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Tuesday, June 26, 2007
Dear Reader,
Any government which seeks to coerce the media without an effective mouthpiece of its own does so at its own peril, and I have no sympathy for the ramifications of that type of stupidity.
But in the case of the PNP government, it's more than stupidity. It's the playing out of the cliché, "Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely". What has happened to the government is that within its almost two decades of "rulership" it has developed what I call a "totalitarian state of mind". It has actually forgotten that it operates in a democracy and that it was democratically elected. In dictatorships nobody dares criticise the state, and free speech is completely stifled. The PNP government is operating very close to the modus operandi of totalitarianism.
It's bad enough that certain sections of the society have already imposed their own self-censorship out of complicity and cover-up, driven largely by self-interest. When you add to that the subtle and not-so-subtle forms of official intimidation, every citizen, not just the media, is at risk.
Attempts to muzzle the media must be seen within the broader context of an increasingly fearful and withdrawn society where "nuff tings a gwaan, but nobody nah talk". The number of stories you hear about the connection between guns and politicians is incredible, yet nobody is ever held responsible or accountable, and none of the stories can ever be substantiated. The "informer fi dead" mentality is no longer a downtown phenomenon. Behind the closed gates are many closed mouths while the society marches downhill to an ominous drumbeat.
There are two points I'm making here. The first is that the intimidation of the media is merely a deepening of a culture of intimidation that ordinary citizens are subjected to day in and day out. The second (and the two are not mutually exclusive), essentially speaks of the abuse of power, which in our case has come about by overextended governance.
The basic problem with the PNP government is that it would like to re-invent news to suit itself. In other words, it expects the media to see things the same way the government sees them, essentially operating as an extension of the Jamaica Information Service. What the government fails to recognise is that no amount of public relations or media intimidation can paint a good picture of the failure of the administration to meet even the most basic needs of the majority of its citizens. News is "what is", not "what we want it to be".
The issue of bias in how the media covers news is another matter, but our prime minister should know by now that the pendulum swings both ways. One day for me, the next day for him. Although her honeymoon with the media was short-lived, Portia enjoyed a period of media bliss that many leaders have never experienced.
Everyone knows that nothing in life is completely "objective" and that the media houses have their own specific agendas. After all, they have owners who are human beings with vested interests just like everybody else. It is puzzling for Portia to pretend that she doesn't know how the game is played, especially when so much hinges on an election outcome.
My own view is that generally speaking the media is much too soft on issues, and tends to take the easy way out of stories that warrant rigorous and sustained investigation. The "nine-day wonder" is not only an indictment of the Jamaican public, it's a sad statement about the character and quality of the Jamaican media. How can Trafigura be a dead issue, or the numerous irregularities raised by the contractor general? How is it that the illegal entry of thousands of guns into our country is a non-issue? How can the connection between guns, politicians and their cronies be so deeply buried that no one in the media has been able to unearth anything? It could be that we don't really have the kind of free press we think we have.
Portia should be careful how she complains about the media. If the PNP's 18-year government operated in a true democracy, the media would have ensured its collapse a long time ago, and I suspect that impeachments and imprisonments would accompany the collapse. Of course, Jamaica is not a democracy that is functioning normally, and the media itself has become a victim.
Our prime minister cannot have it both ways. She cannot be content with news blackouts of serious crimes in PNP-controlled areas, while berating the media for not paying attention to her "solid achievements".
Somebody ought to tell our prime minister that she has definitely gone down a slippery slope, and not even a "divide and rule" media game can help her. The formula is simple. Get the job done, and let the media chips fall where they may. What the media ignores history will correct.
With love,
bab2609@yahoo.com
Dear Reader,
Any government which seeks to coerce the media without an effective mouthpiece of its own does so at its own peril, and I have no sympathy for the ramifications of that type of stupidity.
But in the case of the PNP government, it's more than stupidity. It's the playing out of the cliché, "Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely". What has happened to the government is that within its almost two decades of "rulership" it has developed what I call a "totalitarian state of mind". It has actually forgotten that it operates in a democracy and that it was democratically elected. In dictatorships nobody dares criticise the state, and free speech is completely stifled. The PNP government is operating very close to the modus operandi of totalitarianism.
It's bad enough that certain sections of the society have already imposed their own self-censorship out of complicity and cover-up, driven largely by self-interest. When you add to that the subtle and not-so-subtle forms of official intimidation, every citizen, not just the media, is at risk.
Attempts to muzzle the media must be seen within the broader context of an increasingly fearful and withdrawn society where "nuff tings a gwaan, but nobody nah talk". The number of stories you hear about the connection between guns and politicians is incredible, yet nobody is ever held responsible or accountable, and none of the stories can ever be substantiated. The "informer fi dead" mentality is no longer a downtown phenomenon. Behind the closed gates are many closed mouths while the society marches downhill to an ominous drumbeat.
There are two points I'm making here. The first is that the intimidation of the media is merely a deepening of a culture of intimidation that ordinary citizens are subjected to day in and day out. The second (and the two are not mutually exclusive), essentially speaks of the abuse of power, which in our case has come about by overextended governance.
The basic problem with the PNP government is that it would like to re-invent news to suit itself. In other words, it expects the media to see things the same way the government sees them, essentially operating as an extension of the Jamaica Information Service. What the government fails to recognise is that no amount of public relations or media intimidation can paint a good picture of the failure of the administration to meet even the most basic needs of the majority of its citizens. News is "what is", not "what we want it to be".
The issue of bias in how the media covers news is another matter, but our prime minister should know by now that the pendulum swings both ways. One day for me, the next day for him. Although her honeymoon with the media was short-lived, Portia enjoyed a period of media bliss that many leaders have never experienced.
Everyone knows that nothing in life is completely "objective" and that the media houses have their own specific agendas. After all, they have owners who are human beings with vested interests just like everybody else. It is puzzling for Portia to pretend that she doesn't know how the game is played, especially when so much hinges on an election outcome.
My own view is that generally speaking the media is much too soft on issues, and tends to take the easy way out of stories that warrant rigorous and sustained investigation. The "nine-day wonder" is not only an indictment of the Jamaican public, it's a sad statement about the character and quality of the Jamaican media. How can Trafigura be a dead issue, or the numerous irregularities raised by the contractor general? How is it that the illegal entry of thousands of guns into our country is a non-issue? How can the connection between guns, politicians and their cronies be so deeply buried that no one in the media has been able to unearth anything? It could be that we don't really have the kind of free press we think we have.
Portia should be careful how she complains about the media. If the PNP's 18-year government operated in a true democracy, the media would have ensured its collapse a long time ago, and I suspect that impeachments and imprisonments would accompany the collapse. Of course, Jamaica is not a democracy that is functioning normally, and the media itself has become a victim.
Our prime minister cannot have it both ways. She cannot be content with news blackouts of serious crimes in PNP-controlled areas, while berating the media for not paying attention to her "solid achievements".
Somebody ought to tell our prime minister that she has definitely gone down a slippery slope, and not even a "divide and rule" media game can help her. The formula is simple. Get the job done, and let the media chips fall where they may. What the media ignores history will correct.
With love,
bab2609@yahoo.com