PM slams media foot dragging on ethics
Published:Thursday | January 13, 2011 | 12:00 AM
Edmond Campbell, Senior Staff Reporter
THE MEDIA on Tuesday came in for sharp criticism from some legislators who challenged members of the profession to establish a press council which has been proposed for decades.
Prime Minister Bruce Golding said he has been waiting for nearly four decades for the fulfilment of a promise by the local media to set up the press council, which would hear complaints from members of the public whose reputations have been smeared by unjustifiable reports published in the press.
Debating a report from a joint select committee set up to consider recommendations from the Hugh Small-led committee which was appointed by the Government to review Jamaica's libel laws, the prime minister complained that after nearly 40 years, the proposed press council had not materialised.
"They have been talking about that press council for as long as I have been in politics and next year will be 39 years since I was first elected to this House," Golding told his parliamentary colleagues.
Central Kingston Member of Parliament Ronald Thwaites said he, too, was disappointed that the press council had not come to fruition.
"For as long as I have been in journalism, I have longed for a mechanism that, outside of the ambit of the courts but buttressed by the principles of law, could handle the normal complaints that arise with a vibrant and robust investigative mass media and the individuals about which it speaks and reports.
"I share in the sentiments of the member for West Kingston (Golding) that this is long overdue. It needs to be dealt with immediately," Thwaites urged.
Turning to the proposed code of conduct for journalists, the prime minister also chided practitioners for failing to implement this necessary measure.
"There has been talk among media practitioners for a long time about a code of professional conduct. It does not exist, and therefore I am challenging the media to explain why is it that it is so difficult for a professional that is so concerned, and rightly so, so passionate about standards and ethics and so on, why is it that the press has had such a difficulty in establishing among themselves a code of professional ethics."
Commission being negotiated
Commenting on the issue, the Press Association of Jamaica (PAJ) noted it has already introduced and ratified a code of ethics that was in place and said a media complaints commission remained on the drawing board.
PAJ President Jenni Campbell said her organisation was committed to the establishment of a commission but that it needed the buy-in of members of the media at all levels. She said this was being negotiated.
"I must remind the prime minister that the Charter of Rights and other proposed constitutional changes have been on the table since the 1970s and are yet to be implemented," Campbell reasoned. "So he would understand the challenges in making critical changes that will affect the entire society."
The prime minister said his administration was moving to enact significant changes in the defamation laws. This, he said, would give greater freedom to publish and express opinion.
"We are appealing to the press, let's see a reciprocal position being taken to ensure that the highest possible standards are being maintained so that in our necessary zeal to protect the freedoms we have fought for so hard, we don't create damage that in effect undermines the fabric of the very society that we are seeking to build."