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South Pacific Independent News Network · 10-08-2020, 10:31 PM

Year 18 | 08 October 2020

OCTOBER 2020 CABINET ELECTION
MINISTER OF MEDIA DEBATE
Moderator: James D. Halpert | Participants: Farengeto and Rabbitz

WELCOME TO THE OCTOBER 2020 MINISTER OF MEDIA DEBATE

I am James Halpert and I will be the moderator for this debate between Farengeto and Rabbitz, candidates for Minister of Media. This debate is sponsored by the South Pacific Independent News Network.

The format of this debate will consist of three sections:

• The first section will feature questions for both candidates on their qualifications, intended policies and their vision for the coming term.

• The second section will feature specific questions for each candidate.

• The third section will allow each candidate to ask one question to their opponent, after which a few minutes for discussion will be allowed.

Candidates are asked to clearly mark the end of their answers so that I may know when to invite the other candidate to answer or to move on to the next question. If any candidate wishes to respond to their opponent at any time, they should first ask for the floor; the goal of this is to allow me to keep an orderly flow of discussion and avoid excessive interruptions.
Opening Statements

[Farengeto] Hello everyone, I'm Farengeto! We're facing a historic election, electing three new Ministries for the first time. We need a vision and clear plan to build this Ministry up, and I believe I am the candidate who can offer that.

And a big thanks to SPINN for hosting these debates.

[Rabbitz] I may not have as much influence as Faren does, but I hope I can get you to vote for me during this debate. I have plan to make MoM into a great Ministry; a Ministry that could be the journalistic face of TSP; one that could rival TRT and NST. May the debate begin.

Section 1 - Q&A

This is the first ever election for Minister of Media, which means that many precedents will be set by whoever is elected. Why do you believe that you are particularly qualified to lead this new ministry?

[Farengeto] While I'm nowhere near the most experienced person in this region, I bring a breadth of experiences and qualifications that few here can match. I've served in just about every governmental position we have in my time here, and served in every ministry in some form. As MoM, I can bring all of this experience with me, alongside my vision for how to build and shape this new ministry.

[Rabbitz] As Faren said, I'm also nowhere near as experienced as most of the people in gov't, however, that doesn't mean I can't bring something new. During my time in MoRA, I learned from Seraph, a brilliant writer, and discovered quite a few tricks to know to make a good story. As a former Deputy Minister, and current SoS, I know how to manage a group of people and get things done. Although I may be fresh, I'm not without ideas. I hope what I have planned will shape the course of MoM entirely.

Recently the South Pacific Independent News Network (SPINN) has led the publication of media in the region. You have both said in your campaigns that you wish to work parallel to the SPINN rather than in opposition to it. How do you envision the relationship between an active Ministry of Media and the SPINN?

[Rabbitz] Although there will be an inevitable competition between getting a news story, that will not make us enemies. MoM must keep in mind that it is the voice of TSP, and, as such, will have to write that way. SPINN works outside as a private news source. MoM and SPINN can even work together to get details that the either might have missed, but, as said before, the style of MoM is the voice of TSP and the style of SPINN as a private individual must be kept.

[Farengeto] I believe SPINN and MoM should have a symbiotic relationship. While both will have separate publications with their own interests and goals, I do not believe they are unable to coexist.

As an independent publication, MoM would of course have no control over SPINN, and it will be free to do and say what it wants. But I believe there is opportunities for MoM to foster mutual benefits for TSP media.

There's also room for potential collaboration. A simple example could be inviting SPINN guests on a RealTime revival, to provide additional independent viewpoints to its debates.

Could you explain what exactly do you mean by "the voice of TSP" and how you see that playing out in practice?

[Rabbitz] The voice of TSP is what the gov't aligns to. Since TSP is defender, MoM will have a defender aligned view point. Since TSP is democratic, MoM will have a democratic view point. Since TSP has SPIT, we will speak great of SPIT. Whatever the viewpoint of TSP is, that is what MoM will have in it's writing, unless either wise stated such as an OPINION section.

Sandaoguo has suggested that the Ministry of Media should be comparable to publications such as The Rejected Times and NationStates Today. Does that align with your vision? If so, what steps would you take to get there? If not, what vision do you have for a regional publication?

[Farengeto] I believe that any Ministry publication must have an interregional presence, for the interests of representing the regional government abroad. I believe that is much of what Glen means, so I would say it aligns with my vision.

[Rabbitz] This incredibly aligns with my vision. I plan on having The Southern Journal known throughout our international relations. Every Time there’s a Monthly, or even weekly, issue of the TSJ, I can request the MoFA to allow us to use our regional embassies to spread it all around. In addition, I also have it similarly set up to NST and TRT where I have the role of an Interviewer who will view whether someone is qualified to be a Writer or an Editor.

Would that include following a government line, or do you see Media publications as being independent from the government?

[Farengeto] MoM will naturally bias towards the government's official stances, but I see no reason MoM should be forced to only tow the government line.

You have both said in your campaigns that you plan to revive the Southern Journal or an equivalent publication. Do you plan to develop other media projects aside from that?

[Rabbitz] There is the potential of setting of a media podcast for TSP. If I were to go through it, which most likely will, I would need to ask various experienced members of TSP who have done such a thing. In addition, I would also have a very distinct role for those who do the podcast called Podcasters. Apart from the TSJ and the potential for a podcast, I don't have much else, though I will be listening to input from my Ministry concerning other forms of Media that we could do.

[Farengeto] I've outlined the major ones I would like to do in my campaign. First is the previously mentioned revival of RealTime as a panel discussion show. Another I would like to do is establishing a project dedicated to doing surveys and statistics.

Depending on activity, staffing, and interest, I may look to other projects such as podcasts.

A common problem in the Ministry of Regional Affairs was that often senior fellows would ask for help and fellows wouldn't always answer. How would you ensure that those who apply to the Ministry of Media actually contribute?

[Farengeto] As MoM, I'd be taking a more active role in leadership and project management, more strictly working to maintain schedules and deadlines for publications.

[Rabbitz] I would be taking the approach that I believe was most effective in Aggie's turn as MoRA: I will be incredibly active and will ask you quite a few times if you can accomplish the task on time and make you aware of the due date. In addition, due dates will be very much enforced.

What would you do if fellows either refused to respond or repeatedly missed deadlines?

[Rabbitz] If an Writer/Editor/Interviewer outright refused to do their job on time, I will have to strip them of their responsibilities and rank. If they happened to unintentionally miss due dates, I will ask them why and tell them that they should take a break before resuming. If it happens repeatedly and they insist on continuing, I will force them to take a break.

[Farengeto] It would depend on the circumstances, but those who repeatedly miss deadlines I would be forced to potentially take action against, at worst cutting back their responsibilities.

The Minister of Media is also a member of the Cabinet and will have access to classified information. Why should the region believe that you can be trusted with that kind of access?

[Farengeto] I believe the region can trust me to that information, because they already have for years. I've been a sitting member of the CRS/CSS for over four years. And off the top of my head, I have served in Cabinet at least four times.

[Rabbitz] During my time as Chair, I didn't share anything classified nor did anything that would be considered a breach in information. During my time as Ambassador, as well as now SoS, I haven't breached information that would be detrimental to TSPs relations with other regions. I believe you can trust me with Cabinet information.

The Cabinet is generally seen as a collective executive. What kind of relationship do you hope to have with your fellow ministers and particularly with the Prime Minister?

[Rabbitz] I will do all I can to establish a peaceful and communicative relationship between MoM and the PM. If the other Ministers have a concern for the way I'm running my Ministry, they are free to DM me and we can talk about it. I plan on being open and listen to all concerns regarding the way I manage my Ministry.

[Farengeto] I hope to have a productive and collaborative relationship with the rest of Cabinet. The nature of MoM means there willl be an intersection with the interests of most ministries. News about MoC activities, cooperating with MoFA on promoting news abroad, reporting on the military, etc. And I hope that whoever becomes PM, we would share an agreeable view on directing Media.

Desserts are a contentious issue in the region. Do you prefer cake or pie?

[Farengeto] Ahem... [clears throat before going on a lengthy rambling speech which refuses to say either way, before drifting off-topic]

[Rabbitz] I prefer whatever desert is handed to me.

Section 2 - Candidate-Specific Questions

Rabbitz, you faced a certain amount of criticism during your tenure as Chair of the Assembly resulting in a recall motion and your eventual resignation. Recently you also resigned from the Coral Guard after less than two months in it. If you are elected, can the region trust that you will do your job with diligence during the whole term?

[Rabbitz] Can I be trusted, that all depends on RL factors, and not nor any one else can change that. However, this time, I have made a system that doesn't depend one person to do the task. From my version of MoM, all the MoM does is confirm due dates, check in on Writers and Editors and what they have done, confirm applications as well as step in if a Writer cannot do the task in time. If I am absent, I can have an Interviewer step in to manage for a bit while I'm gone. This is heavily opposed to Chair where I only had a Deputy and had to help manage the spreadsheet, voting times, be on time for the voting times, editing the laws etc, and even then it was all on me. The Coral Guard I had trouble fixing my scripts and finding out that one entirely conflicted the other.

Farengeto, you were last elected to the Cabinet in June 2018. How would you assure voters that you are not only qualified to run a newly created ministry, but also that you understand the way the executive branch works in the present day?

[Farengeto] The events during my last term took a severe toll on my mental health, forcing me to step back for a time. But I still have years of experience under my belt as both part of and in leadership of it. It's been a while, but the region hasn't changed that drastically.

In what ways would you think that the region has changed since you last served in the Cabinet?

[Farengeto] The biggest change would be our shift to officially adopting defenderism. And of course we lack some of the more raging voices we had in 2018.

Section 3 - Cross-Questioning

[Farengeto] During your previous response you mentioned your vision of what the Minister would do. You seem to suggest you would step aside and leave most of the work to your staff. How much work do you expect to actually do?

[Rabbitz] I expect my work to be as much as there are stories to say. My job will be to manage and make sure that everyone who says they are going to write a story, writes the story, and everyone who says they want to edit a story, edits the story. If they don't, I will do it myself. This is just for management of the Ministry and doesn't account for Cabinet events and more. I apologize if it may seem like I wouldn't be doing much, but I structured it so that MoM can put out quality works at reasonable times without having obstacles such as relying on one person to edit/write.

[Rabbitz] An article oddly written can leave a rather poor or perplex image in a different region's mind about the nature/opinion of TSP on an issue. How do you plan on negating this?

[Farengeto] Having an editorial staff to review and edit everything before publishing.

Closing Statements

[Rabbitz] If I have persuaded anyone of you to vote for me, I am happy that I didn't screw this up. If I have dissuaded anyone of you to vote for me, then I hope you can tell me what you didn't like about me after the elections are over.

[Farengeto] As I hope I've convinced you all, what I bring to the table is an experienced leadership, a commitment to open media, and a bold vision of what the ministry could be. I hope you all share my vision, and will give me your vote this election season. Thank you all for watching, and our host for moderating this debate.

This concludes the October 2020 Minister of Media Debate. Thank you Farengeto and Rabbitz for participating and thank you to our audience for attending. See you at the polls!

The South Pacific Independent News Network (SPINN) is an independent news organisation established in 2003 with the goal of providing good, insightful and timely commentary on regional events for the citizens of the South Pacific. Opinions expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editorial Board. Content is published via pseudonyms. The SPINN is not associated with the Government of the South Pacific.

(This post was last modified: 10-10-2020, 12:24 PM by South Pacific Independent News Network.)