The Ministry of the Presidency has complained about an editorial appearing in yesterday’s edition of the Stabroek News.
According to a statement from the Ministry the editorial “deliberately misrepresents statements made recently by President David Granger, during a live radio interview with Kaieteur Radio on Friday, November 1, 2019” and makes false assertions that the head of state is no longer an advocate for a free press.
President Granger was asked during the radio interview to provide his view on the Department of Public Information’s (DPI) recent refusal to place ads with Stabroek News following a temporary halt of placements by the newspaper to allow for a settlement of a $22.1 million debt.
The President’s specific response to the question was “we have considered it. There is what I would call a commercial dispute. There must be fairness. We believe that advertisements should be directed to the media houses based on their willingness to disseminate news fairly.”
He later noted that he does not “support withholding of advertisements. All media houses must have access to state ads since it is a state resource.”
Stabroek News Editor-in-Chief Anand Persaud said that the editorial faithfully represented this information and contrasted it with the President’s 1996 declaration “that media criticism of governments in the context of pursuit by the press of independent editorial policies, is part and parcel of the formula of democracy…”
The Ministry however contends that this statement in no way contradicts the President’s previous position as “a strong advocate for a professional and free press.”
“During his numerous interactions with media practitioners, before and since his assumption to office, President David Granger has always demonstrated great respect and regard for the profession and for journalists. The Stabroek News’s assertions to the contrary therefore, are false,” the statement claims.
The Ministry also reminded that during his address to the press corps, at a Guyana Press Association workshop, hosted on April 29, 2016, the President was clear that “… journalism is a noble profession… based on a sense of social responsibility. It is not for the reckless, it is based on education. It’s not for the uneducated. It’s based on ethics, it’s based on experience…”
In that address he also stressed that his administration is committed to non-interference in the independent media which act as watchdogs of the Government.
“They promote transparency by ensuring that information is provided to the public on the work of the Government. They’re a source of valuable feedback on the effectiveness of the efforts of the Government. There is no good reason for the State to interfere in the work of the private media. The relationship between the State and the private media must be seen as a partnership in providing a public good, that is, public information for the citizens of this country,” he added at the time.
In yesterday’s statement the Ministry argued that fairness and balance are the hallmarks of good journalism.
“Fairness in a journalistic context, entails accurate reportage and examining every possible angle and perspective. Selectively using parts of quotes and information to frame a story presents a false and misleading account to readers on that particular issue or person,” the statement notes.
There is no reference to when or how “parts of quotes and information” had been used by SN to mislead the public but the Ministry contends that Stabroek News has failed on many occasions, to report on important national events.
“In fact, in 2016, the Ministry of the Presidency had brought to the newspaper’s attention, that it had taken note that the paper had not been reporting on important national events involving the Presidency,” the statement claims.
Again there is no reference in the statement to any specific instance in which this newspaper failed to cover a national event. Persaud said the government and its activities have been amply covered in the newspaper.
The President has however claimed that the celebration of the 175th Anniversary of Queen’s College was a national event which SN failed to cover.
The conclusion of the statement sought to criticize the concerns raised about the Head of State’s position by arguing that Stabroek News currently publishes weekly columns by the Presidential candidate of a political party and an executive member of the same party.
“While this is certainly within the paper’s purview, it is hypocritical to criticise the President on his stance for fairness and equitable reportage when the paper itself has not given equal opportunities to the other stakeholders,” the statement concludes.
Persaud said the lofty journalistic ideals cited in the Ministry of the Presidency statement have failed to address the reality that DPI has withdrawn ads from Stabroek News as a means of punishing it for its forthright reporting on the government in the aftermath of the December 21, 2018 motion of no confidence. Persaud said in all of the verbiage presented yesterday the Ministry could provide not a single defence for the total cutoff of ads from Stabroek News in October and that the government now stands accused of a blatant assault on press freedom. Persaud said that President Granger himself now has to be held accountable for his government’s actions as he is fully aware of all of the circumstances.
