Despite a claim by Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo that the state media, particularly the Guyana Chronicle is opened and has been publishing views opposed to the government, including news articles emanating from the government, an analysis conducted by this publication proved otherwise.
Guyana Times conducted its own analysis of the publications of Guyana Chronicle since the A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) coalition government took office.
A total of 233 publications of the Guyana Chronicle between May 11, 2015 and April 20, 2016 were examined, of which only 22 carried articles that are in anyway relating to PPP and its members, representing 9.44 per cent of coverage.
Further analysis revealed that the 22 publications carried a total of 25 stories relating to the opposition, of which only two highlighted any positives of the PPP/C and a whopping 23 attempting to belittle or embarrass the opposition or to paint its members in a bad light, including headlines like “Jagdeo ‘cut and run’ ”.
This evidence strongly contradicts public pronouncements by PM Nagamootoo and his Director of Public Information (DPI) Imran Khan, both of whom claimed in the past that the opposition has significant access to the state media.
As a matter of fact, on Monday, a statement from the Prime Minister Office denied censorship of the state media.
He had said that such claims are “wholly false and baseless” and attempt to damage the image of the Coalition Government which is trying to repair democratic institutions, including state media which had been left in a “shambolic state” under the previous administration.
The statement issued by the DPI argued that the coalition government has established independent and professional boards for major state media entities and that for the first time in many years, state media have been carrying articles and reports critical of the government.
However, Guyana Times’ analysis could not find the “extensive positive coverage to the opposition” to which the PM’s Office referred.
Recently the Prime Minister was criticised by the United State Department of State in its Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2015 over a 2015 attempt to censor the Guyana Chronicle.
According to the report, for which the Prime Minister is yet effectively to address, in August 2015 he issued a directive that all headlines in the state-owned print media (Guyana Chronicle) be first scrutinised and approved by his office before they are published. The directive was a response to a headline criticising the government.
The press, whether state own or privately owed – should be able to operate without fear in a democratic story. Guyana Times in particular has been operating within the realm of a free independent press. In particular, this newspaper does not attack any politician but reports on the facts responsibly and accurately – operating fairly with balance and without fair.
In this instance as outlined above the facts are that although the PM has been boasting about mammoth opposition coverage in the state owned Guyana Chronicle this coverage is meagre. It must be reminded that the most important ingredient of democracy is the existence of fearless and free press. As such the media, being the defender of the rights and liberties of the people, can perform only if it enjoys its ability to be uncensored in our democratic society.
