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On the back of the recent announcement of the election date by the Prime Minister Andrew Holness the campaigns of the two main political parties are motoring into high gear. With the elections a little over two weeks away we are however beginning to see signs of the undesirable behaviors that are common on the Jamaican political platform. Meanwhile, the public continue to look and listen as they shape their decisions.
In the thick of all this is the Jamaican mass media and many are beginning to question whether the media is a victim or a perpetrator of their own propaganda exploits. As we seek to balance the arguments in this important issue we ask the pertinent question: Is the media really independent as they say?
To set the context for this discourse we recollect the events leading up to these heightened concerns. This is not a new question but it came to the fore following allegations in some circles that the Prime Minister has acted contrary to free and fair media. In a Jamaica Observer story "PAJ-knocks-Holness" he was sighted as making the declaration that the media could not be trusted to present the party's (JLP) message. He was also said to have expressed dissatisfaction with a report carried by local television station TVJ (Television Jamaica) and hinted that they are moving their political campaign to social media.
The MP for West Portland, Daryl Vaz was also in on the act as he was reported to have chided TVJ for pulling
a JLP advertisement. The station was apparently reviewing the advertisement with its
lawyers to avoid legal ramifications. In a release, the president of the press association of Jamaica (PAJ) Jenni Campbell highlighted that the association has taken note of certain misgivings and sited historical precedence of undesirable consequences of anti media comments on political platforms. The PAJ reiterated that a continuation of anti media comments should be discontinued and if any attacks against journalist occur they will be in consultations with regional and international media partners.
In a related case the youth arm of the JLP, Generation 2000 (G2k) were being accused of maliciously releasing the personal contact information for management staff of the RJR Communications Group, the parent company for TVJ. This was carefully rebutted by the President of G2K Delano Seiveright sighting that the information distributed were publicly available records. In addition the reason for the release or distribution was for the public to direct their concerns about media biases to the management team of the media company.
In my opinion the media is indeed independent because they are not state owned or controlled as far as I know. In addition to that they are free to operate as directed by their management team and within the confines of the Jamaican and international laws.
Whether or not they are fair or unbiased we will never be a hundred percent sure. The media profession however remains honorable and I get the sense that the practitioners genuinely look to keep the public informed, while going through the proper operating procedures.
There are distinctions to be made in deconstructing the Jamaican mass media. Firstly we have to look at the nature and types of media in question. For example if we are talking about television or radio, we have to use different metrics to qualify perceptions of apparent bias. There are many commonalities however, and non more so than the way they derive income. The clear answer to this is advertising. Any other programs aired, are meant to build up viewership/listenership while continuing to appease and maintain regular viewers/listeners. I call them filler programs, since advertisements are the main course from the companies' perspectives.
Therefore, we can measure media fairness by their impartiality to customers (advertisers) or through the balance in their filler programs. For example, how do they associate with programs that are independently produced and do they give balance to arguments and issues that are presented on current affairs forums?
In the print, electronic or social media the considerations include issues such as what are the headline stories and are they designed for sensationalism or as part of an agenda? Are the arguments balanced and the approved/rejected comments consistent with the moderator guidelines? For editorials, feature articles, letters, that are common to print media and tabloids, are they selected fairly and on merit. Do the stories pushed through social media by traditional media companies represent a natural flow of information?
The other side of the discourse looks at the fact that media workers including reporters, presenters, producers, film crew etc are ordinary citizens or residents who also have the right to their opinions and choices. All be it on a personal level. How well do they decouple their personal preferences from their professional duty is an extremely important factor to look into.
Within these complex arguments lie the common case where political activists, representatives or former representatives are also presenters, moderators or producers in media. In other cases persons in public office or other professional circles are by way of association clearly linked or aligned to one political party or another. Can we therefore hold those persons to the same standards that are held for ordinary media professionals or do we pass off their agenda or motivation as being inherently tied to one side or another.
To complete our assessment of the media and the state of their impartiality we have to look at the nature of the public within which they operate. It begs the question as to how educated is the public that subscribe to media and are they realistically capable of understanding and recognize partiality. What are the demographics, socioeconomic status and psychological state of the audience and are they themselves biased on certain issues.
Incidentally the answers to those questions create a whole new tailspin. The question of education for example demands answers to other pertinent questions such as who engineered our education system and what was their agenda. For example why is our society so polarized to the extent that even quote on quote "highly educated" people make fools of themselves in political spheres.
To re-balance the context we again recognize that the media itself is a propaganda machine. The media thrives on sensationalism and excitement, headline stories, breaking news, scandals and tragedy. That is just the nature of their business, and this is a huge spanner in the works of directing public opinion.
In my assessment on the matter of the partial public and whether or not they can distinguish between bias and impartial reporting, I'm not too convinced they can. I don't sense that many people see beyond their personal opinions even when the counter opinion makes better sense for the collective. This is why we have unending debates and not much consensus on important issues. In a society where every man and woman have his/her own truth and polarization is entrenched, it is hard for the public, educated or not to see through an objective eye.
Therefore the media will always be vilified by one side or the other because there is no middle ground that offer the same sensationalism and make everyone completely happy. There will always be stories and however innocent they are, someone somewhere will see it through a different lens; a subjective lens.
My closing remarks thus maintain that the media is as impartial as the public is impartial. the nation can't agree on any one issue, especially political so there will never be a consensus that the media is impartial. I believe they try very hard none the less and where they fall short they make up for with strong efforts to report objectively and accurately.
What we can agree on as well is that there is value in the media profession and as much as we like to chide them we can't, because the same reason we hate them is the same reason we love them. This is some tough love however, and it is only earned through maintaining a high level of professionalism and demonstrating improvements in all areas.
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