PPP complains about coverage by some newspapers

The People’s Progressive Party (PPP) yesterday complained that Stabroek News and some other media houses have not been reporting on the press releases issued at its weekly press conferences.

At its press conference yesterday, General Secretary Clement Rohee said that during the period June 6th to August 19th the PPP issued a total of thirty Press Statements/Releases which were sent to the Editors of the Guyana Chronicle, the Stabroek News, the Kaieteur News and the Guyana Times.

The PPP said that of the thirty Press Statements/Releases issued, the Guyana Times carried nineteen, the Guyana Chronicle carried ten, the Kaieteur News carried eight and the Stabroek News carried seven.

The PPP noted that it has written to the Editors of the Kaieteur News, Stabroek News and Guyana Chronicle bringing to their attention the concerns of the Party in respect to their “unfair, unbalanced and discriminatory coverage of the Party’s Press Statements/Releases which demonstrates a clear pattern of biased editorial policy against the PPP thus undermining the very core of accountability journalism which by the very nature is expected to hold the APNU+AFC Government accountable.”

The charged that since the editorial policy of these newspapers is clearly aimed at sheltering the Granger-led Coalition Government they will obviously refrain from carrying PPP Press Releases “ using an excuse that coverage of party releases and statements depends on importance and content.”

The PPP said it rejected this catch-all statement as an excuse for not carrying PPP releases and statements.

Stabroek News Editor-in-Chief Anand Persaud had responded to Rohee’s letter to the newspaper on August 20th on the same day and said:

“Thank you for the evaluation of the coverage by SN of the PPP’s press releases.

“I disagree that SN’s coverage of the PPP’s press releases has been discriminatory and unbalanced. Press releases are covered on the basis of importance and content. Stabroek News remains committed to fair coverage of the PPP’s press releases.”

Persaud told Stabroek News that he was satisfied that the PPP’s statements which warranted coverage have been adequately reported on.