The Guardian will appoint a Pacific editor to expand its coverage of the region, commission investigations and lead new partnerships with journalists from other media organisations.
The position, which will be advertised in coming weeks, has been made possible by a grant from the Judith Neilson Institute for Journalism and Ideas.
The editor will work with independent news outlets and journalists based in the Pacific to develop a new reporting network to cover security and geopolitical issues, environmental challenges and social affairs.
The role will expand Guardian Australia’s award-winning team of foreign correspondents and editors covering Asia and the Pacific, and is part of the organisation’s commitment to reporting on the region.
The editor of Guardian Australia, Lenore Taylor, said: “We’ve wanted to do more reporting in the Pacific for a long time and this grant will make it possible. The region receives relatively little sustained reporting even though there are globally significant security, environmental and social stories to be told. We know these topics are of strong interest to our readers in Australia and around the world.
“We’re excited to work with local journalists and we have plans to collaborate with SBS on some bigger investigations.”
The director of the Judith Neilson Institute, Mark Ryan, said the Pacific region was long overdue for deeper and more sustained coverage by Australian reporters.
“The Pacific is increasingly a focus of global attention as larger geopolitical forces play out, and it’s on the frontline of climate change and other major environmental impacts.
“It’s an obvious area of need and JNI is keen to support efforts to boost reporting of these issues and bring them to the attention of Australian readers and policymakers.
“The institute believes that the best way to champion quality journalism is to help journalists do more of it.”
Stories from the grant will be published by the Guardian, on its Australian, UK, US and international sites.
In the past 12 months, Guardian Australia has delivered two philanthropic-funded projects via the industry-first Guardian Civic Journalism Trust: the Indigenous investigations project won a Walkley award for innovation; and the Transparency Project fed into Senate inquiries and Senate estimates, prompting numerous questions to government officials.
