific Festival of Arts in Western Samoa and the standard question on the economy asked by most Pacific countries today: "Where are we going?"

The first news item headline said: SUN STROKES FROM TAHITI. Perhaps the sun affected the website too.

The most newsy of the Pacific websites is Papua New Guinea's The National by a long shot . Launched in August, it is yet another tribute to the innovativeness of the Malaysian-owned company with the fastest growing circulation in the Pacific. The National Online quickly became popular with PNG nationals abroad starved for both the turbulent social and political news about home -- and also sport.

Offered by The National, with a delightfully simple but user-friendly design, are home news, editorial (and even letters to the editor), business, sport and a back issue archive. On the day I checked for this review, the big news was Foreign Affairs Secretary Gabriel Dusava being referred to a Leadership Tribunal for an inquiry into alleged misconduct in office, and the aftermath of the temporary gagging of the Ombudman's report on the Port Moresby water scandal.

A month later, the rival Murdoch-owned Post-Courier had an impressive launch of its own website which was touted as a big breakthrough for the region. However, readers eagerly looking forward to news were disappointed when first they couldn't get a connection to the advertised URL (it was a demonstration address that had been made public prematurely) and then, when they finally did link up, all they got on line was classified advertising. The Post-Courier had been hooked up to its Australian parent company News Ltd's online classifieds.

The negative response to this was so great that the Post-Courier has probably lost some of its regular readers studying or working abroad to The National when they return home. Both Port Moresby paper websites are not produced by journalists, but by commercial website providers in Australia.

Down the track the Post-Courier site improved with a home page giving some information about itself, including a travelogue that no journalist would write: "Welcome to Papua New Guinea, one of the most exciting and beautiful nations on earth.

"Where are we? The island of New Guinea is the second largest island in the world. Papua New Guinea consists of the eastern half of New Guinea and several smaller islands including Bougainville, New Britain, Manus and New Ireland. The mountainous spine ..." Yawn. And still no news or analysis.

There was a link to the Post-Courier classifieds and a PNG trade directory citing as first entries "betelnuts and mustards", "passport and visa", "buttons", "plant hire" and "second-hand clothing". Also a message in Tok Pisin to the "online world" . People having translation difficulties were invited to contact Post-Courier editor Oseah Philemon.

Journalists need to reclaim some Pacific websites so that there is real content.

In Western Samoa, the Polynesian Cafe newsfeed from the Samoa Observer was very readable in a no-nonsense way but it was a month old (dated September 11). Top news item was about a reopened inquiry into a former Electric Power Corporation employee accused of sexually assaulting and harassing co-workers.

Tonga has both the weekly newspaper Tonga Chronicle and monthly news magazine Matangi Tonga on line, thanks to the indefatigable efforts of Taholo Kami who has established a network of websites from Port Moresby to Nuku'alofa. At the time of this survey, Tonga was still smarting over indignant world reaction to the jailing of two editors and an MP/publisher 'Akilisi Pohiva, and the suspension of Parliament.

Banner headline (if you can call it that on a website) was SHOCK WAVES AS TONGAN KING CLOSES HOUSE. But, ironically, this news item was from the New Zealand Herald via Kavabowl, another Kami creation (it is believed he is keen to publish a "netzine"). Lead news item in the Chronicle web bulletin was PUMPKIN SQUASH FIRST SHIPMENT. This was about 1800 tonnes of the vegetable being finally en route for Japan three days late.

Now I have a minor bone to pick with the Chronicle as it claims it is the "first Pacific newsfeed on the Internet". This depends on how this is defined. Uni Tavur, the fortnightly journalism student newspaper, published its 20th anniversary of Papua New Guinea independence (16 September 1995) issue on the Web along with colour front page graphics and photographs. Since then it has established a daily newsfeed on a website from its Papua Niugini Nius wire, established in March 1996. Nius was chosen Best Pacific Website in October 1996. Uni Tavur would definitely claim to be the first Pacific "newspaper" online. And this has been done by journalists and students without intervention by commercial providers.

A word about some of the links to news media in the Pacific. ACIJ's Online Journalist has a useful media link; so too does Michael Ogden's Pacific Islands Internet Services. And Suzanna Layton's CocoNET Wireless at the University of Queensland is frequently helpful, and my own netzine Cafe Pacific has hyperlinks to news media from country profiles. However, part of Layton's section on Papua New Guinea, in particular, looks remarkably like data compiled in my Nius Bilong Pasifik including the mirroring of now out-of-date information and typographical errors (such as Winnie Singarok-- she is actually Weni-- who is listed by Layton as Nau FM news director in a September 1996 update when she has not been in that role for more than a year). Our information was updated last year and has since been revised several times.

Given that just earlier this year Layton was making a jaundiced swipe at Nius Bilong Pasifik for an imagined overlap with her book, many would see this is as more than a touch of hypocrisy.

Territorial imperatives are out of place in such an insular region. For our part, we welcome the use of our data as widely as possible. Surely that's the whole point. Layton is also curiously selective with her sources and links. It is just as well there are alternatives.

Finally, hot news from Rabi Online. In mid-October the latest news update was July 20: Item: "Routine tour: On July 3 Major Malo (interim administrator) arrived on a normal round of tour. He left on July 7." End of news.

Copyright © 1996 David Robie and Asia-Pacific Network

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