The media in today's Bahamas...is it fair and objective or does it display a bias which seems to favor one political party over another?

The media in The Bahamas

By Philip C. Galanis
Nassau, Bahamas



I have previously written about a series of "ideal institutions" to which we should aspire as a young nation. Those included articles on the ideal nation, the ideal electorate, the ideal prime minister and the ideal leader. Each of those articles sought to identify some of the features that would differentiate the empirical from the epitome, with a view to presenting characteristics of the ideal in each case. The last in that series was an examination of the role of the Fourth Estate in our nation and addressed some of the characteristics that we should expect and even demand of the ideal media.

Recently there has been considerable commentary from many quarters of civil society about the media in today's Bahamas which is why this week we would like you to Consider This... is the media in today's Bahamas fair and objective or does it appear that the media displays a bias which seems to favor one political party over another?

The answer to this question is critically important because, as the Washington Post’s Donald Graham once observed, journalism is the “first rough draft of history.” Here in our Bahamas, in the absence of the amount of written history that most other nations have, it is the print media especially that historians of today and the future depend upon for the stories of our times. The clarity and fairness of stories carried in the media become even more urgently important as we enter what has come to be referred to as "the silly season", that is the season during which we move toward general elections.

The media immensely impacts our impressions, ideas and insights about our world. Can we ever forget that old saying “if you hear it on ZNS, it must be true”? In fact, one of the first human impulses of the day is to turn on the TV or radio to learn what has what happened overnight. We often quench our insatiable thirst for news by purchasing the morning newspapers as soon as possible. Is it any wonder that all of the newspapers in The Bahamas, without exception, are now morning dailies? It is because, in perhaps the most unconscious way, the news that we hear on the radio or TV or that we read in the newspapers with our morning coffee sets the tone for our daily lives.

We often determine what we will do in our daily lives — and how we will think about an issue — after listening to or reading that day’s media reports. If that is not powerful in a very personal way, then that word should be redefined. We are constantly seeking stimuli that impact our existence and the most common method of receiving such incentives is by means of the news.

However, it is a widely held belief that the press in The Bahamas does not always seem to have the capacity or the will to deeply research all aspects of a topic and then present it in an informed way to the public. Sadly, the reason so many of the stories that we read in the papers or hear on the radio or television sound so similar is that many reporters rely on the “copy and paste” method of journalism, taking the press releases they get and simply regurgitating them verbatim with no additional in depth unearthing of other facts that could make the story richer and more complete. Our Fourth Estate, it is very sad to say, sometimes exhibits a kind of intellectual indolence that cannot — or will not — give the public the full story on many of today’s issues.

Then there is the “brotherhood” of our media that allows one reporter to use another’s information, instead of digging up their own facts and angles. Obviously, such sharing creates not only a similarity in what is reported but it often perpetuates one point of view, complete with mistakes and biases, as opposed to allowing the public access to varying viewpoints and diverse perspectives as regards a single story.

And then there is the overarching influence of the sensational. Oftentimes, our media prefers to offer — instead of solid, fact-filled chronicles of our time — the sensational sides of those same stories, reveling in the scandalous salaciousness of the events of the day and leaving out the more mundane particulars that hover far closer to the truth than those shocking bits of sip-sip that pass for the truth in our modern Bahamas. The average Bahamian would be surprised to learn how many of the “solid” news stories that form the headlines of the day originate not from the newsmakers but from those who hover on the periphery of those well known lives, people like a Minister’s driver or someone who passed along a tasty tidbit heard in a barber shop.

We recently read the Wikileaks disclosures which chronicled the sentiments that operatives in the United States Embassy here share about some of our politicians. The newspaper that printed those stories insists that they are only reporting on what was contained in "confidential missives" from the Embassy and that they have not distorted those views, although sometimes distortion can result from the simple decision of using one part of a story over another. While we accept that editorial position of the newspaper, it is equally important that the right balance is struck in the reporting of those stories.

We do not believe, as some do, that there is a pernicious conspiracy by that daily to undermine or to denigrate one particular political party. We are not so sure that the same can be said of some of the other newspapers. Nor do we ever believe that we should kill the messenger because of the message that is delivered. However, a discerning public demands and should demand that a balance should prevail in the reporting of such stories.

The question that really needs to be asked is why Wikileaks chose to disclose only these more recent cables when so much of our present day events were supposedly shaped by events that allegedly took place back in the 1980s and 1990s that deserve to come to light. Whose decision was it to access only these more recent cables, once again telling only a part of the story of the relationship of Bahamian officials with emissaries of the government of the United States.

As we approach another political campaign, one that will be undoubtedly fiercely fought, it is vitally important for the media to be balanced, to present the news in an uncensored, unadulterated manner. It is critically important that, because of the vital role that the media plays in shaping public opinion, all reporting be fair and balanced and, most important, inclusive of all sides and all facts, no matter the work involved in uncovering them. It is only in this way that the electorate will be able to objectively determine the truth of the matter, free of biased and skewed reporting, enabling Bahamians to make an informed decision about the merits or demerits of a story. Every member of the media should remember that a story with some of the facts left out is as damaging as a story with incorrect information.

The job of the media is not for the faint of heart. They are the men and women who wield what is probably the most powerful weapon ever invented, giving truth every day to the saying that the “pen is mightier than the sword.” As Adolf Hitler's Minister of Propaganda, Joseph Goebbels said: “If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it.” So, should that weapon spread lies or even half-truths, considerable and lasting harm can be done to people, to societies and to nations. But when members of the media do their job, live up to their calling, exercise discernment and freely tell every part of a story, the truth creates a free people and a great nation.

Philip C. Galanis is the managing partner of HLB Galanis & Co., Chartered Accountants, Forensic & Litigation Support Services. He served 15 years in Parliament. Please send your comments to pgalanis@gmail.com

Jun 06, 2011

thenassauguardian

HURRICANE ANNA NICOLE WREAKS HAVOC IN THE BAHAMAS

Rough Cut
By Felix F. Bethel
“…cry havoc…”

Wednesday, 15 November 2006, 15:15

SUBJECT: HURRICANE ANNA NICOLE WREAKS HAVOC IN THE BAHAMAS

This cable describes how an eventful residency by the late model Anna Nicole Smith left several key institutions in the Bahamas in disarray and even managed to reinvigorate the country's media.

SUMMARY: Several months into her Bahamian residency, American B-list celebrity and regular entertainment television fixture Anna Nicole Smith has changed the face of Bahamian politics.

1. Not since Category 4 Hurricane Betsy made landfall in 1965 has one woman done as much damage in Nassau. Lying in disarray in her wake are Doctor's Hospital, the Coroner's Court, the Department of Immigration, local mega-lawyers Callenders and Co., formerly popular Minister of Immigration Shane Gibson, and possibly Prime Minister Christie's PLP government.

2. At the eye of a series of scandals over her Bahamian residency application and the death of her son, Anna Nicole has inspired a revitalized Bahamian media to take aim at a system that too often rewards the privileged….”

With this –then –as background; I speak of havoc and shame and rot and corruption to the core in this land that is mine.

Welcome to a corrupted, cruel place; a place where greed, slime and crime routinely cavort.

Take note that, with Christmas lurking in the shadows; and with my pocket as tight as ever –and with some of my children far, far away in countries far away from these troubled shores - I have today decided to take a kind of break from thinking about love affairs; my own creeping decrepitude – or for that matter, about Out East and the old days when I grew up young and green in one of yesterday’s fetid nigger-yards.

Happily, the break I take is liberally assisted by information coming my way from somewhere out-there in Cyber-Space; that same space that has allowed so very many Negroes to take a chance on losing even more of their hard-earned money to the magicians who own the so-called Web-Shops.

And so, the break I take concerns information purportedly coming from the United States Embassy; information involving some of this land’s most prominent citizens; and for sure, information that mesmerizes.

And since, I still remember what happened to Rodney Smith in the aftermath of his decision to rip off a speech made by John Sexton; I have decided to tell you [up-front and direct] that the words I quote are not mine.

1. The Anna Nicole affair has severely damaged Shane Gibson's political career, tarnishing one of the PLP's brighter stars. It also killed the Coroner's Court and may lead to changes in the laws allowing foreign property owners to obtain Bahamian residency.

2. Whether the scandals also determine the fate of the PLP in coming elections is still to be seen, but a newly energized media holding the government accountable will almost certainly make the campaign more difficult for the incumbent party. END COMMENT. ROOD

3. In Anna Nicole's wide swath of destruction, one entity has flourished -- the Bahamian media. At Post's quarterly media reception in October, a newspaper editor gushed about the increase in sales on days when Anna Nicole coverage is featured.

4. Not since Wallace Simpson dethroned a King and came to Nassau has an American femme fatale so captivated the Bahamian public and dominated local politics.

5. On August 11, Anna Nicole Smith filed for legal residency in The Bahamas as a result of her alleged ownership of a local home, pursuant to local immigration law permitting residence for persons owning homes of $500,000 or more. In September, the application was granted and Anna Nicole allegedly provided a $10,000 check directly to Immigration Minister Gibson at a meeting at her home.

6. According to Anna Nicole, Minister Gibson personally approved her residency permit on September 20. In response to concern over the timing of the approval -- residency approval typically takes years in the Bahamas -- Gibson and PM Christie sought to reassure the public. They said that Anna Nicole was treated as any other applicant, noting glibly that the Ministry of Immigration should not be criticized for "improved efficiencies in government for which it deserves praise."

7. (SBU) Gibson's protestations of distance with the matter were shattered by a prominent local law firm and a local gossip publication. Callenders and Co., the law firm that handled Anna's home purchase and residency application, said it delivered a $10,000 check from Anna Nicole directly to Gibson at Anna Nicole's residence, and that it communicated to Anna Nicole repeatedly on Minister Gibson's government cell phone.

8. The resulting public furor over Gibson's favoritism has been strong. Before Anna Nicole came to Nassau, Minister of Immigration Gibson enjoyed strong public support as a result of his aggressive anti-immigrant policies. His midnight raids of Haitian communities and restriction of residency options for Haitians was widely applauded by a Bahamian public fearful of losing Bahamian opportunities to illegal immigrants. The Anna Nicole scandal has recast Gibson as puppet of the privileged rather than defender of the common people of The Bahamas.

9. In response to the public outcry and mounting calls for Gibson's resignation, the Government promised a review of procedures in the Department of Immigration at the same time it fired back at Callenders and Co. for its role in the affair -- tactics that have brought criticism to others but have not helped turn the tide of public opinion.

10. During a November meeting with Poloff, an opposition Free National Movement Central Committee member gleefully reported polling in Gibson's parliament district foretold a clear FNM victory in coming elections. Local newspaper and radio feedback on Gibson has been brutal.

11. Even in the normally friendly Bahama Journal, Christie and Gibson have been roasted and a poll of the Journal's largely PLP readership showed 90% disapproval with Government handling of Anna Nicole.

11. At the heart of Gibson's problems is the fact that Anna Nicole received residency in a matter of days, when the process normally takes many months or years. His reported direct receipt of the $10,000 check for residency represents another flagrant violation of the normal process, leading to bitter denunciations of the whole process by which residency is granted to persons for buying property here.

12. Gibson and the PLP have not been the only victims of Hurricane Anna Nicole. Following the death of her son in Nassau's Doctor's Hospital on September 10, international media descended upon Doctor's Hospital, which carefully guarded Anna Nicole's privacy in the face of heavy criticism.

13. The quality of care at Doctor's came under fire for its treatment -- or more pointedly its complete lack of treatment -- of Anna Nicole's son while in Doctor's. For the record, Doctor's Hospital is regarded as the finest medical institution in the country and has enjoyed an excellent reputation among the expatriate community.

14. The criticism of the hospital was nothing compared to the criticism of the Bahamas Coroner's Court. The Court, which served to review death cases and determine cause, was under heavy fire for its inability -- or unwillingness -- to provide a cause of death for Anna Nicole's son.

16. It had yet to issue a statement when a US pathologist issued a report concluding that a toxic cocktail of drugs caused the death, leading to speculation that the government was protecting Anna Nicole from embarrassment by delaying its findings.

17. Before the Coroner's Court concluded its inquest, the government disbanded the inefficient Court and fired the Coroner…

There was even more, but suffice it to say – even now- I cry havoc at what the flunkies, lackeys, blood-suckers and pimps have made of this land that is mine.

Merry Christmas to all-a-yinna from Bettul.

December 23, 2010

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