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Ministers can dictate to state media – President

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Bulkan’s directive to Chronicle

President David Granger has said there is nothing wrong with a government minister dictating where articles should be placed in the state newspaper.
Communities Minister Ronald Bulkan recently came under fire for penning an acerbic letter to the Editor of the Guyana Chronicle, in which he attempted to dictate what the newspaper should have published as its lead or page one story. In that letter to the editor, published in the state newspaper on April 3, Bulkan condemned the newspaper for not giving enough prominence to the article on the swearing-in of mayors and deputy mayors.
“Your front page is dominated by the headline: “More Oil” and was followed by a full-page story on page three. I wish to suggest that your emphasis and message are totally misplaced,” the minister penned in his missive.
Bulkan had also expressed concern that the article on mayors was “relegated” to page eight, while the oil story was featured on page three. “I suggest, therefore, that your public duty would have been better served by switching the aforementioned articles,” Bulkan stated.
Asked to comment on this minister’s actions, President Granger said he does not view it as interference in the work of the media, but as the minister giving his opinion on the matter, just as every citizen has a right to do. He also said the Guyana Press Association’s (GPA) condemnation of the minister’s action is not justifiable.
The GPA had accused the minister of attempting to drive fear into operatives of the state media. “His missive, which appeared only in the Guyana Chronicle, can only be interpreted as an attempt to drive fear into the editors and reporters of that newspaper with the sole aim of securing censorship and self-censorship,” the GPA said in a statement.
The Press Association had also suggested that Minister Bulkan would do well to be accessible to the media and account for the Communities Ministry’s programmes and policies, rather than “resort to a cloak-and-dagger approach” to drive fear into the state media operatives in regard to his story preferences.
President Granger has long maintained that his government would not meddle in the affairs of the media. “The Government of Guyana is committed to the promotion of a high degree of media professionalism. The administration will not undermine the professionalism of state media workers by subjecting them to political direction or interference in their work,” the President said in April last at a workshop to train local journalists and other media practitioners.
But even Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo had come under fire for his attempts to influence the state media via reportedly scolding a journalist and insisting that his office review all headlines before publication.
Nagamootoo had reprimanded a reporter attached to the Guyana Chronicle for publishing in that newspaper an article which he thought was unfavourable to the Government. The offending article was published on August 25, 2015 under the headline “Govt blunders on Budget Estimates … violates laws assented to by President Granger”. Following that contentious front page headline, the Office of the Prime Minister had declared that it would be vetting all headlines before their publication.
The Prime Minister was, in 2016, also criticised by the US State Department over his 2015 attempt to suppress freedom of the press, particularly in the state media. “In August (2015), the Prime Minister issued a directive that all headlines in the state-owned print media be first scrutinised and approved by his office before they are published. The directive was a response to a headline criticising the Government. The Prime Minister also serves as Minister of Information,” the U.S. State Department’s report had noted.
However, in response to a <<Guyana Times>> article on the report, the Department of Public Information (DPI) of the Office of the Prime Minister, while not making direct reference to the report, had said Government was repudiating “in the strongest terms, irresponsible allegations repeated in the media, alleging censorship in state media.”
But the Guyana Press Association (GPA) had also noted with concern the reports of Nagamootoo’s interaction with the reporter attached to the Guyana Chronicle. According to the GPA, the incident can be viewed as a method of intimidation, which may have a dampening effect on press freedom.
The GPA has most recently condemned the continued role of the Director of Public Information, Imran Khan, as Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Guyana National Newspapers Limited –- publishers of the Guyana Chronicle.
The Association also disclosed — with worry — that a senior Government Minister continues to dictate coverage of his office to the Editor-in-Chief, and often has stories sent for his approval once they have to do with his office or the People’s National Congress (PNC), the main party in the governing coalition.
Additionally, the GPA has condemned the weekly meetings of the Prime Minister with senior executives of the state media, noting that those meetings are being used as a tool to dictate the editorial content of the paper and silence or trivialise Opposition views.

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Georgetown, Guyana – (April 10, 2017) The Ministry of the Presidency refutes the misleading, false and malicious article, which was carried in the Monday, April 10, 2017 edition of the Guyana Times, headlined “Ministers can dictate to state media – President”, in which His Excellency President David Granger’s utterances were misrepresented.

Ms. Stacy Carmichael, Assistant Editor of NewsRoom on the Ministry of the Presidency’s weekly television programme ‘The Public Interest’, asked the President, “As an advocate for press freedom, do you have any concerns with any attempts by members of your Cabinet to interfere with the content of the State media?” The article claims that the President, in response, said that there is nothing wrong with a Government minister ‘dictating’ where articles should be placed in the State newspaper.

On the contrary, the President, in his response said, “If you are referring to a letter by the Minister of Communities, I do not regard it as interference. Apart from being a Minister, he is a private citizen. He expressed concerns. I do not think he attempted to coerce or to use his ministerial influence to change what I regard as the editorial right to publish an article or to publish news stories. I don’t think there was any interference at all. He wrote a letter just as anybody else could write a letter… I have seen worse letters by other people and the fact that it came from a minister does not constitute interference. If he had gone into the newsroom and order changes be made that is a different matter… But as far as the matter you are raising is concerned, the Minister did not decide what should or should not be published, he expressed an opinion on what had already been published.”

The question and response were related to a press release by the Guyana Press Association on April 4, 2017, which criticised a letter written by Mr. Ronald Bulkan, the Minister of Communities, and published in the Guyana Chronicle on April 3, 2017.

At no point during the recording of the programme did the President say that Ministers of Government can dictate to the State media entities. Further, the headline is at odds with the actual content of the article published in that newspaper since in the same report, the media house states in the fourth paragraph, “Asked to comment on this minister’s actions, President Granger said he does not view it as interference in the work of the media, but as the Minister giving his opinion on the matter, just as every citizen has a right to do”. This clearly shows that the headline was a deliberate attempt to mislead the Guyanese people.

The Ministry emphatically condemns the article and notes that media houses have an important responsibility to provide facts to the people of Guyana. This erroneous headline and lead were published despite the fact that the President’s comments was publicised via television, the internet and other communication platforms. The assertions carried therein have no basis in fact and the Ministry is, therefore, calling for an immediate retraction.

While the Government of Guyana promotes and stands solidly behind press freedom, the Ministry of the Presidency calls on the Guyana Times and all media houses to pay attention to the ethics and responsibilities that ought to be observed in the profession of Journalism. The Media must take its responsibility to provide accurate information to the members of the public seriously.

The Ministry of the Presidency uses this opportunity to reiterate the President’s commitment to the non-interference of the media by his administration. In April 2016, at a workshop hosted by the Guyana Press Association, the President said that citizens’ access to information is a democratic right and information is necessary for citizens’ informed participation in society.

“The Government of Guyana is committed to the promotion of a high degree of media professionalism. My administration will not undermine the professionalism of State media workers by subjecting them to political direction or interference with their work. My administration is committed also to non-interference in the independent media. Independent media act as watchdogs of the Government. They promote transparency by ensuring that information is provided to the public on the work of the Government,” the President said.

He noted, at that forum, that restrictions on the flow of information deny citizens the opportunity to participate fully in decision-making and, thereby, impair democracy. The President said that his Government accepts that the State media have a duty to report accurately and without bias on all three arms of the State and that they are obliged to report the views of all parties and should serve the interests of all of the people of Guyana.

Django
Last edited by Django

I am all for fair reporting when the government needs their knuckles rapped for any misdeed go for it, but when a paper go out of their way deliberately to lie causing some people to get so dam excited they flip their frilly pink skirts from side to side showing us their panties....it would give me pleasure watching the government shut them down.

cain
Django posted:
yuji22 posted:

How low can the AFC/PNC go ?

Sleaziness not good traits,no source for the article which came from the PPP mouth piece Guyana Times.

Read the above.

It seems the AFC/PNC can never get as low as those running Guyana Times and the fools who spread their lies.

Shut them down Granger.

cain
cain posted:
Django posted:
yuji22 posted:

How low can the AFC/PNC go ?

Sleaziness not good traits,no source for the article which came from the PPP mouth piece Guyana Times.

Read the above.

It seems the AFC/PNC can never get as low as those running Guyana Times and the fools who spread their lies.

Shut them down Granger.

Nope let them exist,

they are digging a hole for themselves.

Django

You should post that article on its own because I dont think most people read yugi's stupid rants. Leave it here as a rebuttal but this article deserves its own thread in Bright hilites.

cain
Last edited by cain

Yuji is GNI's top poster. He is the Most Respected and posters are rushing to read what his excellency says.

Look at this post with 1,050 view in less than a week. No on can break this record.

Screen Shot 2017-04-11 at 2.22.06 PM

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FM
Last edited by Former Member

Amerindians are already disenchanted with this government over the issue of lands given to the tribes by the PPP government.  The coalition promised the Amerindians to be more generous than the PPP when it comes to land allocation.  AFC/APNU have reneged on this promise and are doing the exact opposite of what they promised.  Sad to say there is one chief on this forum who turns a blind to the suffering of his people. 

Billy Ram Balgobin
yuji22 posted:

Yuji is GNI's top poster. He is the Most Respected and posters are rushing to read what his excellency says.

Look at this post with 1,050 view in less than a week. No on can break this record.

Screen Shot 2017-04-11 at 2.22.06 PM

1 like - 1,050 views

Last Reply By Gilbakka

Hey yuji22, yuh rass have to thank Gilbakka for that record. Is me who mek it reach 1,050.

FM
Gilbakka posted:
yuji22 posted:

Yuji is GNI's top poster. He is the Most Respected and posters are rushing to read what his excellency says.

Look at this post with 1,050 view in less than a week. No on can break this record.

Screen Shot 2017-04-11 at 2.22.06 PM

1 like - 1,050 views

Last Reply By Gilbakka

Hey yuji22, yuh rass have to thank Gilbakka for that record. Is me who mek it reach 1,050.

There is more than 1 like in the thread..the first on the third reply....mine. The views are those checking in to see if what I mentioned did come true.

cain
Gilbakka posted:
yuji22 posted:

Yuji is GNI's top poster. He is the Most Respected and posters are rushing to read what his excellency says.

Look at this post with 1,050 view in less than a week. No on can break this record.

Screen Shot 2017-04-11 at 2.22.06 PM

1 like - 1,050 views

Last Reply By Gilbakka

Hey yuji22, yuh rass have to thank Gilbakka for that record. Is me who mek it reach 1,050.

Thanks Gilly,

I appreciate your valuable contribution at GNI and my thread.

Many disagree with my views but my threads are the hottest threads going at GNI. One exception being DrugB Crime Thread.

FM

I am trying very hard to bump Cain one position down but he has been here Dankey Years, it is quite hard achieving that task but I am slowly getting there.

I am eying that # 4 Ranking Spot. PPP has to be on top again.

FM
yuji22 posted:

Thanks Gilly,

Many disagree with my views but my threads are the hottest threads going at GNI.

yuji22, during this Easter season, here's a tip to make your threads hotter: Offer each viewer-commenter one hot cross-bun.

FM
Last edited by Former Member

Oh rass Gilly you just reminded me ...tomorrow is Hash Wednesday.

Banna look at story nuh. After indulging in some hash on Wed they called it Hash Wed Thursday they celebrate when dem boys ketch Jah/Jesu and hung onto him..they call it Hol' 'e Thursday..next day they string up the mouthy long haired banna, they then called it a Good Friday. Sunday he apparently pulled a Walkin/raisin' dead..he rose from the dead..they called it Easter Sunday and start flying kites.

I should post this on the Religious forum for Bro Keith.

cain
Last edited by cain
Gilbakka posted:
yuji22 posted:

Thanks Gilly,

Many disagree with my views but my threads are the hottest threads going at GNI.

yuji22, during this Easter season, here's a tip to make your threads hotter: Offer each viewer-commenter one hot cross-bun.

Bhai

I will be travelling to the beautiful Upstate NY, Niskayuna for the weekend getaway with the family. We love that place. Might get a lil place there soon or who knows might already have one there.

I usually take it easy for the Easter weekend and will call it a truce with my opponents from now till Monday. If not travelling, I usually watch the Ten Commandments on Easter weekends.

Even though I am not Christian, I reflect on Jesus and his message.

Our Spiritual Master, Prabhupad informed us that Jesus is God's best son.

FM

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