Traditionally, the ruling political party enjoys majority support in the media. Many respected journalists are loyal to one political party or another but are not keen to publicly acknowledge that loyalty. It is no secret that during an election campaign, one of the groups of professionals that is targeted [by political parties] is the Journalism fraternity.
Talk show hosts and columnists are the most powerful ‘spin doctors’ on the local media landscape as talk shows are arguably the most popular medium for educating and communicating political (and propagandist) messages to the masses.
A significant percentage of grass roots people (those who make up the poorer class) are not educated to a level where they can independently analyse complex political and social issues and therefore depend on talk show hosts and columnists to interpret and analyse these issues for them. Since this medium of communication takes such precedence over others, it is easier for politically biased journalists to influence public opinion. The masses are therefore at a disadvantage where fair commentary and honest analysis of news are concerned.
Many journalists and talk-show hosts are also Public Relations Practitioners, some of whom are contracted by the Government and political parties to undertake PR work on an ongoing basis and at election time.
True, there is no such thing as objectivity in media, we are all influenced by our backgrounds, but relationships between Journalists and political parties often create conflicts of interest and make it very difficult to get fair and balanced commentary or reports from Journalists who could very well be acting as propagandists and mouthpieces for political parties.
A well-known columnist, who investigated the disturbances between the police and citizens in Western Kingston, Jamaica, in 2001, concluded that the four days of violence were the result of direct acts of intimidation by political activists and forces within the Jamaica Constabulary Force. He disclosed in his column that he was being given the cold shoulder by his media colleagues, who accused him of converting to the opposition, Jamaica Labour Party !
These conflicts of interest led well-known journalist and columnist Lloyd B. Smith to call on the Press Association of Jamaica (PAJ) to intervene and enforce its code of ethics to media practitioners during the 2002 general elections.
© 2004 Marie Berbick-Graham
SMITH B.Lloyd. Attacking Journalists, The Jamaica Observer Jan 29, 2002.
