Fiji’s first woman newspaper editor passes away
Fiji and the region lost one of its brightest and most respected editors last week. Laisa Taga passed away peacefully at her home in Suva amidst her close family members after bravely battling cancer over the past several months. She was only 56.
Group Editor-in-chief of the region’s largest magazine publishing group Islands Business International since 1998, Ms Taga oversaw the editorial and production of work of the publishing group’s entire stable of up to 10 publications covering a wide spectrum of the South Pacific region’s current affairs and business.
These included the flagship Islands Business, three inflight magazines – for Air Pacific (now Fiji Airways), Solomon Airlines and Air Niugini – industry magazines for energy, tourism and aviation, besides a few others.
From her earliest days Ms Taga had displayed a winning spirit.
She was an ace sprinter and athlete, even representing Fiji in the 1974 Commonwealth Games in New Zealand. Professionally, she initially set out to become a teacher, following in her father’s footsteps, but a part-time stint at the Fiji Sun newspaper while studying at the University of the South Pacific got her hooked on to journalism.
The high-pressure life of a journalist did not go well with her early marriage and she reluctantly switched jobs to the more regular routine of the Fiji Government’s Ministry of Information. It is here that she built up her enviable contacts with Fiji’s who’s who.
She then won a scholarship to study journalism in Australia and came back armed with a qualification in journalism. She joined the now defunct Daily Post and soon rose to be its editor – the country’s first woman newspaper editor. During her years there she was responsible for many a front page scoop, thanks to her strong and deep contacts in the administration and her extensive personal network.
Ms Taga has mentored many journalists in Fiji, some of who have established themselves in successful careers abroad. She taught regularly at the Fiji School of Journalism while still working at the Daily Post. She was active in the early days of the Pacific Islands News Association and held many training sessions for young journalists under its aegis. She travelled widely covering important regional events.
Self-effacing to a fault, Ms Taga never sought the limelight, always working in the background. She was a relentless worker and had an extremely professional work ethic. Overseeing a stable of nearly a dozen publications is no mean task. Many of these were high profile and demanded a high editorial and production standard. She was known to work long hours.
In fact she was so dedicated to her work that when she was no longer able to physically travel to her offices because of her worsening illness, she requested an office to be set up at home because she wanted to work as long as it was possible for her to do so. A small office was set up for her, but she passed away just a few weeks later.
Ms Taga leaves behind her only son Niu and his young family, her siblings and a large number of colleagues, admirers, mentees and friends across the region besides in Australia and New Zealand.
The region’s mass media will miss her professionalism and wisdom greatly.
Fiji and the region lost one of its brightest and most respected editors last week. Laisa Taga passed away peacefully at her home in Suva amidst her close family members after bravely battling cancer over the past several months. She was only 56. Group Editor-in-chief of the region’s largest...
Fiji and the region lost one of its brightest and most respected editors last week. Laisa Taga passed away peacefully at her home in Suva amidst her close family members after bravely battling cancer over the past several months. She was only 56.
Group Editor-in-chief of the region’s largest magazine publishing group Islands Business International since 1998, Ms Taga oversaw the editorial and production of work of the publishing group’s entire stable of up to 10 publications covering a wide spectrum of the South Pacific region’s current affairs and business.
These included the flagship Islands Business, three inflight magazines – for Air Pacific (now Fiji Airways), Solomon Airlines and Air Niugini – industry magazines for energy, tourism and aviation, besides a few others.
From her earliest days Ms Taga had displayed a winning spirit.
She was an ace sprinter and athlete, even representing Fiji in the 1974 Commonwealth Games in New Zealand. Professionally, she initially set out to become a teacher, following in her father’s footsteps, but a part-time stint at the Fiji Sun newspaper while studying at the University of the South Pacific got her hooked on to journalism.
The high-pressure life of a journalist did not go well with her early marriage and she reluctantly switched jobs to the more regular routine of the Fiji Government’s Ministry of Information. It is here that she built up her enviable contacts with Fiji’s who’s who.
She then won a scholarship to study journalism in Australia and came back armed with a qualification in journalism. She joined the now defunct Daily Post and soon rose to be its editor – the country’s first woman newspaper editor. During her years there she was responsible for many a front page scoop, thanks to her strong and deep contacts in the administration and her extensive personal network.
Ms Taga has mentored many journalists in Fiji, some of who have established themselves in successful careers abroad. She taught regularly at the Fiji School of Journalism while still working at the Daily Post. She was active in the early days of the Pacific Islands News Association and held many training sessions for young journalists under its aegis. She travelled widely covering important regional events.
Self-effacing to a fault, Ms Taga never sought the limelight, always working in the background. She was a relentless worker and had an extremely professional work ethic. Overseeing a stable of nearly a dozen publications is no mean task. Many of these were high profile and demanded a high editorial and production standard. She was known to work long hours.
In fact she was so dedicated to her work that when she was no longer able to physically travel to her offices because of her worsening illness, she requested an office to be set up at home because she wanted to work as long as it was possible for her to do so. A small office was set up for her, but she passed away just a few weeks later.
Ms Taga leaves behind her only son Niu and his young family, her siblings and a large number of colleagues, admirers, mentees and friends across the region besides in Australia and New Zealand.
The region’s mass media will miss her professionalism and wisdom greatly.
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