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Pursuing the truth
Editorial…
Kaieteur News- World Press Freedom Day was celebrated globally on Saturday, under the theme ‘Reporting InThe Brave New World: The Impact of Artificial Intelligence (AI) on Press Freedom and the Media’,
The day acts as a reminder to governments of the need to respect their commitment to press freedom and is also a day of reflection among media professionals about issues of press freedom and professional ethics. Just as importantly, World Press Freedom Day is a day of support for media which are targets for the restraint, or abolition, of press freedom. It is also a day of remembrance for those journalists who lost their lives in the pursuit of a story.
Every year, 3 May is a date which celebrates the fundamental principles of press freedom, to evaluate press freedom around the world, to defend the media from attacks on their independence. World Press Freedom Day was proclaimed by the UN General Assembly in 1993 following a Recommendation adopted at the twenty-sixth session of UNESCO’s General Conference in 1991. This in turn was a response to a call by African journalists who in 1991 produced the landmark Windhoek Declaration.
On the occasion of World Press Freedom Day we also reported that Guyana, has moved up four places on the 2025 World Press Freedom Index, now ranking 73rd out of 180 countries. This is an improvement from its 77th position in 2024. Guyana scored 60.12 this year, a slight increase from last year’s 60.1. The index was released by Reporters without Borders (RSF), an international non-profit organisation. RSF defends the right of every human being to have access to free and reliable information. This right is essential to know, understand, form an opinion and take action on vital issues in full awareness, both individually and collectively.
The report stated that while freedom of speech and the right to information are protected in Guyana, journalists who challenge the authorities still face threats and intimidation. Many independent media outlets also struggle financially, as government advertising often favours pro-government media.
So we ask today, is press freedom in the fullness of its meaning truly present in the Guyana in which we live today? The answer is that it depends on who is asked, and who know what it is to live with some of this freedom. The press has to operate in an environment increasingly hemmed in by attitudes and actions, some from elected public officials, others from their cooperating bedfellows in the private sector.
We have a huge state media apparatus that is conditioned to champion the government ways and causes, regardless of the ugliness of leadership excesses, the concealments that its professionals conspire with political players to keep away from the public. As if that is not bad enough, there are significant sections of the private media that are almost indistinguishable from the state funded and controlled media. It is the worst time for this to occur with Guyana on the cusp of so much richness, and the many temptations that go along with such incredible levels of riches, previously unknown to this poor country. When solitary voices are raised defiantly and consistently against the frauds and untruths that rage in this society at high levels, then the law and courts are weaponised to drive fear, to compel to cowering retreat. This is a harsh reality of press freedom in Guyana: speak or write powerfully and compellingly and the swords are drawn to silence.
The media, particularly private media that holds itself out as independent, cannot be reflective of what is the equivalent of: see no evil, hear no evil, know no evil, and report no evil. In other words, to stand as collaborating guardians of the political and leadership evils that saturate this oil-rich land. The inarguable, hard history of oil is that wherever it has flowed to the surface, the forces of hell accompanied it. It is why, therefore, the media have this crucial role to play. It must be a wise and stern judge of what is put before its members. Its members must sift through the rubble, and come up with the oil nuggets that are buried deeply and deliberately.
First, it is that we do not have a media emphasis on accountability by government with this oil bonanza. Next, that the Guyana media, however it pursues the vital responsibility of accountability in government, it is not doing enough. It is not enough to report on a bridge in one Region, a boat in another, and a building in a third. The media must diligently drill down to determine that the “large revenue streams” from oil flowing into government coffers are part of an agenda that is equitable. That is, all Guyanese are befitting from this wealth stream, regardless of their political affiliation or their physical complexion.
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