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# INTO THE ABYSS

Posted on December 27, 2012 31 Comments

Word has reached Grubsheet that the embattled former Head of Journalism at the University of the South Pacific, Dr Marc Edge, has left Fiji after losing his job. There’s so far been no official announcement but Fiji Leaks – the suspected blog site of the Oxford-based journalist and academic, Victor Lal – reports that Dr Edge flew out of Nadi for North America on the evening of December 22nd. His reported departure marks the end of an extraordinary episode in the life of USP and its journalism school. It isn’t just the saga of one man’s inability to work with many of his students and colleagues or the way in which his divisive style alienated other regional academic institutions and three Pacific Governments – Fiji, Tonga and Samoa. Marc Edge was a very public exponent of the confrontational “publish and be damned” attitude of the Western media. He appears to have seen it as his mission to overturn the more moderate “developmental journalism” favoured by his predecessors and cast himself – especially with his younger students – as a heroic crusader for truth and freedom. Yet by adopting the posture of a zealous journalistic missionary among the ignorant savages, he was the classic square Western peg in a round Pacific hole. He was patronising, arrogant and litigious – having threatened to sue Grubsheet and the Fiji Sun. And in the end, he wound up alienating practically everyone.

Grubsheet’s testy relationship with Dr Edge and our rapier exchanges have been well-documented in these columns and on his own blog. But by the time he left Suva, he’d fallen out with even some of his staunchest supporters. This included his patron saint and head of department at USP, Professor Sudesh Mishra, who’d boldly defied repeated attempts by the University hierarchy to discipline Dr Edge and remove him. A couple of weeks back, the USP held a function to honour those students who had won prestigious regional awards for their journalism in the university newspaper, Wansolwara. By now, the decision had already been made that Dr Edge’s position was untenable and he was telling individual students that he was leaving. But those present were astonished at what happened when Professor Mishra tried to present Dr Edge with a parting gift. He refused to accept it, publicly stated that it was premature and that events the following day might mean he would not be leaving after all. It was an extraordinary snub which left witnesses dumbfounded at Dr Edge’s nonchalance about humiliating a man who had stood by him almost to the bitter end. Precisely what event was meant to save him isn’t clear but with this act, his last vestige of support had crumbled.

So Marc Edge departs, not with the bang that he’d long hoped for but with a whimper. And the USP is left with a string of official complaints about him from his students and formal allegations of professional misconduct by other academics. Presumably, a line has now been drawn under the whole sorry episode. Grubsheet understands that part of Dr Edge’s settlement package includes a confidentiality cause but it will be interesting to see if he honours it. More than once, he’s threatened to write a book about his experiences at USP. Doubtless it will detail how the Mighty Thor of Journalism (see previous posting) was slain by lesser mortals, an evil Fijian dictatorship and the “black arts” practitioners of Qorvis, the Washington-based communications firm that employs Grubsheet in Fiji.

The Canadian-born Dr Edge is convinced that Grubsheet’s criticism of him over the months was part of a “black arts” operation by Qorvis against him. No Marc. You didn’t rate on Washington’s radar at all. Whatever criticism was mine and mine alone. After your blatant public misrepresentation of events at the Pacific Media Summit last March, I was merely one of a number of people who began to have doubts about your fitness to be Head of Journalism at USP. And those doubts solidified as you began to wage war on some of your students and publicly criticised and belittled some of your fellow academics.

USP Journalism isn’t about you and the personality cult you built around yourself. It’s about producing the best possible graduates to improve the standard of Pacific journalism. You became a threat to that, which is ultimately why everyone eventually decided – even your own supporters – that you had to go. Any mourning seems destined to be short-lived. In the closing days of the saga, Dr Edge’s long-suffering deputy,  the popular Irene Manueli – who he’d also publicly humiliated at a journalistic gabfest in September – was spotted on the dance floor at Suva’s Bad Dog nightclub.  The lovely Manueli – according to Grubsheet’s informants – finally looked as if she didn’t have a care in the world.

A PS TO MY FAITHFUL READERS: This is largely an exercise in tying up a loose end for those of you who have been following this minor feud all year. You’ll have noticed that I haven’t posted for a while. The reason is that I have a clear conflict of interest when it comes to commenting on political matters in Fiji, and especially partisan politics in the lead-up to the election.

I am now spending much of my time in Suva working on the Qorvis account that services the Fijian Government. As you all know, my support for that Government is long-standing and my support for Frank Bainimarama actually precedes the events of 2006. But continuing to express that support while being actively involved in Government naturally leaves me vulnerable to charges of being a polemicist or propagandist rather than an independent commentator.

That does not mean that I can’t comment on other issues and will begin doing so in the New Year. Thanks for your patience and Seasons Greetings to each and every one of you. Here’s to a better 2013 for every Fijian!

 

 

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. AvatarCaptain Noob says

    December 27, 2012 at 1:34 pm

    Evil has has been successfully vanquished.

    Reply
  2. AvatarThor says

    December 27, 2012 at 1:36 pm

    Thor? This man is no Thor, he is the penguin from batman.

    Reply
    • AvatarJohn Smith says

      December 27, 2012 at 1:37 pm

      Now that you mention it, I see the resemblance.

      Reply
  3. AvatarGood Riddance Edge says

    December 27, 2012 at 1:45 pm

    Of course he turned on Sudesh. Looking at Edges behavior all year you can easily tell that this man lacks any sort morality or character. All the way from his cowardice at the PINA summit where he said nothing at the actual meet then bashed everyone in a radio interview. Don’t worry too much about this guy nobody actually listens to him.

    Reply
  4. Avatarroflmao says

    December 27, 2012 at 2:00 pm

    Don’t match wits with individuals that very few can match wits with is the lesson of the day.

    Reply
  5. AvatarMarc Edge says

    December 27, 2012 at 3:19 pm

    When did I ever claim that Qorvis is related to the CIA? I swear you just make half of this stuff up. You have a very active imagination.

    Reply
    • AvatarGraham Davis says

      December 27, 2012 at 3:47 pm

      Marc, noted and corrected. It was another mad blogger. I take it you have no quibble with the facts in the rest of this posting or you would have raised an objection to them as well. That hardly constitutes “making half this stuff up”.

      Reply
      • AvatarMarc Edge says

        December 27, 2012 at 4:12 pm

        I have many objections to what you write, only some of which I can make publicly.

        Reply
        • Avatarpasser by says

          December 27, 2012 at 4:36 pm

          what is holding you back?

          Reply
    • AvatarVery happy former journalism student says

      December 27, 2012 at 5:12 pm

      Pot calling kettle black Marc? What about the many times have you made things up and told outright lies to save your backside? Anyway, as someone said, good riddance.

      Reply
  6. AvatarCin Cin says

    December 27, 2012 at 3:40 pm

    ‘…..But continuing to express that support while being actively involved in Government naturally leaves me vulnerable to charges of being a polemicist or propagandist rather than an independent commentator.’

    I suspect the horse may have bolted on that one Graham.

    Reply
    • AvatarGraham Davis says

      December 27, 2012 at 5:12 pm

      Well, I’ve made no secret of it. Ever.

      Reply
      • AvatarCin Cin says

        December 27, 2012 at 6:47 pm

        Oh well ,fair enough.

        So when are you or Croz going to refute the allegation about the burning of copies of the draft constitution? Surely it didn’t happen.

        Reply
        • AvatarGraham Davis says

          December 27, 2012 at 7:36 pm

          My information is that the documents in question have NOT been burnt. They are being withdrawn from circulation until they’re released by the proper authority – the yet to be announced Chair of the Constituent Assembly. The Draft Constitution is not a Government document. It was handed by Yash Ghai to the President, whose job it is to hand it to the Chair of the Constituent Assembly – made up of a broad cross section of Fijian society – when the PM chooses him or her or them ( if there’s a co-chair) in the New Year.

          It’s a question of due process. The Government didn’t leak this document. Victor Lal did having obtained it by unauthorised means. As a journalist myself, I don’t have a particular problem with that. But surely it’s fair enough for the Government to want the authorised person – the Constituent Assembly Chair – to be handed the document, supervise its public release and begin the formal deliberations. That was the plan and is still the plan, as I understand it.

          Reply
  7. Avatarpasser by says

    December 27, 2012 at 4:11 pm

    I was just wondering the same thing

    Reply
    • AvatarMarc Edge says

      December 27, 2012 at 4:40 pm

      Graham has grown quiet. Perhaps the reality is sinking in of what might be coming. You know, that Rhys Holleran seems like such a good and decent man, always eager to do the right thing.

      Reply
      • AvatarGraham Davis says

        December 27, 2012 at 5:10 pm

        So get this, guys. Marc Edge thinks the head of Southern Cross Austereo in Australia is going to inflict some form of punishment on me because I had the temerity to write about Marc’s sacking from USP wearing an entirely separate professional hat in Fiji. Gee, Marc, I’m sure he’ll be falling over himself to take your call.

        Woo hoo. The man who claims to have single handedly brought down Conrad Black is going to do the same to me. Honestly, how do I keep going? I’ll be up all night sick with worry.

        Reply
        • AvatarMarc Edge says

          December 27, 2012 at 5:21 pm

          Mr. Rhys Holleran
          Chief Executive Officer
          Southern Cross Media Group
          Level 2, 257 Clarendon Street
          South Melbourne, Victoria 3205
          Australia

          Dear Mr. Holleran,

          I wonder if you are aware that the host of one of your public affairs television programmes is a paid government propagandist. Not for the Australian government, but for a foreign government. Specifically for the military dictatorship in Fiji.

          Graham Davis hosts The Great Divide on the Southern Cross Austereo network. According to his Wikipedia page, Mr Davis was a member of the panel that reviewed the Australian Journalists’ Code of Ethics. But Mr Davis has a second job. Every week, he flys to Fiji, where he was born. There he consults for the military regime’s U.S.-based public relations company, Qorvis Communications. Yes, while also in your employ, Mr Davis is a part-time propagandist for a dictator. His main task until recently seemed to be getting rid of me. He has now succeeded through his blog Grubsheet Feejee, where for more than a month all Mr Davis could write about was why I should lose my job and exit the country.

          Reply
          • AvatarGraham Davis says

            December 27, 2012 at 5:28 pm

            You need help, Marc. You were sacked from USP for misconduct. It had nothing to do with me and this just makes you look crazy. The level of transference is amazing and very sad.

          • Avatarpasser by says

            December 27, 2012 at 7:29 pm

            It appears Edge who got fired shamefully is now trying to make others feel the same shame

          • AvatarMarc Edge says

            December 28, 2012 at 3:55 pm

            You’ve got your facts wrong again. So what else is new?

          • AvatarChand says

            December 28, 2012 at 9:11 pm

            Mark Edgee Mr. Rhys Holleran
            Somewhere in Canada Chief Executive Officer
            South X Media Group
            Australia

            Dear Mr Edgee,
            Thak you for your letter dated sunny time somewhere in a nice flat at Laucala Bay in Fiji.
            After careful consideration with the media authority and my colleagues at ABC (yes even ABC has “some standards”), it was overwhelmingly decided “Ethics my Arse”.
            A copy of this will be posted to you in Canada and Shazzar, my trusted secretary will see to that.
            As usual, please do not hesitate to respond.

          • AvatarMarc Edge says

            December 29, 2012 at 7:23 am

            LMFAO!! That’s the first good one you’ve ever had!

      • AvatarGive and take says

        December 27, 2012 at 5:48 pm

        Be very ready to take what you give out Marc Edge. You left behind a lot of dirty linen at USP. Wait for it all to unroll.

        Reply
        • AvatarMarc Edge says

          December 27, 2012 at 5:52 pm

          Unless you keep making more stuff up, I have nothing to worry about.

          Reply
          • AvatarGraham Davis says

            December 27, 2012 at 9:27 pm

            Excuse me, but again, which bits have been made up? You continue to refuse to rebut any of the specifics while maintaining your absurd posture of innocence. How you can do this with a straight face with a Fijian audience – some of whom clearly suffered at your hands – is astonishing.

  8. AvatarCarly Rhodes says

    December 27, 2012 at 6:25 pm

    So, is the Journalism School safe to return to?

    Reply
  9. AvatarJukebox says

    December 28, 2012 at 6:23 am

    Hooray, hooray, hooray, hooray…………….. it’s a happy, happy holiday.

    Reply
  10. AvatarUSP Insider says

    December 28, 2012 at 9:14 am

    At the end even sudesh mishra lost all hope with Edge. His exact words were “I give up on this idiot he will never learn”

    A man with no honor soon learns that he has no friends. Well i guess the racist people at coup 4.5 (Fijis very own KKK) are his friends.

    Reply
    • AvatarMonster says

      December 28, 2012 at 9:32 am

      sudesh mishra created this monster.

      Reply
  11. AvatarRiverside says

    December 28, 2012 at 9:55 am

    So Part 2 ends with Edge thrown over the edge.

    I only hope USP does find a good replacement very soon for the sake of our Journalism students who would be enrolling there next year.

    By the way Graham, nice to read your articles again…………….. I have waited for rather long. Anyway, I believe you made the right decision to wait.

    Hope you enjoyed your Christmas. And may you have a blessed New Year.

    And same goes to all of you bloggers………………. really glad GD is back ………… don’t you agree?

    Reply

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About Grubsheet

Graham Davis
Grubsheet Feejee is the blogsite of Graham Davis, an award-winning journalist turned communications consultant who was the Fijian Government’s principal communications advisor for six years from 2012 to 2018 and continued to work on Fiji’s global climate and oceans campaign up until the end of the decade.

 

Fiji-born to missionary parents and a dual Fijian-Australian national, Graham spent four decades in the international media before returning to Fiji to work full time in 2012. He reported from many parts of the world for the BBC, ABC, SBS, the Nine and Seven Networks and Sky News and wrote for a range of newspapers and magazines in Australia, New Zealand and Fiji.

 

Graham launched Grubsheet Feejee in 2011 and suspended writing for it after the Fijian election of 2014, by which time he was working at the heart of government. But the website continued to attract hits as a background resource on events in Fiji in the transition back to parliamentary democracy.

 

Grubsheet relaunches in 2020 at one of the most critical times in Fijian history, with the nation reeling from the Covid-19 crisis and Frank Bainimarama’s government shouldering the twin burdens of incumbency and economic disintegration.

 

Grubsheet’s sole agenda is the national interest; the strengthening of Fiji’s ties with the democracies; upholding equal rights for all citizens; government that is genuinely transparent and free of corruption and nepotism; and upholding Fiji’s service to the world in climate and oceans advocacy and UN Peacekeeping.

 

Comments are welcome and you can contact me in the strictest confidence at grubsheetcontact@gmail.com

 

(Feejee is the original name for Fiji - a derivative of the indigenous Viti and the Tongan Fisi - and was widely used until the late 19th century)

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