Dear Editor,
The proliferation of views that reflect calculated ideas and opinions on the agenda of the political opposition finds prominence in the Stabroek News on a daily basis.
The band of writers and editors has a particular orientation that propels the constant churning out of biases against the PPP/C administration.
The expediency of its opportunism to deliberately bash the administration has not gone unnoticed as a common trend. There is a devoted effort to be impious which fits into the menu of orchestrated hostility to achieve specific objectives.
In the world of journalistic ethics and standards reputable newspapers and journalists avoid the misuse of their privileges for specific gains, especially those that give rise to the perception of having preference for a particular political party. The velocity of their involvement in buttressing a sustained political agenda is not only appalling but demonstrates allegiance and alliance to the political opposition.
Often times, enough to be glaringly conspicuous, Stabroek News does not take due care and caution any credible newspaper ought to exercise in the avoidance of personal involvement in either side of an issue.
Yesterday’s (March 25, 2008) edition of Stabroek News, Page 1 article about the resurrection of a phantom gang is an appropriate example of its unprofessional behaviour. The article is the hallmark of the excesses of a free-press.
This ridiculous piece of journalistic work did not only speculate about an issue but also failed to produce any evidence on its supposition. It is not just okay to run by the world any insensitive imaginary thought.
In the world of reputable journalism all efforts must be exerted to make stories fair, accurate and balanced. Getting the other side is a must, especially for the most sensitive and critical stories.
The response by Minister Clement Rohee, poignantly exposed Stabroek News for its lack of credibility not only in this instance but the many others where they dodge the imperative to get a second, third or more sources, the contending parties to an issue, the expert source, the affected party, the prominent and the obscure, in their story.
A cardinal rule in journalism dictates that evidence is required, particularly for stories alleging corruption or wrongdoing by public officials or agencies, or private individuals and corporations and groups.
It is absolutely clear that there exists a relationship between the opposition’s line and that of Stabroek News on this issue and many other issues. The recognition is long in sight that issues of the political opposition forms a particular thrust on the agenda of this newspaper.
Much of the propaganda carried is used under the guise of anonymous sources, which is discouraged in good journalism, especially if the story is of an accusatory nature.
The public has every right to benefit from accurate, balanced and untainted reporting. The expected news story should be of such public interest that its news value clearly outweighs the damage to trust and credibility that might result from the use of deception.
Yours faithfully,
Kwame Mc Coy
Editor’s note
Mr Mc Coy has been careless in his representation of the news item that he challenges. The news item of March 25 raised the question of whether the phantom squad had come out of retirement. It did not say that it had been resurrected. There is a big difference between those two and if Mr McCoy wanted to engage in constructive argument he should have ensured he truthfully represented what was published.
That aside, Mr Mc Coy’s claim that Stabroek News has shied away from getting the other side of the story is ludicrous. Three examples should suffice for the while. He referred to a statement, which was subsequently issued by Minister Rohee on the news item, implying that the minister should have been one of the sources spoken to on the story.
In other circumstances that would have been appropriate except for the fact that Minister Rohee has limited his accessibility to Stabroek News reporters. Recently at Parliament he was approached by a reporter for a comment on a matter and he bluntly told the reporter that he would not be speaking to Stabroek News. Prior to this he conducted conversations with SN reporters via his secretary and when he wanted to respond to the March 25 news item select media houses were allowed at his mini press conference but Stabroek News was not one of them.
Here is another example. On composing a news item about the powers of regional executive officers, who in some cases have said that their requests for advertisements are handled by the Local Government Ministry, Stabroek News contacted the Permanent Secretary in that ministry, Sewchan for a response only to be told that he had to seek permission from his minister to speak to the media. That, of course, is completely insupportable as the Permanent Secretary does have the mandate to speak to the media.
The third example relates to Mr Mc Coy himself. When he was recently evicted from a Region Four meeting for obstreperous behaviour we did not only rely on the report of the region but we also reported what he said and what his fellow councillors had to say. If we were not interested in balance and accuracy, we would not have done that.
In any case, the news item referred to was hardly the type that required second and third sources. It simply laid out the similarities between recent execution cases and raised the possibility that a phantom squad was back in business. The manner of the Marcyn King and George Barton killings mirrored dozens that had occurred at the zenith of the death squad phenomenon. Considering that there has never been a proper investigation into these squads, no prosecution of any individual for being part of such an enterprise and that similar killings have continued, particularly during periods of deep societal stress as occasioned by the Lusignan and Bartica massacres, it was a perfectly legitimate question to raise.
To clear it all up and end the speculation about various aspects including the possible role of a senior government official, Mr Mc Coy should use his considerable influence to encourage the government to undertake a no-holds barred investigation of the phantom squad phenomenon of the type that was commissioned by the UN into the assassination of Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri.
