A reality check for the private media

Jul 23, 2008 Features / Columnists

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Every day brings a new challenge to the country, and with each challenge the Government sets about protecting the people.

There was the challenge caused by rising prices, and the Government has done very well to avert all the adverse impacts on the people of Guyana.

There is a food campaign, which started slowly but is growing in momentum. More and more people are seeking to enhance their incomes by planting up yards and parapets.

Such has been the impact of this campaign that prices have slumped dramatically in the market place.

However, there are still those things that are fetching high prices, but the lower prices of others have gone a long way towards neutralising any pressure on the people.

There are other challenges, one dealing with the issue of the rejection of a reporter from visiting State House and Office of the President.

There has already been the contention that the President must subject himself to insults, but at no time should he react.

Because of the need to ensure that democracy is not threatened, Government officials often allow many things to pass.

In hindsight, this may have been a mistake, because some of these things are coming back to haunt the very people, among them the President, who ignored past indiscretions.

There are going to be opportunities for blame in the coming days and weeks, because those who are calling for a boycott of state-sponsored events would cry foul when information is passed to those who are serious about being the gatekeepers between the Government and the people.

There are many issues that need to be addressed, and for the first time in years, the nation is thanking its stars that there is a state media.

Information is still reaching the people, even as the private media proclaim a boycott of state-sponsored events and activities.

There was the ‘Grow More’ food festival which highlighted the products from the campaign; there have been other national events, including a warning that mosquito-borne diseases are lurking. Left to the private media, the public would have been at risk.

The Government has begun a fogging exercise in the city, and the public media has done a lot to notify the people, while the private media has remained silent.

Even worrying is the fact that the errant media house –Capitol News – in its report on the Festival, carried one comment by a patron. Not surprisingly, this was negative. What about the views of several thousands who enjoyed the event?

A repeat of how the President’s meeting was treated in Antigua by — that very anti-Government outfit that led to Moseley cussing out the Head of State.

However, it has not escaped notice that the Government is still being blamed for some of its actions against indiscretions.

The Sharma licence revocation, which is engaging the attention of the court, has from time to time, although almost sotto voce, being linked to what the critics say is an attack on freedom of the press.

It boggles the mind that people can talk about freedom of information when anyone can access and disseminate information.

There are no secrets, and each day there are disclosures. The media recently began to carry reports of some things that have happened, one example being the prisoner who died under suspicious circumstances in the Camp Street jail.

The information has been forthcoming and the press has been reporting unimpeded. But the desire to blame the Government is something that seems embedded in the psyche of the critics.

But there is something happening, and it is to the good of the right thinking people. The so-called Guyana Press Association may be saying one thing, but the reality is something else.

There are still reporters in every section of the media who know that their job is about reporting, and not about politics.

They are finding the things that need reporting, and are doing so regardless of whether the bearer of the news is a minister or not. A cursory examination of all the newspapers reveals this fact.

The Government is going to do what it has been elected to do, and that is to provide the people with all the information necessary for their continued development.

And as crucial information emerges in certain sections of the media, there should not be a rush to blame the Government of selective dissemination of information. Indeed, this will happen as the blame game continues.

And, for now, the ban on the reporter who insulted the President continues, with little or no impact on national life.

It has, however, provided some sections of the private media with a reality check of their importance. They should thank, rather than blame, the Government for this.

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