Professor Shameem said journalism remained a dangerous profession and no level of protection could guarantee reporters’ safety.

Fiji journalists covering a major court case in Suva.

Journalists must understand the difference between reporting a story and becoming the story, University of Fiji Vice-Chancellor Professor Shaista Shameem told Journalism and Media Studies students marking World Press Freedom Day on May 3.

Professor Shameem said journalism remained a dangerous profession and no level of protection could guarantee reporters’ safety.

“They must enter the profession not as just any job, but as a vocation,” she said.

“They must uphold the highest standards and draw strength from that principle.

“Journalists are like soldiers, knowing they do the job at their peril, but doing it anyway. Those are the journalist's history will remember.”

Journalists are like soldiers, knowing they do the job at their peril, but doing it anyway. Those are the journalist's history will remember.

University of Fiji Vice-Chancellor Professor Shaista Shameem

To examine the demands of reporting, the university’s Journalism and Media Studies programme will host Fijian journalists for a screening of the film Civil War on May 7 at 7pm at the UniFiji Central Campus in Suva.