Sectional media bias 101

Delano Seiveright, GUEST COLUMNIST

Delano Seiveright keeps up his pressure on the media for not outing partisan analysts.

The discussion on bias in sections of the media could not have come at a more opportune time. The phone-hacking scandal that brought down Britain's 168-year-old News of the World, reputedly the largest circulating English-language Sunday newspaper, continues to rock Britain and spin off reverberations across the globe.

... Most members of the media are respectable, fair-minded persons, but there are some who have other agendas. The insufferable holier-than-thou attitude by some members of the Fourth Estate is simply ridiculous

Quite a stir has developed over the last several days following a press conference called by G2K to launch a special programme that will inform Jamaicans on the many achievements and successes of the administration to date. We have, for some time, been deeply concerned about the challenges faced, in effectively communicating to each and every Jamaican these accomplishments in the administration's four years in office.

While the Government and the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) must bear some responsibility in our continued challenge to effectively communicate the successes of the administration, a big part of the problem lies with the fairly crowded and highly competitive media landscape. That, in part, explains why sensationalism and a preference to construct and focus on the negative are so pervasive.

BIASED COMMENTATORS

The administration has had to deal with several sections of the media which are dominated by persons hostile to, or politically biased against, the administration.

Several radio talk shows, political analysts, financial analysts and news commentators are hostile to the JLP. Additionally, discussion panels are too frequently biased and include persons deceptively positioned as being "neutral" but are usually political activists themselves.

We have long had this concern. As a matter of fact, we wrote to the Press Association of Jamaica (PAJ) in November last year. Our position is clear. There have been increasing numbers of political analysts, financial analysts, talk-show hosts and columnists who speak and write under the cover of being fair, neutral or objective, without disclosing their partisan leanings.

What we seek is to make fair the news commentary playing field and have an upfront declaration of one's political leaning and/or relevant biographical information, as is the norm in many media outlets in the the USA, Canada and the UK. We have communicated these concerns to the Media Association Jamaica and the PAJ, and we are confident that progress will be made.

As it stands now, good news is drowned out by a flood of recycled yet sensational and negative news stories that have seeped into the minds of too many Jamaicans promulgating heavy cynicism, despair and apathy. The so-called independent political analysts and commentators, in general, are then put out there to opinionate and pollinate perception with heavier doses of negativity.

If one is to randomly pull TV and radio interviews with these so-called analysts and commentators, you would readily realise that not much mention is made of the phalanx of successes under albeit tremendously difficult times the world over.

No mention is made of the significant reductions in major crimes, including murder, a first in decades. No mention is made of interest rates being at record lows, inflation being under control, our net international reserves being at its highest level ever, and having an unusually stable exchange rate - all at the same time. No mention is made of the 24 per cent increase in domestic crop production for the agricultural sector in the first quarter of this year when juxtaposed with last year.

No mention is made of the gains in education, health, tourism, agriculture, transport and works. And, of course, the global economic, oil and food crises never happened, much less the economic and social fiasco inherited from the previous administration which had an 18-year run in government. I could go on and on.

If that doesn't represent overt bias against this administration, I don't know what does. One of the marvels of propaganda is that those consuming it tend never to know they are.

SELF-INFLICTED WOUNDS

Things are certainly far from rosy. We are, after all, constrained by a series of economic and societal challenges that are not being efficiently addressed. Bureaucracy, corruption and economic stagnation are major problems that require new and revolutionary ideas.

Despite this, however, the Government, the JLP and G2K deserve congratulations for the strides made so far in circumventing the hostile segments of traditional media. A lot of work is left to be done.

Members of the ruling administration need to make an extra effort not to continuously shoot themselves in the foot. The litany of self-inflicted wounds is simply over the top, and needs come to an end.

The extradition/Manatt disaster that served as a 22-month parasite on a 46-month-old administration is a suitable case in point. The JLP is, at times, its own worst enemy.

BEHIND THE MEDIA

The discussion on bias in sections of the media could not have come at a more opportune time. The phone-hacking scandal that brought down Britain's 168-year-old News of the World, reputedly the largest circulating English-language Sunday newspaper, continues to rock Britain and spin off reverberations across the globe.

The scandal coughs up for us the grimy side of media, the side that the consumer hardly ever sees. Not many of us have thought about what exactly goes into making news or how stories are positioned and angles selected. By and large, most members of the media community are respectable, fair-minded persons, but there are some who have other agendas. The insufferable holier-than-thou attitude by some members of the Fourth Estate is simply ridiculous.

I strongly believe that the press must have a naturally adversarial relationship with government, and politics in general. It benefits no one if we have weak and shambolic press. However, we live in a democracy, and we all must, when feeling aggrieved, have independent and reliable avenues to put forward our grouses. After all, freedom of the press belongs to those who own one.

If you have an issue with a lawyer, you can bring the matter to the attention of the General Legal Council. If you have an issue with the Jamaica Public Service, you can bring it to the attention of the Office of Utilities Regulation. And if you have an issue with a policeman or woman, you can bring it to the Police Civilian Oversight Authority. If you have an issue with a member of the press, tough luck.

This is precisely why a media complaints council, an independent self-regulatory body which deals with complaints, needs to be established sooner rather than later. Just earlier this year, little Bermuda (population 70,000) established a media council. Accountability and responsibility on the part of journalists is now strengthened. There is freedom of expression and, critically, no government oversight, i.e., no interference from politicians.

Britain's Press Complaints Commission is now under the radar for its perceived failure to deal effectively with the current phone-hacking scandal. These authorities aren't perfect, but if established here in Jamaica, it would represent a major step forward for us all.

Delano Seiveright is president of G2K, the young-professional affiliate of the JLP.