The editor of the Fiji Times says the newspaper has pulled out of the regional media organisation, because it no longer serves the interests of media freedom.
The Pacific Islands News association, or PINA, has been criticised recently for being too willing to compromise with the regime in Suva.
Netani Rika says PINA has accepted the decision, and told them they can return to the organisation in the future.
He says it has been an ongoing problem for some years.
"We don't believe that PINA has served our best interests, or the interests of media freedom for some time now. And it just came time to end the relationship. Quite frankly I think we have more pressing issues to deal with at the moment than our membership of a regional media organisation."
Netani Rika says a rival organisation, being proposed by the editor of the Cook Islands News, was not a factor in the decision to move away from PINA.
