"Policy and Legislation: The Constitution protects freedom of expression, but there are no explicit references to freedom of media. Freedom of media was specifically included in the Tuvalu Media Corporation Act of 1993, but since being de-corporatised in 2008, the Tuvalu Media Department is no longer separated from the government. The Public Order Act was used in 2011 to ban political meetings for a short time. There is no market competition in telecommunications, and no liberalisation legislation in place.
Media Systems: Tuvalu has recently had upgrades to equipment funded by Japan, but technicians are worried about how they would cope with breakdowns after the one year warranty expires. Internet connections are unreliable and intermittent. Technicians are keen to be involved in support networks. Emergency plans are associated with tsunamis and cyclones; they do not have a communications section, so knowledge of communication procedures is informal. Disaster awareness is hampered to some extent by faith-based rejections of risks.
Capacity Building: Few media professionals, including the technicians, have formal qualifications. Funding is a barrier to accessing regional and international training. There are no separate media organisations or associations in Tuvalu, and there is only one media outlet. The TMD is a member of PINA, although access to training and support remains problematic.
Content: Central-periphery divides have an impact on the news and content included in mass media. Media coverage of climate change is low, and despite some faith-based rejections of risks, churches have become leading advocates of climate change issues. Face-to-face communication is preferred for disaster awareness. The TMD shows great enthusiasm for covering NCD issues in a variety of formats." (Summary of findings)