… calls made for President to host press conferences
Journalists have complained of experiencing “great difficulty” in accessing information from functionaries of the Government.
Although Guyana has laws that guarantee access to information, media outlets still struggle when they hunt for data to build their stories, especially when requests are made to Government ministers.
They deem this humbug an obstacle which hampers their work to a high degree and opens doors to rumours and inaccurate reporting.
Members of the local media corps who gathered at Moray House Trust on World Press Freedom Day to discuss challenges they face had this as a general complaint.
Media practitioner Julia Johnson was one of the first persons to point out that many Government officials operate at though they are not required to speak to the media. She drew reference to several instances in which, working with a deadline, she had requested information from some officials, but the information was never forthcoming. 
“We would like to have the information exclusively and in a timely manner, but instead that information would come by way of a press release to the general media corps maybe the next day,” she lamented.
Other journalists have said that in some cases, Government officials would prefer to deal with certain media outlets and maybe with specific journalists. When they give information, they think they are doing journalists a special favour, although it is a legal right to access information of interest to the public.
Journalist Derwayne Wills raised concerns about President David Granger’s refusal to hold regular press conferences, to allow the media to ask tough questions on behalf of citizens.
Wills argued that the weekly programme dubbed “Public Interest” is not a press conference, especially since the time is too limited and the questions are vetted by a moderator.
Apparently peeved, Wills told the gathering that it is also difficult to get onto the programme, and there was general consensus among media practitioners that confirmed his statement.
“There is a huge wedge between the media and the presidency,” he opined.
University lecturer Dr Joyce Jonas, who also addressed the meeting, emphasised the need for more objective reporting, and called for more critical thinkers in the local media corps.
“The local media needs to stop being a fan club. They need to be more assertive and ask relevant and necessary questions. Enhanced investigative journalism must also be something to look at,” she said.
The need for press freedom to be guaranteed in the country’s Constitution and ways in which the local media fraternity can be enhanced were also discussed at the forum.
Executive Member of the Guyana Press Association (GPA), Nazima Raghubir, said her organisation would continue to lobby Government to address these issues and ensure they are placed in the law books.
“We want to make sure that freedom of the press is explicitly stated in the Constitution,” Raghubir said.
Dr Juan Miguel Diez, a representative from the United Nations (UN) Information Centre for the Caribbean, also attended the forum, and offered some advice to the local press corp. He said these times call for a more robust media, and he cited the many changes that has taken place over the years. He explained that the deadline for news now is “real time”.
At the end of the forum, journalists, feeling more empowered, agreed that an unfettered media is the sine quo non to the enjoyment of freedom of expression.
The forum was hosted by the GPA in partnership with the Commonwealth Youth Human Rights, Democracy Network, the Commonwealth Youth Peace Ambassadors Network, and Moray House.
World Press Freedom Day was celebrated under the theme: Critical Minds for Critical Times: Media’s Role in Advancing Peaceful, Just and Inclusive Societies.”
