-Dr Luncheon
The Guyana government’s commitment to legislation on matters relating to the media “has been stayed by current and contemporaneous events,” and everyone is aware of this, says Head of the Presidential Secre-tariat and Secretary to the Cabinet 0Dr Luncheon was responding to a query about what he meant by his comments on “the need for media management” and “accountability of the media” at the recent congress of the PPP held at Diamond, East Bank Demerara.
He was quoted as saying at the PPP Congress that all involved in the government and the media would “have to manage this thing” called the media.
Meanwhile, the issue of broadcast legislation and the freeing up of the state monopoly on radio were among a number of outstanding issues the parliamentary opposition had asked the government to resolve over a decade ago and continues to place this on their agenda in meetings with the administration.
While Dr Luncheon did not elaborate on what the “current and contemporaneous events” were, he said that the “actual playing field” was not fair and that all involved in the government and media “have to manage this thing.”
He said that a letter from the Guyana Press Association to the Office of the President seeking an audience with the administration “has actually said that we need to sit down and manage this thing better.” He said that he had spoken in that context of collaboration with the media.
Asked about the letter sent to the administration, GPA President Denis Chabrol told Stabroek News that the most recent letter was the third sent to the administration and the only one for which there was an acknowledgement. There was no acknowledgement of the two previous letters that dealt with outstanding issues affecting the media, including broadcast legislation.
The most recent letter, Chabrol said, dealt with the issue of the ban on television journalist Gordon Moseley from entering the Office of the President and the official residence of the President, State House which continues to be a matter of great anxiety within the media fraternity. The GPA, he said, looks forward to a meeting with the administration and the sooner the better.
At the PPP Congress Dr Luncheon said that there was need for media management in which the media should be held more accountable for its actions. Without referring to any medium, he said that there were media that were enemies of the PPP which made them enemies of progress and the party has to use “the new media to confound them.” He added that, “We have to deal with the media. . . left unbridled” they will be a formidable thorn in the side of the PPP come 2011 when the next general and regional elections are due.
At the congress, during his presentation on “A Vision for 2011” he had said that the PPP had already taken note of the attention “the hostile, critical media” was paying to the issue of a presidential candidate.
During the congress the media, particularly Stabroek News came under harsh criticism by President Bharrat Jagdeo and in the party’s Central Committee Report which was presented by General Secretary Donald Ramotar.
