The office of Papua New Guinea’s prime minister bought a full-page advertisement in two major local newspapers, demanding journalists to stop calling and texting him.
The notice was published in the Papua New Guinea Post-Courier and the National newspapers, according to the Guardian, and it was also sent out in WhatsApp group chats for journalists. The statement told all journalists to direct their inquiries to Prime Minister James Marape’s office, rather than to him directly. If reporters fail to heed this warning, it said, their access to the prime minister would be limited as punishment.
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“This circular is to advise all members of the media fraternity, both national and international, that the Prime Minister Hon. James Marape MP will no longer accept direct press enquiries from the date of this correspondence onwards,” a photograph of the notice, posted by the Guardian, showed.
The reasoning behind the notice seems to be for efficiency’s sake, with the statement stressing the need to streamline press inquiries. Marape himself was behind the notice.
“The prime minister has been accommodating and has responded openly to our media ever since he took office in 2019,” the statement read. “We would like to continue this partnership by streamlining your queries to our relevant ministries.”
Some of the public took issue with the announcement, while others pointed out that it was standard practice for nearly all governments.
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“Being a [journalist] does not give you the right to go straight to the PM and text him as your friend,” a reporter in the WhatsApp group where the statement was released said, according to the Guardian.
Whatever the case, the image of a frustrated head of state demanding that journalists stop spamming his personal phone may be amusing to many.
