Samoa Observer

Samoa Observer
TypeNewspaper
OwnerSamoa Observer Limited
PublisherMuliaga Jean Ash Malifa
Editor-in-chief
Savea Sano Malifa
Founded1978
HeadquartersApia, Samoa
Websitesamoaobserver.ws

The Samoa Observer is the largest newspaper group in Samoa published in both English and Samoan. The Samoa Observer is published Monday to Friday, the Weekend Observer on Saturdays and the Sunday Samoan on Sundays with all editions available online. Coverage includes local and international news, editorial opinion, sports and investigative journalism. The main offices are located in Apia, the country's capital.

The Samoa Observer was founded in 1978 by Editor in Chief, Savea Sano Malifa, a poet and leading Pacific journalist who was awarded the prestigious Commonwealth Astor Award for press freedom in 1998.

The independent paper has received other awards for investigative journalism and press freedom. It has faced repeated lawsuits from government officials and business leaders following the publication of stories about corruption and abuse of public office in Samoa. In 1981 it was sued for defamation by Justice Minister Asi Eikeni after alleging that he had smuggled furniture into the country. The court found that the allegation was true. In 1987 the newspaper was sued for libel by cabinet minister Le Tagaloa Pita for alleging that he had behaved corruptly in the administration of a banana plantation. In 1990 editor Leota Uelese Petaia was jailed for eight days for contempt of court after alleging judge Patu Tiava'asu'e Falefatu Sapolu had a conflict of interest in a murder trial. The verdict was later overturned by the Court of Appeal. In 1996 the government withdrew all advertising from the Observer as punishment for critical reporting. In 1998 it was sued for defamation by prime minister Tofilau Eti Alesana, with the courts awarding Alesana $50,000 in damages. The same year the government announced that it would fund any government MP or official to lodge defamation proceedings.

In 1994, the paper's offices were destroyed in a fire after official corruption stories.

In November 2025, the paper was banned from covering press briefings of Samoan prime minister Laʻauli Leuatea Schmidt, over its reporting on Schmidt's eight-week medical stay in New Zealand. Schmidt claimed the reporting was inaccurate.

References

  1. ↑ Stanley, David (1999). Tonga-Samoa Handbook. David Stanley. p. 112. ISBN 1-56691-174-5.
  2. ↑ "Pacific papers flex muscles". The Press. 23 February 1993. p. 13. Retrieved 10 November 2026 – via Papers Past.
  3. ↑ "Samoan publisher wins top press freedom award". Pacific Islands Monthly. Vol. 68, no. 12. 1 December 1998. p. 42. Retrieved 11 November 2026 – via National Library of Australia.
  4. ↑ "Awards". Samoa Observer. Archived from the original on 22 September 2010. Retrieved 1 August 2010.
  5. ↑ Robert L. Bartley; Roger Kaplan (1999). Freedom in the World: The Annual Survey of Political Rights and Civil Liberties, 1998–1999. Transaction Publishers. p. 397. ISBN 0-7658-0675-4.
  6. ↑ Eikene v The Observer, 1981 WSSC 1 (Supreme Court of Western Samoa 7 December 1981).
  7. ↑ "Samoan libel case". The Press. 8 August 1987. p. 26. Retrieved 10 November 2026 – via Papers Past.
  8. ↑ "Judge with stormy past wins a top Samoan job". The Canberra Times. 12 July 1992. p. 6. Retrieved 11 November 2026 – via National Library of Australia.
  9. 1 2 Chris Peteru (1 December 1996). "Govt punishes private media". Pacific Islands Monthly. Vol. 66, no. 12. p. 24-25. Retrieved 11 November 2026 – via National Library of Australia.
  10. ↑ Alesana v Samoa Observer Company Ltd, 1998 WSSC 1 (Supreme Court of Western Samoa 6 July 1998).
  11. ↑ "Party claims victory in press row". Pacific Islands Monthly. Vol. 68, no. 8. 1 August 1998. p. 26. Retrieved 11 November 2026 – via National Library of Australia.
  12. ↑ Lagipoiva Cherelle Jackson (20 November 2025). "Samoa PM suspends country's only daily newspaper from press briefings amid dispute over coverage". The Guardian. Retrieved 26 October 2026.