The Pacific National Radio Trust wins funding to enhance reporting of Pacific news

National Pacific Radio Trust has won a year's funding from NZ On Air’s Public Interest Journalism Fund to enhance its reporting of Pacific news stories.

Pacific Media Network Chairperson Tiumalu Peter Fa'afiu says the funding of up to $275,000 will make for more quality story telling.

"It's a testing ground for the PMN News team. But everything we've thrown at them and the growth of the PMN News team in the last four years has been great and this will be even better so it's just about consistently testing that quality of journalism that we have and the quality of storytelling."

Pacific Media Network CEO Don Mann says the funding is necessary as Pacific influence grows in the country.

"There's considerable reform going on, for instance in the health area. We’ve got the most number of Pacific MPs we've ever had and there's significant spend going into the Pasifika community.”

Mann says: “It's important that PMN plays our role in holding Government to account; the critical part of media and then this investment from the Public Interest Journalism fund allows us to step up the function of our news room."