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Who do the media think they are?
Friday, December 09, 2011
Dear Editor,
The prime minister has come under serious rebuke for recent comments about the media, and notwithstanding the fact that the PNP has also been very critical of the media in the recent past, it is election time, so Mrs Simpson Miller and her affiliates have latched on to the opportunity and assigned themselves the job of being the protectors of the media. As is customary, the press, media and journalists' associations have all taken up arms and are now threatening to seek the assistance of their powerful international parent bodies to which they are affiliate members Who do the media think they are and why do they believe they are above being criticised?
The hypocrisy of it all is that a large body of the media practitioners know that some of their colleagues are being very biased and partial and spin the news to suit their own political leaning or other agenda, and they all sit quietly and say nothing about it. Also, we the listening and reading public can deduce over time, based on trends, the biases that are being practised by some media houses and their practitioners. So, for the media to respond to every criticism towards them and repeatedly decry "a threat on democracy" is really an insult to the intelligence of the public, because their bias is clear to see and some journalists and media houses are no longer subtle in their approach, but are quite blatant and obvious. My point is, if we are so much into democracy and freedom of expression, if the prime minister or any citizen is of the view that the media is biased, why shouldn't they have the right to criticise them?
President Barack Obama has criticised Fox News and other Republican-leaning media houses many times, without much backlash. The difference in those countries is that the media houses declare their political biases, while in Jamaica everybody parades and disguises themselves as being neutral and impartial when in fact some of them are mere public relations arms and propaganda machines of either the PNP or JLP. How is being critical of the media a threat to democracy? Aren't the unchecked biases, the spinning and distorting of the news more of a threat to democracy? Also, for the prime minister and other national leaders to remain quiet and not alert the public to the biased practices of some of these media houses, wouldn't that be a greater threat to democracy, and couldn't that be considered a dereliction of duty on the part of the prime minister if he does not act to ensure the public is fed with accurate and impartial information?
The underlying problem here is that the media understand the immense power they have, and anyone who criticises or attempts to hold them accountable or to a higher standard will most definitely feel the might of their power, as the prime minister is now feeling. The media want to remain like Al Capone and be untouchable. That is why they have vigorously fought off any attempts to have a regulatory framework put in place to monitor their industry, but people are now seeing through them clearer and clearer each day.
Richard O Patterson
richie2sweet@yahoo.com
Read more: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/columns/Who-do-the-media-think-they-are_10352004#ixzz1g2H0kulE
Friday, December 09, 2011
Dear Editor,
The prime minister has come under serious rebuke for recent comments about the media, and notwithstanding the fact that the PNP has also been very critical of the media in the recent past, it is election time, so Mrs Simpson Miller and her affiliates have latched on to the opportunity and assigned themselves the job of being the protectors of the media. As is customary, the press, media and journalists' associations have all taken up arms and are now threatening to seek the assistance of their powerful international parent bodies to which they are affiliate members Who do the media think they are and why do they believe they are above being criticised?
The hypocrisy of it all is that a large body of the media practitioners know that some of their colleagues are being very biased and partial and spin the news to suit their own political leaning or other agenda, and they all sit quietly and say nothing about it. Also, we the listening and reading public can deduce over time, based on trends, the biases that are being practised by some media houses and their practitioners. So, for the media to respond to every criticism towards them and repeatedly decry "a threat on democracy" is really an insult to the intelligence of the public, because their bias is clear to see and some journalists and media houses are no longer subtle in their approach, but are quite blatant and obvious. My point is, if we are so much into democracy and freedom of expression, if the prime minister or any citizen is of the view that the media is biased, why shouldn't they have the right to criticise them?
President Barack Obama has criticised Fox News and other Republican-leaning media houses many times, without much backlash. The difference in those countries is that the media houses declare their political biases, while in Jamaica everybody parades and disguises themselves as being neutral and impartial when in fact some of them are mere public relations arms and propaganda machines of either the PNP or JLP. How is being critical of the media a threat to democracy? Aren't the unchecked biases, the spinning and distorting of the news more of a threat to democracy? Also, for the prime minister and other national leaders to remain quiet and not alert the public to the biased practices of some of these media houses, wouldn't that be a greater threat to democracy, and couldn't that be considered a dereliction of duty on the part of the prime minister if he does not act to ensure the public is fed with accurate and impartial information?
The underlying problem here is that the media understand the immense power they have, and anyone who criticises or attempts to hold them accountable or to a higher standard will most definitely feel the might of their power, as the prime minister is now feeling. The media want to remain like Al Capone and be untouchable. That is why they have vigorously fought off any attempts to have a regulatory framework put in place to monitor their industry, but people are now seeing through them clearer and clearer each day.
Richard O Patterson
richie2sweet@yahoo.com
Read more: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/columns/Who-do-the-media-think-they-are_10352004#ixzz1g2H0kulE
unuh behave nuh!!
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