FOTP 2013 Full Report

newspapers that publish with some regularity, including 2 dailies, about 100 radio stations—most of which are private—and 8 independent television stations. Many media outlets sufferfrom precarious finances due to a small pool of private advertisers and a low degree ofprofessionalism. Journalists regularly take bribes and self-censor often as a result of pressurefrom editors or external actors. Over 4 percent of the population was able to access the internet in2012, a relatively high penetration rate by regional standards, and there are no state-imposedrestrictions on access. While internet access has been both very slow and expensive, theintroduction in May 2012 of broadband internet through underwater fiber optic cables mayeventually provide a solution. In June, the state telecommunications company, Togo Telecom,began offering data packages for mobile phone subscribers at twice the speed with no increase inthe cost.TongaStatus: FreeLegal Environment: 10Political Environment: 9Economic Environment: 10Total Score: 29Survey Edition 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012Total Score, Status 31,PF 32,PF 32,PF 31,PF 29,PFTonga’s media landscape has matured in recent years, with the constitutional kingdom’sdemocratic government strengthening press freedoms. The kingdom held elections under newrules in 2010, with the parliament, rather than the king, empowered to choose the prime minister.The election campaign reflected a more robust and open media climate than in the past, and aclearer commitment by the government to uphold Clause 7 of the constitution, which guaranteesa free press.Journalists found guilty of criminal libel and defamation are usually punished with fines.In 2011, cabinet minister Clive Edwards won a defamation lawsuit against the newspaper Kele‘afor a story published the day before the 2010 elections that accused him and other candidates offorming a “secret” political party backed by the government. Edwards claimed that the frontpagestory was false and played a key role in the loss of his seat in the parliament. Thenewspaper was fined 14,275 pa‘anga ($8,300). In October 2012, the prime minister and sixcabinet members sued Kele‘a for an editorial asserting that some members of parliament wereabove the law. The case was pending at year’s end.Tonga does not have a freedom of information (FOI) law, but in early 2012 thegovernment stressed its commitment to a more open administration and held nationalconsultations on future FOI legislation.A longtime publishing foe of the monarchy, Kalafi Moala, now heads an independentnewspaper, Taimi ‘o Tonga, and the Taimi Media Network website. He had also been contractedto revive the state-owned Tongan Chronicle as a weekly English-language newspaper beginningin 2009, but the paper ceased publication in 2011 after a struggle to keep it afloat, and its assetswere returned to the government in March 2012. The government subsequently announced that it374