JAMAICA'S MEDIA managers have cited libel laws as the biggest threat to freedom of the press in Jamaica.
Voicing his opinion on the laws, Brian Schmidt, chairman of the Media Association of Jamaica (MAJ), said yesterday that "we need to have laws that support a free press, so that the press can operate effectively."
He added: "Our laws are not favourable to the operation of freedom of the press. This does not say that the press must not be responsible, but these laws are draconian."
Expressing the same views, Moya Thomas, group head of news for the Radio Jamaica (RJR) Communications Group said: "We are under consistent threats of frivolous lawsuits." She noted that the legal fees alone can be "back breaking" to media houses.
Meanwhile, Desmond Richards, president of the Press Association of Jamaica (PAJ), said that upholding the ethical practices of the trade was very important. He noted that today's celebration of World Press Freedom Day was significant. "I think it is extremely important, especially at a time when (persons) in the profession need to spend some time on the issue of ethics."
GLOBAL POINT OF VIEW
He said that today was also important from a global point of view when media houses are forced to depend on advertisement support to keep afloat. These advertising interests, he said, could sometime undermine freedom of the press.
"If we agree that one of the mission of journalism is the exposure of corruption, to what extent can freedom of expression be hampered ... when they have to depend on advertisement support?"
Commenting on the issue of ethics in a competitive environment where media houses try to be the first to break a story, Miss Thomas said, "There is an appetite out there for sensationalism and it is sometimes problematic. But we as journalists have to try to strike the balance in giving the information."
Meantime, Mr. Richards urged journalists to take serious stock of themselves. "One of the things we need to be aware of (if we are) to be taken seriously, is we have to be a serious body. We must also set an example of good conduct."
To address this, the PAJ will be launching a draft Professional Code of Conduct for Journalists today at the Knutsford Court Hotel in Kingston at 5:30 p.m.
