Desmond AllenTHE JURY is out. Did the media overdo the coverage of 'Shorty' Malcolm's death and burial? Some of my senior colleagues have raised the question with me. I think it requires study and debate, but I believe the media crossed an important threshold in the level of coverage given to this tragic event.
In my lectures on journalism, I tell people that one of the criteria used by editors to select information to publish or air as news, is tragedy, man-made or natural. Another is famous people. Hence the Malcolm episode was eminently newsworthy as it involved these two criteria a tragedy involving a famous person.
Yet, you could not have missed the fact that the level of coverage was akin to that traditionally reserved for high officials of state: the consistent front page and headline treatment throughout; the capturing of the outpouring of grief and tributes; the peripheral stories; the editorials; the publication of the funeral route; the live and delayed television coverage; and the rarely used wrap-around (front to back page), in the case of The Observer.
It may well be that the media was driven by the momentum generated by the spontaneous outpouring from the ordinary man in the street. Then again, the media might have fed the hype and sought to exploit it. Who is to know without proper study? I find the issue immensely interesting. I'm increasingly being drawn to the study of media behaviour in Jamaica. When I can afford a sabbatical, I'll probably tackle this one. Let me know what you think.
'Mystery of the Golden Table'
Congrats to journalist, Suzanne Francis Brown on the launch of her children's adventure book, "Mystery of the Golden Table', which she describes as a marriage of "a love for language with a fantasy that is so thick that you will believe it". Good going, Suzanne. And guys, go out and buy it for your kids.
Seen and Heard
Weekend Star headline, January 5, page 4 - "Last murder victim of 2000": "Twenty-four-year-old Ian Ellis was the last person to be killed in Kingston before the year 2000 ended. He was killed at 11.50 p.m" How do we know this? Certainly, he might have been the last person reported killed, but in the 10 minutes to midnight, others could have been killed without it being discovered! On the same page, there was also a similar type of headline "First murder victim in St. James". Leon Miller was killed at 9 p.m. on January 3. How do we know he was the first, I ask again.
Check this Western Mirror lead paragraph of its page one lead: "Six year-old boy abducted", January 20: "From all indications, it seems that this year, the police in St. James will have their hands full in terms of not just crime, but organised crime. Two major incidents yesterday, one an abduction and the other a shooting incident, had the police digging deep into their reserves in trying to unravel the mysteries."
First of all, notice how we get someone's opinion being passed off as news. Then notice further how two incidents are used to conclude that "from all indications, it seems that this year, the police in St. James will have their hands full". The Mirror needs a serious look at itself!
Here's a case of redundancy in The Observer article "We must fight ignorance", January 31, page 7: "The level of ignorance widespread throughout this society is unacceptably high." If ignorance is widespread, it is unacceptably high! And on its back page under the headline "Lowe banned", the paper told us Lowe was fined "2,000 Swiss francs" without converting it to Jamaican or US dollars. Lazy!
On January 31, CVM-TV showed footage of a policeman saying "he made good his escape. He was chased and held".Edit this footage nuh please. If he made good his escape, he was not chased and held. It's one or the other.
The Gleaner's headline writer triumphantly declares "New York's LaGuardia most-delayed airport in US", January 30, page B7. Of course, they meant it was that nation's worst for delays.
Why did RJR tell us that the PM is going on a "state visit" to Spain. How much time must it be said - state visits are made by heads of state. So the PM went to Spain on an official visit. Bwoy ah tired!
Then The Sunday Herald, January 14-20, told us "PNP holds secret get-ready meeting", page one. This is how they substantiate that claim: "PNP President, Prime Minister P.J. Patterson and the party's General Secretary, as well as all 51 PNP MPs and potential candidates and caretakers were at the private meeting". That meeting could have been private, yes. But certainly not "secret". I like this one: "They found the three children inside the building with several wounds." The Gleaner, February 1, page A3. So, the building had several wounds, huh?
The Star needs a good proof-reader. On January 11, we got the headline "Enironmental wardens on the mark", page 2. But worse: in the story "Cops charged in connection with prisoner's escape, page 3, there's this nonsensical: "The officers were charged with permitting with escape custody, following a Director of Public Prosecution ruling" What's that? And yet again: in the "Soldier thwarts robbery attempt of Molly Rhone's car", we got "One of two men who attempted steal former Jamaican netballer Molly Rhone of her motorcar".
While I was editor of The Observer, we used to fine people for errors in the paper. Sometimes we collected a tidy sum too! People must be made to pay. Pockets must feel it!
Send spikeables to spike@jol.com.jm; desal@cwjamaica.com or fax to 926-0295. Desmond Allen is a 27-year veteran of journalism.
