(Formatted for space)
Dated October 15, 2007
Fellow Colleagues,
I feel compelled to write to you after reading an email which I received from Media Workers Association of Grenada President Michael Bascombe, over the weekend. In an email dated October 13th which was circulated to the press, Mr. Michael Bascombe accused the Governor General and the Grenada Government of misleading the public with false information in the 2007-2008 Throne Speech. Bascombe claimed that the 2007-2008 Throne Speech was inaccurate on the basis that Prime Minister Dr. Keith Mitchell did not present a paper on climate change to top world leaders including United States President George Bush, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and President Nicolas Sarkozy of France.
This accusation by Mr. Bascombe is NOT TRUE. The facts are that Prime Minister Mitchell was among two Caribbean leaders who attended a special dinner hosted by UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon at the United Nations on the night of September 24th 2007. Prime Minister Mitchell did present to these world leaders on Climate Change and the presentation was well received as was stated in the Throne Speech.
The letter by Mr. Bascombe represents not only an attack on the Government but perhaps more seriously, an attack on the Office of the Governor General. It also represents and typifies the type of journalism being practiced by some so called journalists in Grenada.
This is not the first time that MWAG executive members have attacked the Government without basis. MWAG in the past issued a release condemning the Prime Minister over an encounter with a GBN journalist. MWAG also wrote a letter accusing Government of colluding with the police to stifle the media. In both of these incidents, MWAG followed a similar pattern and reacted without getting the viewpoint of the different interested parties. This kind of action is not only biased but goes against the founding principles of journalism which are based on fairness and truth.
I therefore call on MWAG to be more responsible in their actions. I also call on MWAG to continue to be vigilant and to ensure that erroneous statements are not disseminated to the public. Recently, we in Grenada heard unfounded claims of a tuberculosis outbreak in the prison; and that a certain developer was borrowing money from the NIS. MWAG has been noticeably silent on these and many other misleading statements which have been made by persons outside of Government.
As a trained journalists myself who has worked in the regional and international journalism environment, I call on MWAG to focus more on the important issues facing journalists. Some of these issues include training, working conditions, salary levels, access to information, access to better equipment and technology and the impact of the CSME on the profession. I also believe that MWAG could focus more on promoting greater access to the media to groups that have traditionally been underexposed. These groups include members of our rural community including farmers, artists and performers, the youth, and senior citizens.
In conclusion, I call on Mr. Bascombe to be more personally responsible and on the Media Workers Association to investigate this matter given the serious nature of the statements made. I further believe that an apology to the Governor General is the appropriate course of action in this case.
Yours Sincerely
Barry Collymore
Press Secretary
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