
On your point about Fourth Estate issues. Those considerations have long become non-existent for the people who were to be served when this idea became popular after the French Revolution. In fact it is fair to say corporate media like the Nation and the Advocate are interested, not so much in social concerns, but in making profit for their owners. Therefore our overarching point is that whether it is the BBC, CNN, The Walt Street Journal, The New York Times, The Nation or the Advocate it does not matter. Delivering benefit to the owners is the prime consideration, regardless of structure or long forgotten notions about democracy and mass participation. To them these ideas are anachronistic or quaint.
The International Press Institute (I.P.I) has submitted its evaluation of Barbados’ media space. The Barbados government has been given a thumbs down by IPI on the lack of political will to implement Freedom of Information and Integrity Legislation. The unwillingness to issue TV licenses to private players to disseminate non-state views. It was very critical of the Barbados government criminalizing defamation as represented in Section 34 of the Defamation Act.
Here are the recommendations handed out by the IPU:
Recommendations to the government
- Give priority to amending the Defamation Act to remove criminal penalties
- Give priority to the freedom of information bill in order to approve it and implement it as soon as possible
- Encourage media diversity by granting licences for new, private television channels
- Transform the state broadcaster into a public broadcaster
- Allow journalists to report freely—without interference or intimidation—on all topics
Recommendations to the media
- Inform the Barbados public and journalists alike about the drawbacks of criminal defamation laws and the benefits of their repeal
- Work to consolidate a strong, intra-island media community that can advocate for the common rights of the press
- Provide added support to the Barbados Association of Journalists in its media development activities
- Invest in journalism training in order
When all was said and done Barbados continues to be regarded as a jurisdiction where freedom of the press is alive and well.
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