Dear Editor
In the past few days, some news media have been reporting the suicide of Alex Persaud, a Fifth Form student of Saraswati Vidya Niketan (SVN), a private secondary school, located at Cornelia Ida, WCD. Many versions relating to the cause and the circumstances that resulted in the death of the student on October 6 are hotly being peddled around, and accusative fingers are already pointed in certain directions. The haste with which conclusions are being drawn do not only threaten to cloud the facts, but could irreparably taint the character of individuals who may be quite innocent.
It is indeed quite tragic when a young Fifth-former from SVN, one of the nation’s reputable secondary schools, takes his own life by ingesting poison. The senselessness of such a horrific death by someone so young has to be devastating to the distraught parents, and quite painful to his teachers, fellow students, and close relatives.
While the tragedy has shocked the community and obviously piqued the concerns of many, the rumour mills obviously are in overdrive spawning all kinds of wild conjectures and fantasies about the student’s demise. The social media is a very powerful weapon with a double edge that could easily be used to fan the raging flames of baseless rumours and unsubstantiated speculation.
Those who are genuinely pained by the awful loss and are seeking answers could easily fall into the trap of accepting fiction for fact. The vivid imagination of tattletales could be dismissed as figments of a hyperactive mind, but the deliberate effort to create mischief by a few to cast aspersions on others through distortions and innuendos is dangerous and should be condemned.
Here is where a mainstream media has the responsibility to distinguish itself from those who prattle without verifying facts. Rumours and hearsay may be good for tabloids that feed on sensationalism, but a credible news media builds its reputation on sound judgment, hard facts, and thorough analyses. Like day and night, there is a huge difference in what is written in the New York Times and the Washington Post on the one hand, and the National Enquirer on the other.
Local print media and television stations owe it to the general public to put out information that is verifiable and credible. Upon the assassination of President Kennedy on November 22, 1963, the three main TV channels had received unconfirmed information from a number of sources that revealed the passing of the President. While each was itching to break the news to the nation to gain the upper hand in news delivery, a common sober restraint guided their deliberations. Walter Cronkite of CBS agonizingly waited on official confirmation before he made the definitive announcement. Overnight he became the lone credible voice in USA. Is it too much to ask our journalists to be thorough in their fact-finding, judicious in their determination to establish truth, and diligent in their quest to always maintain high standards?
Yours faithfully,
(Name and address supplied)
