A showcase for the best and most innovative of Commonwealth journalism, CPQ promotes improved journalistic standards through awards for the best writing and photo-journalism.

Providing a unique window on the Commonwealth itself - as seen by the editors and journalists who are among its principal opinion formers - it is also a valuable briefing tool for political, diplomatic and commercial decision-makers internationally.

A voice for the Commonwealth press - a watchdog for press freedom and a debating forum for legal, regulatory and other issues affecting the media, CPQ will address the common issues that concern journalists throughout the Commonwealth.

It acts as a news exchange with updates on the latest re-launches, editorial, training, production and marketing techniques which have worked - and a forum for editors and publishers to share their experiences, good and bad.

The sixth issue of CPQ has just been published and the following are the headlines of some of the stories:
FLASHPOINT JOURNALISM

Embed of nails
Semi Chellas experiences life on the imaginary front line when she attends the boot camp that prepares Canadian journalists for war reporting.

Mock checkpoints and abductions, real explosions, minefields, and plenty of camouflage paint later, Chellas examines the pros and cons of embedding journalists with troops.

With a series of excellent photographs by Gilles Renaud, Chellas provides a glimpse into the earliest stages of what has become a common - and symbiotic - relationship between the military and the press.

Living in the divide
"In a place where the truth wears a 1,000 masks, trying to find interview subjects is nigh impossible."

That's just one of the problems David Lepeska faced in his time as chief correspondent with the Kashmir Observer newspaper, in Srinagar.

Shootouts, visits from midnight militants, and a constant battle with the government over editorial independence also make Indian-controlled Kashmir a challenging place to work.

Lepeska lifts the lid on one of the most volatile regions in the world and examines the effect the violence and instability have not just on his own ability to function as a journalist, but on the lives of the people who live there as well.

Our regular correspondent Rachna Bisht-Rawat also contributes with a look at Krimchi, a village in in Kashmir that, amid the strife, has somehow bridged the divide and live together in peace.

Fire and ice
They usually represent a place of peaceful, Pacific idyll in our collective imaginations, but Fiji and Tonga have had more than their fair share of violence and social upheaval in the past six months.

During the riots that rocked Tonga in November and the peaceful military coup that descended on Fiji in December, the media found themselves either in the thick of the action or struggling to maintain their independence.

In this issue, Nina Ratulele examines how a deep self-censoring chill has gripped both islands' media. Meanwhile, Alexandra Kirkham recounts her experiences of being in the middle of the nightmare that was the Tongan capital of Nuku'alofa during the riots there.

And...

• Press and publishing news from around the Commonwealth;
• Commonwealth Photographic Awards preview;
• Community newspapers on Lord Howe Island;
• The return of the Daily Times of Nigeria;
• Remembering Robin MacKichan;
• Faith in the Saints - Robert Midwinter on journalism in St. Helena

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