Solomon Islands Broadcasting Corporation (SIBC) is the official radio broadcast group in the Solomon Islands. The station’s history dates back to the 1940s when the U.S. military began broadcasting in what was then the British Solomon Islands. SIBC was created in 1976, replacing the Solomon Islands Broadcasting System (SIBS). SIBC runs four radio stations, two with a nationwide outreach and two local channels. In November 2023, SIBC launched its inaugural television known as the SIBC TV Service, an investment of SBD 18.5m (US$ 2.17m) covered by the government of Saudi Arabia.
Media assets
Radio: Radio Happy Isles, Wantok FM, Radio Happy Lagoon, Radio Temotu
Television: SIBC TV Service
State Media Matrix Typology: Independent State-Funded and State-Managed (ISFM)
Ownership and governance
SIBC was established by The Broadcasting Ordinance 1976, according to information from the broadcaster. In 2007, the company was added to the list of companies regulated by the State Owned Enterprise Act, which was adopted the same year. These legal provisions stipulate that SIBC is a company owned by the government. SIBC is also subject to the State Owned Enterprises Regulations, a set of laws adopted in 2010.
SIBC’s main governing body is a board of directors that reports to the Minister of Finance and Treasury. The broadcaster’s responsible minister is the Prime Minister.
Source of funding and budget
SIBC’s operations are financed through a combination of advertising and other commercial revenues and grants made by the Solomon Islands government. In February 2023, the Office of the Prime Minister announced an injection of SBD 5m (US$ 590,000) from the state budget to assist SIBC in beefing up its broadcast services locally and abroad.
The government awards yearly a total of SBD 1m (US$ 118,000) to the SIBC. Although SIBC also generates income from advertising sales, it remains financially dependent on the government, a concern that has been raised in the company’s financial statements in recent years. However, an SIBC’s official said the corporation made a profit for the past ten years except for 2017.
Editorial independence
SIBC has been recognized for its editorial independence for many years, and the country’s citizens perceived it as a trustworthy source of information. Yet, in recent years, concerns over attempts by the government to control the broadcaster’s editorial agenda have intensified. In 2022, SIBC was removed by the government from the State Owned Enterprise list, which local independent observers indicated is a form of instituting censorship of the broadcaster. The Office of the Prime Minister and Cabinet dismissed the accusations, claiming that it removed SIBC from that list as it wanted the broadcaster to become less reliant on state funds and focus instead on generating healthier commercial revenues.
However, staff at SIBC interviewed for this report say that the changes in the SIBC’s statute mean that a government official will need to approve the news programs aired by the broadcaster under the pretext of protecting the Solomon Islands’ citizens from misinformation. The government refuted this accusation, too.
The government pressures on SIBC stem from the Solomon Islands authorities’ efforts to prevent investigations into the country’s closer relationship with the Chinese government. As part of these efforts, the former government of Manasseh Sogavare even threatened to ban foreign journalists from entering the country. It is unclear whether the change in the government in May 2024, when Jeremiah Manele took over the post of prime minister, will lead to improvements in how the authorities treat SIBC. Both Manele and Sogavare come from the OUR Party.
A content analysis carried out by the Media and Journalism Research Center for this report has not found overtly favorable coverage of the authorities, which is the reason why we have not included SIBC in the State-Controlled category of our State Media Matrix. However, future evidence of government control over SIBC’s editorial coverage will prompt us to operate that change.
No domestic statutes that establish SIBC’s independence or assessment/oversight mechanisms that validate the station’s editorial autonomy have been identified.
July 2024