Nationwide News Network (NNN) CEO Cliff Hughes remained fearless on Friday, declaring that he and his staff will not be unnerved by a mid-afternoon gun attack on the station that has been widely condemned as an assault on press freedom.

“We are not going to be intimidated, we are not going to be distracted from our job. No lunatic will stop us. They will not break us. This will deepen and strengthen our resolve. You will not succeed,” the veteran journalist Hughes declared during the station’s evening news and current affairs programme Nationwide@5.

Hughes, who was not at the station when a gunman on a motorcycle fired shots from the gate into the parking lot about 4:30 pm, rushed to the Bradley Avenue property in St Andrew immediately on receiving word of the attack.

He told the Jamaica Observer that he was not due at work, but given the assault he had to get to the station to comfort his staff and present the evening programme.

On air, Hughes and Deputy Executive Editor George Davis told listeners that the perpetrator, who was wearing a yellow helmet, pulled up at the gate and sat on the motorcycle for some time before pulling a gun and opening fire.

Two vehicles in the parking lot, one of them belonging to a staff member, were hit by bullets.

Davis was also resolute, declaring that the team remains steadfast and will continue to produce and air news as well as the station’s various programmes.

Hughes noted that the attack came on the same day when the leadership of the Opposition People’s National Party (PNP) were on the front page of The Gleaner newspaper declaring support for comments made by the party’s General Secretary Dr Dayton Campbell against Nationwide at the party’s St Andrew East Central constituency conference on September 3, 2023.

In that address Campbell accused Nationwide of being an “incubator for the Jamaica Labour Party” and went on to name a number of former employees of the station who are now working in Government.

The comments were condemned by the Press Association of Jamaica (PAJ) which said that such remarks, coming from a prominent political figure, have the potential to place Nationwide journalists at risk of attacks by political activists and party supporters.

“By putting journalists in harm’s way, Dr Campbell’s comments are a blatant attack on press freedom and represent a grave escalation of assaults on the principles of a free and independent press… a fundamental pillar of any democratic society,” PAJ President Milton Walker said.

However, in Friday’s Gleaner PNP President Mark Golding chided the PAJ, saying he was disappointed by the association’s statement and its request for Campbell to retract his remarks.

On Friday evening Hughes said he had no evidence to link the attack on his station with Campbell’s comments. However, he pointed to a concern he had expressed that the PNP general secretary’s comments had the potential to place Nationwide staff in danger.

Friday’s gun attack was condemned by the PAJ which described it as “reprehensible and cowardly”.

“This vile act constitutes an unprecedented assault on a news organisation and represents a grave attack on the fundamental principles of press freedom that all Jamaicans hold dear,” Walker said.

He said the PAJ stands unwaveringly in solidarity with Nationwide and the broader journalism community in Jamaica during this challenging time, adding, “We firmly believe that an independent and fearless press is the cornerstone of any democratic society. An attack on one news organisation is an attack on the collective freedom of the press, and it is an affront to the values of democracy and transparency.”

Walker called on the police to swiftly investigate the incident, apprehend the perpetrators, and ensure that justice is served.

He also urged all Jamaicans to unite in condemning this act of violence against the press.

“We must stand together to protect and uphold the principles of press freedom, democracy, and the right of all citizens to access accurate and unbiased information,” Walker said, adding that the PAJ maintains that attacks on the media will not deter journalists from their duty to inform the public and ensure that the truth prevails.

Meanwhile, the Media Association Jamaica (MAJ) expressed shock, disgust and disappointment at the attack on the station.

“Regardless of motivation, the potential intimidatory effect on journalists carrying out their work on behalf of the public is a sad reality for this nation to deal with. Media houses stand strong and resolute with Nationwide and its employees in the face of intimidation, defending our right to transparency and unfettered access to report on issues of national importance. We call on the nation to do the same. Freedom of the press has today fallen off the knife’s edge upon which it has been precariously perched. Today will forever be etched as a dark day for journalism in Jamaica,” the MAJ said in a statement.

“We urge the authorities to investigate promptly with a view to bring those responsible to justice. We ask Jamaicans to decide today which Jamaica they want to live in. We must do better,” the MAJ said.

The Government also condemned the attack, describing it as “abhorrent” and saying that it “must never be seen in Jamaica again”.

“The Government restates its commitment and support to a free press which should not be intimidated in any way,” information minister Robert Morgan said.