The government is working on a policy to ensure responsible reporting by the state media, Minister of the Presidency Joseph Harmon said last Friday.
Harmon’s announcement was made at a post-Cabinet press briefing and pre-dated a statement issued yesterday by the Guyana Press Association (GPA), which registered its concern over Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo’s interaction with a Guyana Chronicle reporter following the publication of an unfavourable headline in the state-owned newspaper.
Harmon said the policy is being considered and is not yet completed.
“It is important that we establish clearly that there is a responsibility, which the media has, to ensure that news is put to the Guyanese public and the public at large, the international community at large, that is responsible,” he told reporters at the Ministry of the Presidency.
He noted that since the new administration took office there has been a greater degree of openness and the public is more connected as there is more information being published, leading to more questions being asked.
He added that while the administration is happy with the development, there remains a need for responsibility in how news is presented.
“[The] media, as the Fourth Estate, is an important element in the governing of a country and is therefore not something you can touch and do as you want… if you are reporting on government business then the reporting must be fair, balanced and objective,” he emphasised.
He cited the inaccurate reporting of Citizen Report on Minister Nicolette Henry’s statement in Parliament on state funds spent on the inauguration of President David Granger.
Meanwhile, in light of comments made by Nagamootoo, following his interaction with the Guyana Chronicle reporter, the GPA yesterday also suggested that following extensive consultations, there should be a policy “which adumbrates the way the executive should interact with state-owned media that would allow for freedom of the press to be exercised in a meaningful way within these entities.”
Nagamootoo last week generated concern about possible government interference in the state media when he told reporters at the Public Buildings that he was “surprised and disappointed” by a headline which appeared in the Chronicle.
Nagamootoo spoke with the reporter who wrote the article and subsequently said the Chronicle “is a government paper and I would expect that for a paper that it has a point of view that supports a government perspective…here is a case where there was a resolution of a problem, a compromise having been arrived at….”
In its statement, the GPA yesterday said it felt compelled to comment on the issue because while the Prime Minister is free to express his views, he should not express such views directly to media workers “as this is known to be a tactic of intimidation and may have a dampening effect on press freedom that can result in self-censorship.”
The GPA further said it regards the Prime Minister’s stated “pro-government expectations” of the publicly-funded Guyana Chronicle newspaper as “a retrograde and intolerable step” and one that “betrays the governing Coalition’s campaign and post-election promises not to engage in the same press freedom violations previous administrations were accused of.”
In addition to suggesting a policy that spells out how the executive should interact with the state media, the GPA said it believes the reform of the Broadcasting Act and the adoption of the British Broadcasting Corporation’s editorial guidelines should be integral in the approach towards a free and open State media.
The GPA also urged all journalists never to be swayed by opinion, good or bad, once their stories are factual, accurate and true. It added that questions from political leaders regarding their work should be directed to their editors.
