We note with serious attention the call by Mayor of Kingston Desmond McKenzie for the establishment of a national press council as a vehicle, as he puts it, to provide justice to people who believe they have been unfairly and un-justly portrayed by the press.
Of course, Mr. McKenzie's suggestion is not new or novel. For not only has the idea been on and off the agenda here in recent years, a Caribbean Press Conference, headed by the late Aubrey Fraser, and to which Jamaica was affiliated, operated in the 1980s, before lapsing because of technical and political reasons.
That the head of the KSAC should, at this time, enter the discourse on the function and responsibility of the press is, in our view, useful and opportune. For we expect that Mr. McKenzie's views will be broadly congruent with those of his party leader and Leader of Opposition Bruce Golding; and that he will see the suggestion of a press council as part of wider legislative reforms supported by Mr. Golding.
Speaking in Manchester at a church service to mark the third anniversary of the community newspaper, News Express, Mr. McKenzie argued that societies do not need newspapers that are "vulgar and immoral, which try to sell through cheap sensationalism". Unfortunately, he did not precisely define what he meant by vulgar, immoral or sensational, but we believe that he is well aware of the dangers of attempting to legislate morality or to constrain views and opinions which particular interests may view as "sensational". It is often, though, a small step from this to constraining of people's right to free expression, to the diminution of democracy and giving a leg up to the authoritarian.
That, however, is not what we believe to be his position, which is why we would wish to hear a more expansive presentation by Mr. McKenzie, to confirm that his aim is not to broaden the shield for public officials under the guise of protecting "ordinary" folks who may have been unfairly treated by the press.
For, as Mr. McKenzie will recall, in his contribution to the budget debate earlier this year, Mr. Golding called for new, and more liberal libel laws to allow the press - or anyone who takes on the role - greater privilege to place the spotlight on public officials in an effort to enhance the quality of governance.
These are sentiments which we believe have wide currency and have been promoted by the Caribbean media, but without the support of governments that are more inclined to continue to protect their flanks rather than removing constraints to public debate. That inclination is aided and abetted by narrow libel laws and courts that are as yet un-willing to provide expansive interpretations of the concept of privilege in the press' reporting on public officials.
We, therefore, encourage Mr. McKenzie, as he promotes the idea of a press council, to support his boss' call for new libel laws. For as the Antiguan-based attorney, Bernice Lake, has so eloquently argued: "When he throws his hat in the nation's arena, the politician does so on the basis of an implied promise to promote and protect free speech in the social interest of honest, open and accountable government. He does so with the concomitant subordination of the right to privacy. Upon the assumption of public office, he makes that promise expressly."
THE OPINIONS ON THIS PAGE, EXCEPT FOR THE ABOVE, DO NOT NECESSARILY RELECT THE VIEWS OF THE GLEANER.
