Jayapura, Jubi – With a population of just over 100,000 people, the Kingdom of Tonga is a relatively small country. Yet beyond the kingdom’s borders, Tongans are a vital part of many countries’ populations, cultures and identities, with more living abroad than in Tonga. Over 43,000 people with Tongan heritage live in Australia and twice as many in both the United States and Aotearoa/New Zealand.

Consistent, reliable access to news – for those in Tonga and internationally – is vital for Tongans to stay connected to life in the Kingdom.

Viola Ulakai, Chief Executive of the Tonga Broadcasting Commission (TBC) and Technical Manager Solomone Finau have placed this need at the heart of a new initiative to rebuild TBC’s website — tbc.to — to ensure it serves the needs of Tongans, no matter where they live.

Supported by ABC International Development (ABCID) through the Pacific Media Assistance Scheme (PACMAS), the website project has been eight months in the making, combining a best-in-class commercial web build with digital journalism training from the ABC and a cross-Pacific placement to explore possible new digital marketing strategies.

Already producing broadcast news bulletins in both Tongan and English, TBC embarked on creating a Tongan-first website with an English language toggle – allowing for human-translated articles online without the need for AI or online translation tools.

TBC chief executive Viola Ulakai says the new website will help the broadcaster “improve access, engagement and transparency for the community”.

TBC held regular consultations with the ABC and a contracted web builder to ensure their vision for the website was informing the build, while also receiving guidance on digital industry standards. “The vision for the new website is to provide a modern, easy-to-use platform that shares news and information, cultural content, and national events with Tongans both locally and overseas,” explains Viola.

“It is designed to support TBC’s role as a public broadcaster, improve access, engagement, and transparency for the community.”

She says designing and building the new website was a major undertaking for the national broadcaster.

“We approached it step by step; starting by identifying the main needs, such as accessibility, reliability, cultural relevance, and future growth,” says Viola.

“As the project progressed, the team learned and adapted to new digital workflows.”

ABC digital journalist and PACMAS digital training coordinator, James Maasdorp, led ABCID’s involvement in the project.

Months of work and testing culminated in a week-long visit to TBC’s headquarters in Nuku’alofa, working with TBC’s news, sales and technical teams adjust to new, digital-first workflows.

“There was so much to unpack in a week for the whole team,” says James. “The news team had to add a new feather to their cap in writing for a digital audience, on top of their broadcast requirements, while every team had to adjust to fresh ways of thinking for a new audience.”

“It is to TBC’s immense credit that not only did they implement new learnings as if they had been doing it for years, rather they did it with huge enthusiasm and rigour.”

He says the project was less about end users enjoying a slick new website experience, and instead an opportunity for TBC to refocus on all the ways they can serve their audience.

“This website project was much more than simply a news site,” explains James. “This was a rare opportunity for Viola, Solomone and the TBC team to take a wholistic look at the way they work together to serve readers.”

“It required an entire workflow restructure at TBC, together with range of different trainings – from journalists learning to write for web, marketing training about digital sales, as well as giving technical staff the skills to develop and manage the website’s backend.”

TBC chief news reporter Liliani Polutele says producing content for the news website has taught her the importance of story structure, clarity and visuals to keep an audience engaged online.

“The new website has encouraged me to think more strategically about storytelling for online audiences,” says Liliani.

“I’m now more mindful of audience behavior, using concise writing, visuals, and layout to make stories more accessible and engaging. Over time, I’ve also learned to think outside the box when selecting photos, choosing images that better support, strengthen and told the story.”

Fellow reporter Popua Aho says the team is adjusting to the new digital-first dynamic, but has already learned a range of new skills including headline writing and digital story formats.

“It’s still a bit of a challenge … to lead with the website instead of our usual radio and television deadlines,” Popua says.

“My process for writing stories and my approach to a particular story has definitely changed to not only considering the radio and television format but also consider how the story is best presented on the website which usually means ensuring there is enough footage and that I double check name spelling, etc.” Chief Executive Viola Ulakai adds that carefully considering how website usage may change in the months and years ahead was a big part of the design process; one where the benefits may not be seen for months or years ahead – but will ensure it is future-proof.”

“It has been built to allow for future growth and innovation, [and] is now largely aligned with our original vision, with some refinements for sustainability, ease of maintenance, and feedback from users, making sure it can be effectively managed long-term.”

She says the new site doesn’t just reflect a new online home for TBC, but rather it also reflects a new, energised focus for Tonga’s national broadcaster; one that Tongans across the world can feel proud of.

“We are proud of the new website because it marks a major step forward in TBC’s digital development, makes Tongan stories more accessible to local audiences and the diaspora, and preserves broadcast content in a lasting archive.

“It has been built to allow for future growth and innovation, and above all, it reflects TBC’s commitment to serving the people of Tonga with professionalism, integrity, and respect for our culture.” (*)