A Pacific media expert says the Australian Associated Press, or AAP, closing its Papua New Guinea bureau may result in more parachute journalism and less informed stories on the region.
After a 60-year presence in Port Moresby the news agency has decided to close its office there, saying fast-changing times meant it could better deploy its resources elsewhere.
A Queensland University of Technology academic, Dr Mark Hayes, says having a correspondent in PNG means informed, accurate and fair reporting to metropolitan audiences.
He says journalists parachuting into the region to cover big news stories is not enough.
"It doesn't give you the depth of insight, the depth of understanding about what is in fact going on. Now anyone who knows anything about a place like Papua New Guinea knows that it is a very complex country with all sorts of interests and forces of work in that country that need to be understood."
Dr Mark Hayes says it seems as though the economy drove the decision to close the bureau, rather than a declining interest in Pacific affairs.
