VERY LITTLE togetherness and hardly any love was the situation facing the media on Saturday, the first evening at the so-called 'It's A Love Thing' reggae concert put on by Togetherness Records of Jamaica over the weekend at the Queen's Park Savannah, Trinidad.
Media personnel covering the concert faced a constant hassle from Jamaican gate handlers as they attempted to go about their duties of covering the show.
A signal of the trouble had been sounded earlier in the day when a news conference, scheduled for the Hilton Trinidad at 11 a.m started well over an hour late. Confusion ensued after the conference as some media personnel were issued the necessary passes and armbands while others were told they would have to collect them when they got to the venue later on to cover the show.
The result was a nightmare at the gates. The main contention was the backstage area for which passes are usually provided when covering shows. The gate handlers not only attempted to make this area off-limits to working media members they also tried to prevent entry to members of the electronic media who were authorised to broadcast the show live. Some were shunted back and forth between various gates, each time facing shouts and verbal abuse.
Even local officials directly connected to the organisation of the show were hassled at entry points before being grudgingly allowed in.
Organisers showed a complete lack of understanding of what is required for such events as some media members were restricted to a so-called media centre set up next to the backstage area. This was set up comfortably enough with chairs under tents and would have been a thoughtful gesture had not movement not been restricted.
Still other media personnel, after trying in vain to get the required passes and armbands from the organisers, were grudgingly allowed in with the IDs of their respective media houses. These were properly peppered by the Jamaicans as they just tried to cover the show. The thorny issue however seemed to be about more than passes and armbands, as with or without them, members of the media faced a hostile attitude from the gate handlers throughout the evening.
However, the general public would have remained unaware of these problems as the reggae artistes listed to perform delivered the music the public had come to hear.
Taken from the Trinidad Express
(See reports on the bottle throwing surrounding Bounty Killer's performance and the hitting out at Jamaican deejays by a Trinidadian artiste in today's Star)
