Marc Edge and the 'Pacific media puppetmaster'

Dr Marc Edge at Pacific Harbour, Fiji, before he outlived his welcome.

A POSTING from Marc Edge to Café Pacific. Marc who? Oh, the Canadian guy who recently headed the University of the South Pacific journalism programme and who self-destructed mid-way through his contract. And now he publishes the vengeful blog Fiji Media Bores (Wars). This is what he says in response to the Café Pacific article:

It will be obvious to all with the posting of this entry exactly what side David Robie is on. If I had any illusions that this comment would be posted (Robie controls comments closely) [A LIE] I would go on and on about how Robie has been not just complicit but a driving force in the smear campaign against me [ANOTHER LIE]. There are several reasons for this, from what I can tell. He couldn't stand the fact there was a media scholar in the region of equal or greater standing to himself who didn't assign his textbook [NARCISSISM] . He couldn't stand the fact that I didn't submit articles to his B-ranked journal [ANOTHER LIE]. But most of all, he didn't like anyone contradicting his theory that Fiji media have been to blame for the country's endless coups (instead the lack of rule of law is) and his support for media suppression there [YET ANOTHER LIE]. I was going to save this for the book, David. I had a whole chapter mapped out -- Pacific Media Puppetmaster. Now I guess I'll have to blog about it. Your choice.

Marc, sour grapes. Café Pacific says if you paid more attention to running a journalism programme and developing student journalists instead of indulging in conspiracy theories, paranoia, misrepresentations and bitterly attacking journalists, media academics and students around the region, you might have lasted the distance. Your smear allegation is untrue, along with the rest of your puerile claims - and just further laughable evidence of your credibility problem.

Marc's cheap shot characterisation of David Robie's media philosophy is distorted and wrong. Anybody interested in his actual views on "coups, media and human rights" should read this or watch this video. This blog is dedicated to media freedom and watchdog journalism and it has always been opposed to all coups and military-backed regimes in Fiji. Real journalists write about issues, not indulge in petty and nasty personal attacks, which comprise the bulk of Edge's blog content.

• Vendetta journalism and counterpropaganda, 'Fiji style'