Dear Editor,
Please allow me space in your paper to voice my disgust at the way your journalists report news and this applies to all the newspapers—-the Chronicle, Kaieteur News, Stabroek News and the Guyana Times.
I thought that it was the Government of Guyana alone that treated Georgetown as if it were the whole of Guyana but when I see the pattern of reporting that emanates from the newspapers it is quite clear that this branch of the press sees Georgetown as Guyana. Recently three major decisions were handed down at the Magistrate’s court in New Amsterdam. There was the dismissal of three persons accused of possession of narcotics for the purpose of trafficking; there was the discharge of two men accused of robbery under arms and then there was the discharge of a man accused of murder—-all three on the upholding of no-case submissions by defence counsel – and there were two reporters in the court room that day and not a line has been printed to date. Now the editors may say that the stories are not newsworthy and I would be inclined to give them the benefit of that doubt but just last Wednesday there was a report in the newspapers of a robbery in Georgetown and it covered at least a quarter of a page.If there was any decent journalism to be expected by the people in Berbice then at least the discharge of the murder accused should have made headlines across the world. This man who was the murder accused was discharged after having gone through his fourth preliminary inquiry. Is that not newsworthy? Well he was re arrested after he left the courtyard and the reporters knew that and yet it was not published.
Is this what you people call journalism? Does being a journalist mean that you publish just what happens in Georgetown and then in Georgetown you make a big issue about placing the attorney’s picture in the papers. In Berbice even murder trials are not newsworthy!!!
Wake up editors and be reminded that Berbice is also part of Guyana and we do buy your papers. In waking up maybe you can find it in your hearts to do a write up on the sickening state of affairs at the New Amsterdam prison and the deplorable condition of the lockups at the various police stations and then try your hand at the reason persons are held for 72 hours when arrested by some of the persons in uniform whose motto is “serve and protect”. And if your people get to see the persons arrested maybe they can try and find out why police beat some of them so brutally. Give it a shot.
Yours faithfully,
Charrandass Persaud
Editor’s note: The case of the murder accused who had endured four PIs was reported in Stabroek News the next day. See SN Oct 17.
