Fiji Focus


Fiji Focus is a Fijian bi-monthly newspaper, originally launched as New Dawn by the government of Fiji's Ministry of Information and Archives in June 2009. Its motto is "A better Fiji, for you and me".

''New Dawn''

The purpose of New Dawn, as stated by interim Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama's government, was "to effectively and directly inform Fiji’s citizens of numerous policies and programmes". It also contained a section on civil service vacancies. Articles were written in any of Fiji's three official languages - English, Fijian or Hindustani. It was founded with an aim to counter what the authorities described as an anti-government bias in the media. Permanent Secretary for Information Lt.Col. Neumi Leweni stated:
At that date, however, the media were subject to strict censorship, following the constitutional crisis of April 2009.
The newspaper contained articles highlighting government policies and their effects, with a positive slant. The inaugural edition of the newspaper, on June 13, 2009, included articles entitled "Tourism grows", "US Senator moots new approach to Fiji", "Support for Peoples Charter expands", "Govt to improve services", and "Devaluation positive".
The New Dawn contained twelve pages and was published by Sun News Limited, the publishers of the Fiji Sun. It was also available online on the Fiji government website.
, a Ministry of Information news programme on Mai TV. The image, however, depicts Permanent Secretary for Information Sharon Smith-Johns viewing the new layout of Fiji Focus'' at the Ministry. The masthead depicts the national flag.

From ''New Dawn'' to ''Fiji Focus''

In the twenty-fourth edition, on 29 May 2010, the publisher's note by Sharon Smith-Johns stated:
On June 12, the paper was launched under a new name: Fiji Focus. Smith-Johns' note explained:
Indeed, unlike New Dawn, the masthead of Fiji Focus identifies it explicitly as "a publication by the Ministry of Information". The motto "A better Fiji, for you and me" is retained. It also retains the other features of New Dawn, including articles in all three national languages, and a list of civil service vacancies. The inaugural edition was twenty pages long.