"Policy and Legislation: The Ministry of Communication, Transport and Tourism Development (MCTTD) is responsible for regulation of media and telecommunications. Within the MCTTD the Broadcasting and Publications Authority (BPA ) is responsible for public service media. The Kiribati government has used licensing laws to control the media and media professionals. The Telecommunications Act of 2004 allows for competition but so far services are provided by a governmentowned monopoly.
Media Systems: There is some informal cooperation among technicians in Kiribati across government media, telecommunications and church media. There is a lack of funding to fix major technical faults, and this has led to the shutdown of radio services for several months at a time in the past. The current Disaster Management Plan is not comprehensive and requires further development, especially in relation to communications.
Capacity Building: Few journalists, technicians and other media staff have formal qualifications. In-house training is preferred due to costs and access. The government does have a process for applying for funding for training. The national media association, Kiribati Islands Media Association (KIMA), was recently revived, but journalists don’t have confidence that they would be supported if they were pressured by the government.
Content: Churches, NGOs and government departments produce content for mass media, though skills and fees are a concern for some. There is some ‘message fatigue’ in relation to climate change issues. Many people are not receptive to messages about climate change due to the conflict between science and their religious beliefs. There are some basic campaigns and promotional activities addressing NCD related issues." (Summary of findings)