News media must let us know what’s really going on

Editor: I have in the past criticized the performance of the news media for its failure to report in advance scheduled availabilities of Government public fora, medical screenings and cultural happenings. I want now to tweak the media — TV as well as print press and digital — on their failure to provide follow-up and background on the news stories they cover.{{more}}

Pronouncements by the Government, whether from the Prime Minister or from any ministry, should be subject to scrutiny and investigation, which it is the duty of the news media to undertake and publish.

Who are they, not just what are their names, but what is the background of the said investors in: Ottley Hall, Mount Wynne, the Fisheries Complexes to be privatized, etc; what is going on NOW in Canouan; who is doing what and who are the “whos”. There is no Government transparency, so the people, the citizens of St Vincent and the Grenadines, the electorate, need somebody to tell them what the hell is going on. If you don’t (or can’t) do it, nobody can.

“You can’t deal with things you don’t know about. And you can only move forward from where you are. So don’t we want to know where we are? Don’t we want to know what’s real? The truth is hard to take sometimes. It isn’t always convenient. It can be disappointing. It can be ugly. But knowing — having information about ourselves and the world we live in — is part of our national identity. Our democracy relies on an informed citizenry. “ Letter to the editor of the LA Times.

HJA