New head for Media Association
Published: Wednesday | January 14, 2009
Gary Allen (third right), president of the Media Association of Jamaica, with members of the new executive. From left are Tanya Burke, Observer legal officer; Newton James, managing director, Power 106FM; Christopher Barnes, deputy managing director, The Gleaner Company Ltd; David McBean, president and chief executive officer of CVM Communications Group; Christine King, executive editor, Sunday Herald; Ed Khoury, chief executive officer of the Jamaica Observer; Brian Schmidt, marketing manager of Irie FM and Zip103 FM, and Hyacinth Anderson, credit manager, RJR Group. - Ricardo Makyn/Staff Photographer
A new chairman has been selected to head the Media Association of Jamaica (MAJ).
Gary Allen, the managing director of the RJR Group, was chosen by an executive committee comprising leading figures in media at the offices of the Jamaica Observer yesterday.
Allen assumes the position from Ed Khoury, chief executive officer of the Jamaica Observer.
Following the declaration of Allen's appointment, the new chairman officially stated his intentions for the MAJ in the new year. His ambitions for the media body include new business ventures and greater transparency.
"We have a significant year ahead of us, from an internal standpoint and an external standpoint," he said. "We still have work to do, in the organising of our organisation with regard to our articles and our general operation."
Media focus concerns
Allen continued to specify his concerns and his planned changes.
"We are concerned at this point with overall media coverage. I think an area that we have to look at is what the present thinking is as regards to spectrum fees (charges to radio stations for maintaining their frequency) and their possible introduction.
"Beyond that, I think the MAJ is viewed as only reacting to issues of importance to the media and I think we have to see things more broadly, certainly on issues of corruption and transparency within the company."
