Dear Editor,
As the nation and the region await the CCJ ruling on the NCM, some skilful manipulating seems to be happening behind the scenes to deal with certain parts of the media.
The broadcasting authority pops up at strategic times in media releases to make threatening noises about the section of the media under its control.
From all the media releases, it is easy to think that this Government entity is taking steps to frighten the media into submission and control its coverage. It uses the cover of cleaning up television, radio and cable and is aided by some strong laws amended under this Government.
It claims to hold stakeholder forums to obtain this legitimacy. Who are these stakeholders and are they at liberty to act as fearless media operators? Or are they Government supporters brought in to make the entity look good? If this body is so concerned about clean media, can it outline the support it is giving to the media under its control, outside of holding closed meetings and making public statements about regulation? How much is being earned by each of the members and consultants who attend these meetings? Is clean the same as transparency?
All this talk about clean is a joke when what is happening elsewhere is considered. The President is still to file returns to the Integrity Commission. Has he offered any reasons for not showing how clean he is? And why is Minister Patterson not coming clean about the airport contract?
Yours sincerely,
Rudy Shaw
