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<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=1 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD><SPAN class=TopStory>Portia is emerging as a clear voice abroad despite media indifference at home</SPAN>
<SPAN class=Subheadline></SPAN></TD></TR><TR><TD>Christopher Burns
Monday, September 25, 2006
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
<P class=StoryText align=justify>Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller does not speak with the Elizabethan lilt we so warmly admire in other women of such exceptional prominence. She does not speak with the "sing-song" voice of the St Andrew gentry, yet she has a genuinely great rural voice that brings dialogue to life.<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=5 width=70 align=left border=0><TBODY><TR><TD>
</TD></TR><TR><TD><SPAN class=Description>Christopher Burns </SPAN></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><P class=StoryText align=justify>And from time to time she may ignore the phonological structure of certain words, but the substance of her utterances is difficult to ignore and reflects a particular pragmatism that is most refreshing.<P class=StoryText align=justify>It is unfortunate that so many of us have allowed the teething pains associated with her burgeoning oratorical skills to rob us of the benefit of listening to her, then evaluating the essence of her statements and doing so without mean sarcasm or contempt because of our inherent class or political biases.<P class=StoryText align=justify>The sad truth, however, is that this one-dimensional focus on form rather than substance has crept into segments of the media where coverage of the prime minister is either insufficient or selectively inconsequential.<P class=StoryText align=justify>It is more than slight coincidence that there is no scarcity of coverage, whenever or wherever she makes controversial stump speeches, yet the cameras, microphones and reporters are missing whenever she makes substantive presentations.<P class=StoryText align=justify>It is easy for anyone to form the impression that sections of the media are unremitting in their efforts to present the prime minister as a lightweight and as someone not to be taken seriously.<P class=StoryText align=justify>Notwithstanding the obvious societal and media indifference towards her, the prime minister continues to enjoy tremendous acceptance and goodwill at home and abroad as an emerging stateswoman.<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=5 width=130 align=right border=0><TBODY><TR><TD>
</TD></TR><TR><TD><SPAN class=Description>SIMPSON MILLER... those who seek to demean her may well be in for a huge surprise</SPAN></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><P class=StoryText align=justify>It is regrettable that the Jamaican media largely ignored the prime minister's presentation at the 14th Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) which took place in Havana, Cuba. Except for a few feeble references to her attendance, and the health of President Fidel Castro, not much else was presented. To be fair, however, there was a good presentation on "Beyond the Headlines" on Radio Jamaica which featured David Coore.<P class=StoryText align=justify>And even with the scant reporting one newspaper on the front page of its Sunday edition could not resist the allurement of derision; so much so that it went out of its way to include the following: "On Friday, Mrs Simpson Miller could not avoid reiterating that "she is the first female prime minister of Jamaica".<P class=StoryText align=justify>This is ironic, because the preceding statement was not the most salient feature of her 2000-word speech. Portia's charge to the NAM to "do the right thing" was not only poignant, but was also philosoph
<SPAN class=Subheadline></SPAN></TD></TR><TR><TD>Christopher Burns
Monday, September 25, 2006
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
<P class=StoryText align=justify>Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller does not speak with the Elizabethan lilt we so warmly admire in other women of such exceptional prominence. She does not speak with the "sing-song" voice of the St Andrew gentry, yet she has a genuinely great rural voice that brings dialogue to life.<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=5 width=70 align=left border=0><TBODY><TR><TD>
</TD></TR><TR><TD><SPAN class=Description>Christopher Burns </SPAN></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><P class=StoryText align=justify>And from time to time she may ignore the phonological structure of certain words, but the substance of her utterances is difficult to ignore and reflects a particular pragmatism that is most refreshing.<P class=StoryText align=justify>It is unfortunate that so many of us have allowed the teething pains associated with her burgeoning oratorical skills to rob us of the benefit of listening to her, then evaluating the essence of her statements and doing so without mean sarcasm or contempt because of our inherent class or political biases.<P class=StoryText align=justify>The sad truth, however, is that this one-dimensional focus on form rather than substance has crept into segments of the media where coverage of the prime minister is either insufficient or selectively inconsequential.<P class=StoryText align=justify>It is more than slight coincidence that there is no scarcity of coverage, whenever or wherever she makes controversial stump speeches, yet the cameras, microphones and reporters are missing whenever she makes substantive presentations.<P class=StoryText align=justify>It is easy for anyone to form the impression that sections of the media are unremitting in their efforts to present the prime minister as a lightweight and as someone not to be taken seriously.<P class=StoryText align=justify>Notwithstanding the obvious societal and media indifference towards her, the prime minister continues to enjoy tremendous acceptance and goodwill at home and abroad as an emerging stateswoman.<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=5 width=130 align=right border=0><TBODY><TR><TD></TD></TR><TR><TD><SPAN class=Description>SIMPSON MILLER... those who seek to demean her may well be in for a huge surprise</SPAN></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><P class=StoryText align=justify>It is regrettable that the Jamaican media largely ignored the prime minister's presentation at the 14th Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) which took place in Havana, Cuba. Except for a few feeble references to her attendance, and the health of President Fidel Castro, not much else was presented. To be fair, however, there was a good presentation on "Beyond the Headlines" on Radio Jamaica which featured David Coore.<P class=StoryText align=justify>And even with the scant reporting one newspaper on the front page of its Sunday edition could not resist the allurement of derision; so much so that it went out of its way to include the following: "On Friday, Mrs Simpson Miller could not avoid reiterating that "she is the first female prime minister of Jamaica".<P class=StoryText align=justify>This is ironic, because the preceding statement was not the most salient feature of her 2000-word speech. Portia's charge to the NAM to "do the right thing" was not only poignant, but was also philosoph