‘Dangerous precedent’… PNP against attacks on the media
Published:Friday | October 11, 2024 | 10:22 AM
Chairman of the People's National Party (PNP) Dr Angela Brown Burke says the party condemns the recent attacks on the media.
Brown Burke says these actions are dangerous and may put the lives of journalists doing their jobs at risk.
There has been industry pushback on AI-assisted videos that are circulating on social media platforms making claims of political bias in the media, particularly about The Gleaner and members of its team.
On Monday, a video, with names and faces, emerged accusing six senior Gleaner journalists of being linked to, and used by, the opposition PNP to sabotage the Government.
In condemning the videos, the RJRGLEANER Communications Group has called the claims false and misleading.
“I believe this is setting really a dangerous precedent in our country,” Brown Burke says.
She says while there may be disagreements with the media, attacks, especially ones that are personal, should not be supported.
“The People's National Party is very clear that there are going to be times when we have to call the media out on what they have said or how they have interpreted a story or something we have done, that is in the normal cut and thrust of business within which we are, but we certainly condemn any attempt to identify individuals and doing it in a way that calls attention to them that could set them up and could their lives difficult.”
She added, “The media doesn't always say things about us that we like, opinions differ on issues, and the positions we take, all of that we understand that. There is no problem in challenging a story's point of view or challenging a perspective that someone has but when you move it now from the action that the person did or argument the person made and you focus it on the person then that now becomes a whole kettle of fish and something that I believe we should not turn a blind eye to and we should definitely not ignore.”
Brown Burke says Jamaicans should stand up against these kinds of actions.
“I believe the videos are dangerous. They are dangerous because what they actually do, because of the content and how they frame the argument being specific about individuals and how they talk about them, it is almost as if they are fingering individuals and you are saying some things about them that could incite others to make it difficult for them to their jobs… and so I do believe it is dangerous. I believe those who are doing it should stop, [and] I believe those who are close to them should tell them to stop and I believe at the end of day that we have to set a standard for how we deal with things like these.”
The Press Association of Jamaica (PAJ) has condemned the attacks.
“We will not stand idly by while our members face harassment, intimidation, or smear campaigns. We urge all Jamaicans to join us in condemning this attack on press freedom and reaffirming our commitment to a free and independent media," the PAJ said Monday.
During Wednesday's post-Cabinet press briefing at Jamaica House, Information Minister Dr Dana Morris Dixon, when quizzed about the Government's silence on the matter, denounced the attacks. She stressed that the Andrew Holness administration “is very much committed to press freedom” and that “everything we have done has demonstrated that”.
On Wednesday, Jamaica Labour Party General Secretary Dr Horace Chang said the party was not responsible for video referencing the six Gleaner journalists, and that the JLP “would not condone such activity”.
Chang was responding to a letter from Gleaner Editor-in-Chief Moya Thomas, who raised concerns about the safety of the journalists and urged the party to use the force of its executive to publicly and unequivocally distance itself from the video.
The JLP general secretary said the party's executive would remind its membership to “temper their responses to perceived attacks on the leadership of the party”.
He added: “We will take steps to safeguard the professional safety of any rank of journalist to cover events nationally and/or seek information to write reports related to any political party.”
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