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Private media hold the power of truth

Jun 07, 2015 Editorial

The private media in Guyana have prided themselves on being the guardians of the people’s rights and the democratic process. Faithful to their raison d’être, both the print and electronic private media have held governments, political parties, politicians, the business sector and public figures to high standards of accountability and transparency, while also protecting the basic rights of the people.
In their watchdog role, the function of the private media is to promote good governance and public scrutiny of decision-makers by highlighting policy failures, corruption, bribery, and maladministration by public officials and scandals in the private sector.
Considered the Fourth Estate, it has been argued that the existence of an unfettered and independent press within the nation is essential in the process of democratization in that they contribute towards the right of freedom of expression, thought and conscience.
Over the years, the private media have strengthened the responsiveness and accountability of governments, provided a pluralist platform and have channeled the political expression for a multiplicity of groups and interests.
They have and continue to protect the freedom of opinion, expression and information which have been recognized as a basic human right in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights adopted by the United Nations (UN) in 1948.
In particular, Article 19 of the 1948 UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights states: “Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media regardless of frontiers.
The privately owned media in Guyana, especially Kaieteur News and Stabroek News have, for the most part followed the principles of the UN Declaration of Human Rights.
In Guyana, the former PPP administration had decried the private media, especially Kaieteur News, and branded them as the official opposition. Kaieteur News in particular was critical of the PPP administration whenever it attempted to undermine democracy, human rights and the dignity of individuals.
Recently, expediency seems to have led to a cavalier attitude in the reporting of murders and fatal accidents in some areas of Guyana. Photographers and camera crews from just about every media house have undermined the dignity of the dead by displaying nude and mutilated corpses as if they were things and not persons.
The media have been increasingly showing uncovered corpses, nude or otherwise, as part of the story.  A classic example was on March 10, 2015 when the media displayed the uncovered corpse of the late Courtney Crum Ewing who was assassinated.
This type of media sensationalism shows no respect for the sacredness of the human corpse, clothed or naked. In Guyana and elsewhere, the protocol on human decency dictates that the media should operate on the principle that the dignity of human beings must be protected even after death.
The power and significance of the privately owned media in democratic societies including Guyana are well known and have traditionally been regarded as among the classic checks and balances in the division of powers.
Liberal theorists have argued that the primary role of the free press is to strengthen democracy, promote good governance, freedom of expression, human rightsand human development, to name a few. They claimed that the liberation of the news media by the state to private ownership diffuses access, reduces official censorship and state control of information and provides a wider variety of views to the public.
By contrast, control of the news media by the state has reinforced the power of autocratic regimes, deterred criticism of the government by independent journalists through official government censorship and inhibited the freedom of expression and publication.
In other words, the free press is valuable for the promotion of democracy and to safeguard the rights of the people to express themselves freely and without intimidation. It also empowers the poor and the powerless who do not always have a right to expression. It is particularly important for stamping out or reducing corruption, malfeasance and misappropriations of State funds by public officials.

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