Clarence ‘Ben’ Brodie | Senator Fitz-Henley has a golden opportunity to make a difference for press freedom

Senator Abka Fitz-Henley has come out swinging. Unlike many a neophyte on both sides of the political divide, the award-winning journalist has made it clear that he is not in the Senate to warm his seat and make up numbers at voting time. He is on a mission.

In his inaugural speech, he touched on a wide range of topics, and as expected, dutifully rolled out defence of the performance of his patron, the ruling Jamaica Labour Party.

As he closed off his presentation, he made some “quick comments” under the heading ‘Media and Press Freedom Decline’.

His grouse was with the decline of Jamaica in the World Press Freedom ratings from 6th to 12th. He felt that “such a steep decline was not merited” and was “not an accurate depiction of the state of affairs in Jamaica”. He thinks that Reporters Without Borders, who compile the ratings, was “misled”.

To reinforce this view, he conjured up a picture of anti-government elements feeding wrong information to the international body. As evidence, he offered: “I am told that one individual presented a false picture about the media landscape.”

More important than his attempt to ascribe the cause of the fall in the ratings to some sinister plot is the simple fact that he had the courage to raise the issue, and for this we must be thankful. He could have chosen to remain silent.

Throughout its history, media in Jamaica have always been recognised by most sectors of the population for, among other things, the significant role they play in propogandising the agendas of this or that socio/political movement, yet media fall way down on the ladder of importance when national duties are being assigned.

INFORMATION AN AFTERTHOUGHT

The result is that the information portfolio has been, for the most part, an afterthought with no stable resting place in political calculation. In fact, the first Cabinet at Independence in 1962 did not even mention information as an area to be ministered. The Ministry of Development and Welfare handled media matters on an ad hoc basis.

Later, it was the finance and planning ministry that was in charge. It was this ministry that handled the unjustified dismissals of journalists George Lee and Adrian Rodway from the Jamaica Broadcasting Corporation newsroom in 1964. This resulted in the historic 97-day JBC strike.

In recent times, the information portfolio has been a part of the youth, sports and culture ministry, and since 2012, it has been tacked on to the Ministry of Education. Now, it is tended by a minister without portfolio in the Office of the Prime Minister.

Today, rapid advances in technology make it mandatory that the portfolio be moved up on the ladder of importance, and this is where Senator Fitz-Henley, with his impressive media background, can make a solid contribution.

Preparing for Artificial Intelligence (AI), constitutional reform, access to information and data protection are just some of the areas hanging out there. Issues related to these matters are in need of urgent attention as any development agenda requires absolute clarity on the environment within which the media operate.

In his June 16 address to the Senate, Senator Fitz Henley did mention Artificial Inteligence in relation to the need for “quick legislative steps” to curb the incidence of public mischief in social media but not in relation to its use in mainstream media.

Nonetheless, there is some movement. Just last week it was announced that the Data Protection Act Regulations are to be tabled in Parliament soon. Does the senator know what these regulations are? Does he think media houses and indeed the public should know? How soon is ‘soon’?

He should note that both the Press Association of Jamaica and the Media Association of Jamaica have concerns about the “overly broad powers of the proposed Information Commissioner”.

Regarding the Constitution, does he not think freedom of the press should be specified in the Constitution instead of being left under the broad heading of Freedom of Expression?

Does he agree with Gordon Robinson writing in The Gleaner of July 10, 2022, that the Access to Information Act is “a scheme to hoodwink media (and) actually restricts media’s access to official information?”

In his presentation, he acknowledged that “hardworking media workers … could do with much more support from employers and better remuneration”. My hope is that this observation is a signal that he will be cooperating with trade union representatives in and out of the Senate and with other stakeholders regarding the elimination of the ‘short-contract’ employment regime strangling media workers and workers throughout the entire nation.

There is a lot of work for the senator to do on the media landscape, a landscape on which the centrepiece is press freedom.

Because of his wide experience in the field, he, more than any of his colleagues in the Senate, should appreciate that keeping the flag of press freedom flying high is crucial. Consequently, the Government should use every opportunity to wave that flag to the world, not just by words, but by its deeds.

PEPPER SPRAY INCIDENT

Here is a golden opportunity for Senator Fitz Henley to strike a blow for press freedom.

On February 13, 2018, Gleaner’s award-winning photo-journalist Rudolph Brown was pepper-sprayed by a Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) constable as he took images of an altercation in the Cross Roads area.

After investigation by the JCF and the The Independent Commission of Investigations (INDECOM), the Government accepted responsibility and agreed to a settlement out of court. To date, no payment has been made to the suffering Mr Brown.

It would certainly be a feather in Senator Fitz-Henley’s cap if he could coax his colleagues to speed up payment to Mr Brown for this indiscretion on the part of the police.

I think he should also insist that the payment be a handsome one as this would send a message to the security forces and the society as a whole that under the banner of press freedom, journalists have a right to carry out their duties unhindered and that infringement of this right is costly.

Closure of the case would also indicate that Prime Minister Andrew Holness was sincere when he told the Press Association of Jamaica, in a message in its 70th Anniversary Magazine in 2014, that he is “an ardent believer in press freedom”.

With the workforce of several government entities at his disposal, I am confident that Senator Fitz-Henley can use this new platform to achieve some level of gains on behalf of media.

Of course, he can continue to play his partisan political role at Gordon House and elsewhere, but it is in the area of media that Mr Fitz-Henley is admirably equipped to make a big difference.

Clarence ‘Ben’ Brodie is a former president of the Press Association and currently managing editor of the community newspaper The News. Email feedback to editorial@gleanerjm.com.