Good job Bruce

[Yuttie]

http://www.miamiherald.com/news/sout...y/1254031.html

[Assasin]

Jamaica Producer has done well. One expected with the UK not buying banana it would be the end of JP. They refocused and changed their business plan and has turned their company around. Good for Annotto Bay, everytime I go to the Jamaican store I have to pick up a pack of the St.Mary banana chips for support.

[Yuttie]

yep.

This aint new, but this part struck me, damn, what a Tsunami of disaster the PNP has been.

Even before the recession blew a $1.3 billion, or 20 percent, hole through Jamaica's budget, the country's economy was already on shaky ground: External debt of almost $6.2 billion, years of anemic economic growth, the removal of guaranteed markets and prices for sugar and bananas, and the 1995 collapse of more than 40 banks.

[Don1]

Jamaica Producer has done well. One expected with the UK not buying banana it would be the end of JP. They refocused and changed their business plan and has turned their company around. Good for Annotto Bay, everytime I go to the Jamaican store I have to pick up a pack of the St.Mary banana chips for support.

The article strikes me as akin to a JIS press release...nice words but little information or insight. There may or may not be a strong diversification under this regime but...where's the beef?
Most of these measures mentioned appear to be merely a continuation of the feeble PNP led efforts of the past.

1. What is the size of the investment in this so called attempt at diversification?

2. What is the sectoral breakdown of the investment?

3. What are the investment & real production growth stats over time in these "diversified" sectors?


Basic questions.....no answers provided = Press Release... not hard news.

[Historian]

Criticism A Bit Harsh?

The article strikes me as akin to a JIS press release...nice words but little information or insight. There may or may not be a strong diversification under this regime but...where's the beef?
Most of these measures mentioned appear to be merely a continuation of the feeble PNP led efforts of the past.

Don1, you’re actually correct when you state that this article is “not hard news,” and it is in fact probably nothing for us to cheer about at this time in the context of new information on Jamaica’s economic prospects. On the other hand, I suspect that, on further consideration, you’ll agree with me that while it leans somewhat towards the public relations side of things, this report is far superior and more balanced than any “JIS press release,” as you described it (lol).

(Note to Self: Why cannot the print media in Jamaica get writers with the flair, style and creativity that the major USA newspapers and newsmagazines seem to have? Jacqueline Charles’ writing here just whisks the reader through the story easily and breezily. This is the hallmark of a good writer.)

Now, Don1, the three questions you posed are very good questions, but what we might need to take note of as well is that the Miami Herald most likely had no real interest or any reason for digging any deeper than it did. What we have here is not an economic analysis or investigative report such as we would find in the Economist or Newsweek magazines, but rather, a short but informative news feature story for the readers of the Sunday Miami Herald.

Some topics are best handled this way, depending on the consumer who reads the newspaper and what he or she wants to know. In the case of the Miami Herald, while in-depth investigation into certain aspects was not carried out, this was nevertheless a well-researched and certainly very informative article. Also, from reading the two paragraphs which served as the lead (good descriptive stuff), I suspect that the writer actually flew to Jamaica for information for this story. For the typical Miami Herald reader relaxing on his/her porch, this news feature serves its purpose in bringing them up to date with economic diversification efforts in Jamaica.

Finally, was there input in this story by primary sources? To the writer’s credit, there was, despite the paucity of information. So, we find bits of relevant viewpoints from primary sources such as Rolf Simmonds, commercial director for JPTF; Bruce Golding, prime minister; Audley Shaw, finance minister; Christopher Tufton, agriculture minister.

Like you stated, though, more investigative work could have been done here, but in the final analysis, I suppose, the Miami Herald editors felt there was no need to do so. I wish that the Economist, or Time or Newsweek magazines would do a similar report on this subject .

[Don1]

Don1, you’re actually correct when you state that this article is “not hard news,” and it is in fact probably nothing for us to cheer about at this time in the context of new information on Jamaica’s economic prospects. On the other hand, I suspect that, on further consideration, you’ll agree with me that while it leans somewhat towards the public relations side of things, this report is far superior and more balanced than any “JIS press release,” as you described it (lol).

(Note to Self: Why cannot the print media in Jamaica get writers with the flair, style and creativity that the major USA newspapers and newsmagazines seem to have? Jacqueline Charles’ writing here just whisks the reader through the story easily and breezily. This is the hallmark of a good writer.)

Now, Don1, the three questions you posed are very good questions, but what we might need to take note of as well is that the Miami Herald most likely had no real interest or any reason for digging any deeper than it did. What we have here is not an economic analysis or investigative report such as we would find in the Economist or Newsweek magazines, but rather, a short but informative news feature story for the readers of the Sunday Miami Herald.

Some topics are best handled this way, depending on the consumer who reads the newspaper and what he or she wants to know. In the case of the Miami Herald, while in-depth investigation into certain aspects was not carried out, this was nevertheless a well-researched and certainly very informative article. Also, from reading the two paragraphs which served as the lead (good descriptive stuff), I suspect that the writer actually flew to Jamaica for information for this story. For the typical Miami Herald reader relaxing on his/her porch, this news feature serves its purpose in bringing them up to date with economic diversification efforts in Jamaica.

Finally, was there input in this story by primary sources? To the writer’s credit, there was, despite the paucity of information. So, we find bits of relevant viewpoints from primary sources such as Rolf Simmonds, commercial director for JPTF; Bruce Golding, prime minister; Audley Shaw, finance minister; Christopher Tufton, agriculture minister.

Like you stated, though, more investigative work could have been done here, but in the final analysis, I suppose, the Miami Herald editors felt there was no need to do so. I wish that the Economist, or Time or Newsweek magazines would do a similar report on this subject .

ok boss..good talk.

Thank Jah I'm not the typical Miami Herald reader.