From left, Manley and Seaga

Beverly Hamilton, Contributor

I feel constrained to comment on some of the arguments and certainly the history presented by Ian Boyne in his article of December 3. The article is a defence of himself being employed to the state apparatus and writing a column in the private media.

If one were to follow Mr. Boyne's opinion, he is the best thing in journalism since sliced bread and nobody else exists or matters.

First of all, I must state that I worked with Mr. Boyne at the Jamaica Information Service (JIS) for several years - about five I believe. I was there with him in the 1980s when a number of journalists were removed from the JIS or fired.This included me, although he had left before this happened.

Mr. Boyne stated that the JLP government fired political activists at the JIS and the Jamaica Broadcasting Corporation when they came to power. That is not completely true. One of the persons removed was someone I used to supervise.

She carried on no political activity at the JIS and up to this day, 26 years later, I could not tell you which side she supported.

The other thing to notice is that Mr. Boyne uses the words "political activists" as a synonym for people on the left. I have always found this usage quite strange, though I do know it is a fairly common usage, particularly among those who do not support this view.

Those activists removed in 1980 were for the most part supporters of the now defunct Workers' Party.

Mr. Boyne says that when these persons were removed, he was left. So was I, that is until a few years later.

You see, the removal of journalists from the JIS was done in phases. It reminds me of the phrase "If they come for them in the morning, they will come for you in the evening." I was removed in the second phase, though I was neither a member of the Workers' Party nor the PNP.

Innuendo

Ian Boyne had already left the JIS before this second phase so he does not know whether he would have been moved or not. But I find quite hilarious the innuendo that it was because of his professionalism why he was left at the JIS after the first phase.

You see, the year before Mr. Boyne left, I was the recipient of a journalism prize awarded by the Press Association of Jamaica. Yet still I was (a) transferred out of my profession and (b) put at a desk and given nothing to do. This is a very strange way to show any respect for the profession, I must say. So you see, Ian Boyne's personal experience does not represent the sum total of what happened at the JIS.

The comment about writing a speech for one side and then for the other when there was a change of government is nothing new or unusual for someone working in the state media. I have done the same. It goes with the territory, with the job. This is not a good example of independence.

Mr. Boyne then lists a raft of articles done recently in praise of Edward Seaga under the present political regime. I would like to hear of his raft of articles written in praise of Michael Manley while the JLP was in power.

I would be much more convinced by his conclusion that neither the JLP nor the PNP ever tried to muzzle him. The articles written while the JLP was in power were mainly feature articles, as far as I can remember, covering religion, business, entertainment and human interest. I certainly do not remember Mr. Boyne writing political articles then.

One of the queries about Mr. Boyne writing for the private media while working for the state apparatus is this: Why are some people allowed this privilege and not others?

Chastised

I can remember being chastised in the 1980s by the then chief personnel officer for writing letters to the editor and articles about conditions in the civil service which I found unacceptable and oppressive and about how I was being treated. At a meeting I had with him, he even pulled out a file with some of these articles, and demanded to know who had given me permission.

I know of another case where a media operator in the state apparatus wanted to do a column in the private media and at the same time to hold a contract with the state. He was denied this as it was seen as a conflict of interest. So, I again raise the question: Why are some people granted this privilege and others are not?

Finally, I must comment that I find it strange that in the run-up to the PNP presidential election, Ian Boyne wrote that Portia could not speak on international issues such as globalisation, yet he ends up writing speeches for the same person.