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Everyday since the elections - There are references to innovations, projects, creations of the the PNP that the JLP and others point to that we introduced, strengthened, created and or built by the PNP.
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Observer EDITORIAL:
What will the JLP's media legacy be?
Thursday, September 20, 2007
No other Jamaican prime minister has been able to match the depth of rapport that the late Mr Michael Manley had with the media. Not only did Mr Manley make good copy with his utterances, but he made himself a friend of the media.
There was much verbal jousting and friendly combat between the former Jamaican leader and the country's senior journalists who looked forward to every encounter with him.
Of course, there was also much disappointment over his "Next time!" warning to The Gleaner newspaper during the ideologically turbulent '70s, but at the end of the day, Mr Manley could fill a room with journalists at the slightest call.
The People's National Party (PNP) administrations have benefited over the years from this excellent relationship between its former leader and journalists. And it had very little or nothing to do with a politically partisan preference for that party.
To a lesser but still significant extent, P J Patterson maintained a healthy relationship with the media, despite soaking up some of its harshest criticisms.
The last PNP prime minister, Portia Simpson Miller, had the potential to enjoy an even greater relationship, but failed to do so, by staying away from the media, even at critical times in the life of the nation. For the entire 18 months of her reign, she held only one briefing with senior journalists which, we might add, was very well attended.
Still, the channels remained open, with the highpoint being the weekly post-Cabinet media briefings through which the country was kept informed about decisions of the Cabinet.
We are sorely distressed by the new administration's decision to discontinue the post-Cabinet media briefings and the confusion over what will replace them. The impression we get is that very little thought was put into the decision to scrap those media briefings, before it was implemented.
The explanation by Prime Minister Bruce Golding and the Information Minister Olivia 'Babsy' Grange has not given us any comfort. We agree that parliament must get primacy of place, as they argue.
However, we hold that there is no conflict between informing the parliament and informing the people about the discussions of Cabinet. In fact, the parliament is there to serve the people, and the people, therefore, have supremacy over the parliament.
The problem faced by Mr Golding and Miss Grange can be solved by reserving certain kinds of information for the parliament and, therefore, not raising them at the post-Cabinet briefings. In any event, we feel sure that the previous administration was selective in what information it shared with the media after the Cabinet discussions.
The new government should hardly need us to tell it that every possible channel to get information to the people, through the media, is in the interest of good governance and in building a relationship with the media.
Our best advice to the new government is that the post-Cabinet briefings be continued.
The PNP has secured its media legacy by opening up the media to the current exponential growth in outlets, and in passing the Access to Information Act. What will the legacy of the JLP be? Time only will tell.
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Observer EDITORIAL:
What will the JLP's media legacy be?
Thursday, September 20, 2007
No other Jamaican prime minister has been able to match the depth of rapport that the late Mr Michael Manley had with the media. Not only did Mr Manley make good copy with his utterances, but he made himself a friend of the media.
There was much verbal jousting and friendly combat between the former Jamaican leader and the country's senior journalists who looked forward to every encounter with him.
Of course, there was also much disappointment over his "Next time!" warning to The Gleaner newspaper during the ideologically turbulent '70s, but at the end of the day, Mr Manley could fill a room with journalists at the slightest call.
The People's National Party (PNP) administrations have benefited over the years from this excellent relationship between its former leader and journalists. And it had very little or nothing to do with a politically partisan preference for that party.
To a lesser but still significant extent, P J Patterson maintained a healthy relationship with the media, despite soaking up some of its harshest criticisms.
The last PNP prime minister, Portia Simpson Miller, had the potential to enjoy an even greater relationship, but failed to do so, by staying away from the media, even at critical times in the life of the nation. For the entire 18 months of her reign, she held only one briefing with senior journalists which, we might add, was very well attended.
Still, the channels remained open, with the highpoint being the weekly post-Cabinet media briefings through which the country was kept informed about decisions of the Cabinet.
We are sorely distressed by the new administration's decision to discontinue the post-Cabinet media briefings and the confusion over what will replace them. The impression we get is that very little thought was put into the decision to scrap those media briefings, before it was implemented.
The explanation by Prime Minister Bruce Golding and the Information Minister Olivia 'Babsy' Grange has not given us any comfort. We agree that parliament must get primacy of place, as they argue.
However, we hold that there is no conflict between informing the parliament and informing the people about the discussions of Cabinet. In fact, the parliament is there to serve the people, and the people, therefore, have supremacy over the parliament.
The problem faced by Mr Golding and Miss Grange can be solved by reserving certain kinds of information for the parliament and, therefore, not raising them at the post-Cabinet briefings. In any event, we feel sure that the previous administration was selective in what information it shared with the media after the Cabinet discussions.
The new government should hardly need us to tell it that every possible channel to get information to the people, through the media, is in the interest of good governance and in building a relationship with the media.
Our best advice to the new government is that the post-Cabinet briefings be continued.
The PNP has secured its media legacy by opening up the media to the current exponential growth in outlets, and in passing the Access to Information Act. What will the legacy of the JLP be? Time only will tell.
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