Dear Editor,

“I believe in being truthful, not neutral. And I believe we must stop banalising the truth.” – Christiane Amanpour

To get the first retort out of the way, like Evon Blake, the conceptualiser of the Press Association of Jamaica in 1943, I will not profess to be a “working journalist”. I am merely an attorney by day and television host by night and, to address the second retort, we can add retired politician to the list of labels. However, like deceased US Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall, I believe in speaking out where I see wrong, inequality or injustice because this is my country and my democracy which I must shape, protect and pass on.

On March 21, 2018, Prime Minister Andrew Holness, at Jamaica House, held and advertised “Media Day” inclusive of a flyer bearing the logos of media entities belonging to the three invited media houses, forsaking all others without statistical, reasonable or logical explanation. Media houses with more subscription, according to the 2016 All Media Survey, were not informed or contacted. Was it Media Day or Some Media Day?

With full awareness of the elements, the Office of the Prime Minister catalogued the day’s events on social media, culminating in an Instagram post which read: “Thank You to Our Media.” Naturally, the following pertinent and controversial questions objectively arose:

1. To whom does “our media” belong?

2. Is the Government of Jamaica discriminating against media?

3. Shouldn’t all media be made aware and given the opportunity to attend media day?

4. Are there special actions to warrant an invitation to Media Day and, if not informed, how would interested parties be able to action same?

5. If media houses are going to be hand-picked to attend Media Day, shouldn’t this be done based on objective criteria with regard to public viewership, readership and listenership?

Predictably, a host of unacceptable excuses were proffered and, of note, the Press Association of Jamaica (PAJ), although certainly privy to these discussions — if not in a formal capacity then in a personal capacity — said nothing. Deafening silence.

On Tuesday, March 27, 2018, the PAJ was awakened! The three media houses previously included and the others previously forsaken were personae non gratae on the Office Prime Minister’s guest list for the post-shuffle swearing-in of the new Cabinet ministers. Ironically, the PAJ rejected excuses, found it impossible to believe the explanation given by the Office of the Prime Minister, and charged that governments “need to demonstrate openness, transparency and commitment to free and open coverage by the press not just when it is convenient to them, but as a matter of principle”.

While we are all awake with regard to media relations between the Government and the free press as the oxygen of democracy, in an effort to keep the country enlightened and informed, we must remember that: “There are some situations one simply cannot be neutral about, because when you are neutral you are an accomplice. Objectivity doesn’t mean treating all sides equally. It means giving each side a hearing.” – Christiane Amanpour

Ashley-Ann Foster

ashfoslaw@gmail.com