President of the Media
Workers Association of Grenada, Michael Bascombe, executive members of
the association, Members of MWAG, Senator Brenda Hood, Minister of
Tourism, Members of Parliament, all Media workers of Grenada, Mr. Wesley
Gibbings, General Secretary of the Association of Caribbean Mediaworkers,
Sponsors of this event, specially invited guests......
It is always a good
thing when your peers seek to honour the work that you have done.
Opportunities like this one must be applauded because what MWAG is doing
is really putting a mirror on itself and its members. To award
excellence is really a form of introspection. In order to celebrate the
work, there must be scrutiny. Over the past weeks, Media Workers here in
Grenada have been taking a closer look at the work they have been
churning out. That scrutiny had to take place before you made your
submissions. You needed to go back in the files and pull out the work,
select the best and then put it up for consideration. ...that exercise,
ladies and gentlemen put the spotlight on the quality of the work you
have been doing on behalf of the people of Grenada, the region and
indeed the world. But as we all know, introspection does not always
produce the kind of results we want...so obviously some of the work w as
less than acceptable while others were good and worthy of tag of
excellence. On behalf of the ACM I congratulate each and every
participant for doing what would have been a difficult
thing......looking into the mirror of the profession.
I am told the
objectives of the awards were among other things, to improve standards
of journalism and all other areas of the media. This must be the mandate
of any organization like MWAG. It should be the reason for our very
existence as organizations and professionals. Standards in media have
not been as good as they should be. Certainly the work is being done,
but in many parts of the region our standards have been falling
miserably. There appears to be, in some instances, cloudiness over what
our roles are and we may be losing our way as to what we should be doing
and how it should be done. This uncertainty could only bring suffering
to the work. Going back to basics and understanding your role in a free
society is necessary.
The time is now for us
all to do that. If we don't the powers that be would recognise the
weakness and seek to capitalise on this. The integrity and credibility
of the work must be protected. I urge MWAG and indeed every media
association affiliated to the ACM to lead the charge of ensuring
standards improve. I have said it in my own country, that the standards
in radio cause me serious concerns. We have more radio, but the quality
leaves alot to be desired. The almost always limited submissions from
radio in awards like this are indicative of that poor and unacceptable
standard of work.
It is important that we
do our part in lifting standards, so that challenges to the work can be
effectively fought. Those challenges include some of the laws which are
still on the books of some countries. Those laws which seek to prohibit
a free media, those laws which continue to be nurtured by governments
and over zealous leaders. It is not bad enough that the laws remain in
effect, but in some jurisdictions there are attempts to introduce more
restrictive laws. It is your association's responsibility to monitor
those attempts and be prepared to fight them vigorously.
There was a victory of
sought in ST. Lucia recently with the withdrawal of a piece of
legislation which had serious implications for a free media. The archaic
criminal defamation, libel and slander laws must also be eliminated.
They exist in just about every member country and we need to lobby for
their removal. WE cannot depend on politicians to bring them to an
end....afterall it suits their purpose to keep, nurture and even propose
those laws.
The ACM has
been quietly paying particular attention to the so called sunset
legislation which governs security arrangements for the region's hosting
of the cricket world cup tournament next year. We have to be very
careful that in the interest of fighting George Bush's war on terrorism
we do not allow for the erosion of the rights of media workers. We need
to consider what impact, if any, this legislation could have on the free
movement of journalists during the tournament. The ACM will comment on
this in due course.
And while we are on
cricket....how involved are media practitioners in the planning of this
tournament.. ...of course as far as coverage goes? We have to be very
careful we are not used as public relations officers for the various
local organising committees. MWAG, and indeed all media associations
must play a role in ensuring the profession is not damaged when the
tournament is over. I am also hearing of restrictive accreditation fees.
THE ACM has taken steps
to better the network. Media passes are soon to be dealt with in a
different way, thereby allowing easy access. Your membership cards will
be easier to get and you would be able to enjoy the benefits of being
part of the organization.
Alliances continue to
show that the ACM is credible and critical to media issues in the
region. We are in the process now of organising a major training
workshop with emphasis on HIV-AIDS reporting. We are collaborating with
the American based Keiser Family Foundation and the Caribbean Broadcast
Media Partnership to host that event in Trinidad and Tobago in January.
In the coming months more collaborations are being planned. We will keep
you informed via MWAG.
I cannot leave this
podium without calling on all media practitioners in Grenada to give
support to your association. I know of the challenges all
our organizations face, believe me, but it is important for us all to
overcome the bad times and the struggles and the hard work. Strong
associations can only be a benefit to the profession, the publics we
serve and the democracy. MWAG is certainly one of the strong pillars of
this regional network that make up the ACM. President Bascombe's
involvement at the executive level of the association has been
tremendous. I commend his work and his commitment. You have to support
those efforts. Those of you who are not members should sign up, because
by doing so you not only help build a strong local body, but the
regional network is strengthened as well.
Again i congratulate
all participants and applaud MWAG for this initiative. I would also
suggest that President Bascombe and his executive utilise the skill and
experience of the so-called veterans of the media, some of whom are with
us this evening. I thank you for the invitation.
Dale Enoch
President
