TV station to remain independent, Patel says

 TELIKOM PNG Ltd as a government entity will not have any influence on Media Niugini Ltd’s operation, chairman Mahesh Patel says.

Telikom recently paid K20 million to acquire MNL, the parent company of free-to-air television station EMTV, from Fiji Television Limited.

Patel said yesterday the State entity was not involved in the daily operations of its subsidiaries, including MNL and Datec.

“As far as my board is concerned, there will absolutely be no bias; ultimately it boils down to the journalist,” he said. 

“We (Telikom board) are not going to pull strings and tell journalists to do this and that, they are independent. 

“By the same token, we would not expect anybody to tell us to do this, do that, The journalism independence has to stay there. 

“I’m sure there’s code of ethics internationally so we will follow that while being a State-owned entity.

“Currently with all our subsidiaries, really it’s just quarterly board meeting. We don’t get involved in their day-to-day operations.

“EMTV has its own management team, and where we will get involved is the back end support service. 

“Its basic economics, you acquire businesses and try to trim down costs by merging all the back end services, front end is totally independent.”