The Private Sector Commis-sion (PSC) and the George-town Chamber of Commerce and Industry have condemned a column in the Kaieteur News of Sunday 24th February, 2013, under the heading `Muse or Amuse’ which made allegations against two senior members of the PSC’s Board.
In a statement on Thursday which has not yet been reported on by KN, the PSC said “The allegations are completely devoid of truth and have absolutely no foundation in fact and none are offered to sustain the allegations in the article.”
It added that the PSC holds the publisher and editorial management of the Kaieteur News and author of the article directly responsible for the “sordid and malicious scandalmongering in a newspaper which claims to be a national newspaper and which demands the right to press freedom.”
The umbrella private sector body said that the allegations in the column were made without presenting any evidence and attacks the moral character, professional integrity and good name of the persons identified in the article. “Much worse, it accuses them of corrupt and criminal behaviour and, by inference, the Commission and the entire private sector along with them”, the statement said.
“The disgraceful publication of this rubbish displays the worst form of gutter journalism and completely demeans the profession of journalism in Guyana”, the PSC declared.
It noted that there are laws of libel and defamation which are supposed to protect members of the public from such publications. Unfortunately, the PSC said that such cases move through the courts so slowly that penalties are so long delayed that irresponsible publishers are encouraged all too often to “abandon fact for fiction and truth for slander and get away with it”.
The PSC said that the majority of Guyana’s media have signed on to a Code of Conduct delineating principles of fairness, balance, accuracy and the professional practice and standards expected of the media. It noted that the Kaieteur News was a signatory to that Code, which though developed for elections was intended to apply all the time.
“There is absolutely nothing in the publication of this slanderous article by the Kaieteur News which honours the Code of Conduct to which they have signed on and everything which violates it”, the PSC said.
It urged the Guyana Press Association and the Guyana Media Proprietors Associa-tion to take the appropriate action to address the deplorable state to which sections of the media have fallen.
“We ask, lest the very freedom of expression upon which the practice of the professional journalism is founded, is eroded and, ultimately, threatened”, the statement cautioned.
The Georgetown Chamber on Saturday said it was increasingly worried at the “disturbing proclivity for sensational, irresponsible journalism, especially with reporting that aims at character assassination. We note this unwelcomed development seems to have become the operating norm with many in the print media and, specifically, the daily newspapers. “
It cited the same `Muse and amuse’ column and said “two prominent private sector members … were singled out and assailed in the most mean-spirited and revolting way without the benefit of having any concrete evidence to back up the claims being asserted in the article. “
It stated that “Journalists have a primary responsibility to inform accurately. It certainly is a disservice to readers when misinformation arises not only from careless, incomplete reporting or the refusal to acknowledge that facts and evidence are incomplete but also, perhaps more dangerously, when the published information relies on extremely poor assumptions that ignore the `facts on the ground’ about policies and issues.”
The Chamber added that it “stands ready to engage in discussions with all relevant stakeholders concerning the relationship with the press and the media and the expectations of ethical responsibilities, the obligations of professionalism, and the concerns for transparency and accountability on both sides of the relationship. Undoubtedly, the media fraternity in Guyana plays an essential role in the dialogue and debate critical to a vibrant, dynamic society. We also believe it important to ensure that the media fraternity is held consistently in the highest esteem throughout the country.”
