Putting journalists at risk

[Lazie]

Portia Simpson Miller, last week, went off the deep end and accused elements in the media of being biased against her party in their election coverage. This is a very disappointing and worrying thing.

Surley, the Prime Minister must know that making those remarks from a political platform, in a charged environment, can rile up party supporters and endanger media people on the ground. The Prime Minister, I'm sure, did not intend that but her comments could have easily produced those consequences.

In our volatile society, the political platform is not the appropriate place to voice a grievance with the media about election coverage.

Of course, this practice of politicians beating up on the press at election time is not new, but it can't be unreasonable for us to expect our leaders to mature over time and discard the kind of politics that promotes anger and violence.

I hate to quote myself but I dealt with this whole business on March 13 this year in my column titled 'In praise of fallen journalists'. I wrote then:

"In Jamaica, journalists become especially vulnerable in the election season. During the madness, politicians tend to squeal when they think the press has published or broadcast something which diminishes their prospects of electoral victory.

"In that environment, the media man or woman on the ground, covering the beat, can often get caught in the 'crossfire'.

"Reckless leaders have been known to use the political platform to lash the media, unwittingly (and perhaps otherwise) prompting their supporters to threaten the life and limb of reporters covering political events. Hopefully, wayward conduct of the kind will have no place in the upcoming polls here."

Dashed my hope

Needless to say, the Prime Minister dashed my hope that this election season would have been marked by sober thinking and conduct by our political leaders.

I'm glad some people in the media are treating the matter with the gravitas it deserves. I heard vice president of the Press Association of Jamaica (PAJ), Byron Buckley, saying last week that the PAJ would be writing to the People's National Party on the matter.

I think it would also be a good idea for the PAJ to seek a meeting with the leaders of the major political parties and use the opportunity to tell them that the kind of tone set by the Prime Minister can't be allowed to define the election period. We shouldn't wait until a media practitioner is hurt before dealing with this.

[Lazie]

Setting up the media for attack


Tuesday, June 05, 2007



Two Sundays ago, in our commentary on the growing totalitarian behaviour of Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez, we noted that he had, in the past, accused journalists of being in the pay of reactionaries merely because they had criticised him and his government.

President Chavez's accusation, we had argued, would have held the possibility of inciting violence against the Press by his most ardent supporters - people who believe that no one has a right to voice views opposed to theirs or their leader.

In that analysis of Mr Chavez's latest attack on press freedom in his country, we had noted that aspects of that kind of behaviour were creeping into the campaign for the upcoming general election in Jamaica.

We refer to comments made a few weeks ago from a People's National Party (PNP) campaign stage suggesting that the media were trying to influence Jamaicans to dislike the prime minister.

A few days after that ridiculous comment, an angry PNP supporter tried to smash the windshield of a marked Observer news car at a campaign rally in St Mary, accusing the newspaper of bias in favour of the Opposition Jamaica Labour Party (JLP).

Mr Harry Douglas, the PNP's Member of Parliament for St Mary South-Eastern, has since apologised to the Observer for his comrade's "vulgar and abusive behaviour", which he also described as "miscreant and totally unacceptable".
We accept Mr Douglas' apology and do not doubt his sincerity.

We had actually thought that after Mr Douglas' apology, the PNP would have seen it prudent to ensure that it did or said nothing further that could be interpreted as inciting violence against journalists, or against anyone for that matter.
But the PNP president, Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller, gave us cause for grave concern with her tirade last week in Mandeville.

According to Mrs Simpson Miller, one television station, in its coverage of the election campaign so far, has been giving the JLP more air time than the PNP. "The other night, they carry the JLP for seven minutes and the PNP for two-and-a-half minutes," she told her supporters.

She also accused this unnamed television station of showing only JLP speakers whenever that party had a small crowd, while keeping their camera focussed only on her whenever she attracted a large crowd.
This really is the silly season.

Our concern, however, stems from the fact that statements like those made by Mrs Simpson Miller last week have the potential to encourage her most blinkered supporters to physically attack journalists.

For in this kind of atmosphere, where passions are inflamed, particularly given that the stakes are high, it is not unrealistic to expect political party supporters to resort to violence if they are given the impression that their side is not being given a fair shake.

From where we stand, we have noticed no such bias as insinuated by Mrs Simpson Miller. But finding scapegoats is the wont of politicians who really have nothing of substance to impart to their audience. And the media, obviously, are always fair game.

This episode, however, speaks to the broader issue of how we conduct our politics and our appreciation for the right of others to hold opposing views.

Over the years, our politicians have done an extremely poor job of helping to educate their supporters in this regard. So, instead of making it clear each time they speak to the die-hards that criticism does not equate to dislike, many politicians sow the seeds of hatred with their rhetoric.

It is not too late, we believe, to reverse this trend. Do it now, while the campaign is on in earnest.

[Lazie]

"But finding scapegoats is the wont of politicians who really have nothing of substance to impart to their audience."

Been saying it all along. Portia nuh have nothing fi say, hence the religious claims, now this. But as Jamaicans, we only interested in who more popular.

[Sickko]

Where did you get this? I agree 100% but for some perspective, she is not the first sitting PM to do this, Seaga did it just before he was voted out of office.

[Lazie]

Where did you get this? I agree 100% but for some perspective, she is not the first sitting PM to do this, Seaga did it just before he was voted out of office.

Gleaner! Portia keep talking bout moving from the politics of the 80s ... when was Seaga voted out of office?

[Sickko]

Maybe I should have said when the JLP was voted out of office and Seaga as PM

[Lazie]

Maybe I should have said when the JLP was voted out of office and Seaga as PM

No need to, you said nothing wrong. All I'm saying is that even though the popular one claim she moving away from the politics of the 80s, she is heading in that direction. Wasn't Seaga .. and the JLP voted out in the 1980s?