Fiji's prime minister has attacked the local media for the second time after castigating it at an international conference of the Commonwealth Broadcasting Association on last Tuesday.
The Daily Post quotes Laisenia Qarase as saying that some journalists and politicians are in denial that Fiji is moving ahead and its economy is growing rapidly.
Mr Qarase says the facts are staring them in the face but they do not want to see them.
He says Fiji has been placed among the world's ten most improved countries with an overall rating of 76 out of 171 nations, and is viewed as one of the most economically successful of the small island states.
Mr Qarase says journalists are out of touch and in denial.
The secretary of the Fiji Media Council, Bob Pratt, says Mr Qarase's criticism is similar to that of other prime ministers and governments in the past, and is a normal part of relations between the media and politicians.
