A foreign flower no more: Tongan diasporic media and the 2014 Tongan election

The use of social media and the involvement of diasporic populations in politics is a growing trend among diasporic Polynesian communities and Island politicians. Auckland-based Tongan media, which are the focus of this article, appear to have had an effect on voter behaviour in the 2014 Tongan elec...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Philip Cass
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Asia Pacific Network 2016-07-01
Series:Pacific Journalism Review
Subjects:
Online Access:https://ojs.aut.ac.nz/pacific-journalism-review/article/view/14
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author Philip Cass
author_facet Philip Cass
author_sort Philip Cass
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description The use of social media and the involvement of diasporic populations in politics is a growing trend among diasporic Polynesian communities and Island politicians. Auckland-based Tongan media, which are the focus of this article, appear to have had an effect on voter behaviour in the 2014 Tongan elections. Using the Auckland-based news site Kaniva News as a case study and drawing on interviews with Tongan journalists, this article sets out to show the links between the development of online media among the Tongan diaspora, the rise of ‘Akilisi Pohiva’s democracy movement and the mediated involvement of New Zealand’s Tongan community in that democratic process. Similar developments have also been noted in Fiji and the Cook Islands where online media played an important part in recent elections.
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spelling doaj.art-c25e55baaf3c4bb59cf1d84d71a809382022-12-21T21:46:43ZengAsia Pacific NetworkPacific Journalism Review1023-94992324-20352016-07-0122110.24135/pjr.v22i1.14A foreign flower no more: Tongan diasporic media and the 2014 Tongan electionPhilip CassThe use of social media and the involvement of diasporic populations in politics is a growing trend among diasporic Polynesian communities and Island politicians. Auckland-based Tongan media, which are the focus of this article, appear to have had an effect on voter behaviour in the 2014 Tongan elections. Using the Auckland-based news site Kaniva News as a case study and drawing on interviews with Tongan journalists, this article sets out to show the links between the development of online media among the Tongan diaspora, the rise of ‘Akilisi Pohiva’s democracy movement and the mediated involvement of New Zealand’s Tongan community in that democratic process. Similar developments have also been noted in Fiji and the Cook Islands where online media played an important part in recent elections.https://ojs.aut.ac.nz/pacific-journalism-review/article/view/14Kaniva NewsTongadiasporadiasporic mediademocracyelections
spellingShingle Philip Cass
A foreign flower no more: Tongan diasporic media and the 2014 Tongan election
Pacific Journalism Review
Kaniva News
Tonga
diaspora
diasporic media
democracy
elections
title A foreign flower no more: Tongan diasporic media and the 2014 Tongan election
title_full A foreign flower no more: Tongan diasporic media and the 2014 Tongan election
title_fullStr A foreign flower no more: Tongan diasporic media and the 2014 Tongan election
title_full_unstemmed A foreign flower no more: Tongan diasporic media and the 2014 Tongan election
title_short A foreign flower no more: Tongan diasporic media and the 2014 Tongan election
title_sort foreign flower no more tongan diasporic media and the 2014 tongan election
topic Kaniva News
Tonga
diaspora
diasporic media
democracy
elections
url https://ojs.aut.ac.nz/pacific-journalism-review/article/view/14
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