Media monitoring panel ready to receive your complaints
The next time you are sitting watching television, listening to the radio or reading a newspaper and find something you believe is biased or irresponsible journalism, don't jump up and down! Call 227- 3549. At the end of the line will be Messrs Dwight Whylie and Harry Mayers, members of the Independent Media Monitoring and Refereeing Panel. This is not to be confused with the Media Monitoring Unit, a branch of the Elections Commission which does a fortnightly survey of all media activity related to the elections. These experienced Caribbean journalists, Whylie from Jamaica and Mayers from Barbados, will listen to your complaint and ask you to put it in writing or come to their office at CIDA programme Support Unit, 77 High Street Kingston. They will then make an investigation using as their basis the media code of conduct- a locally generated blueprint for responsible journalism for the coming election and will subsequently issue a report on their findings which the media have agreed to publish. Queries might include charges of slander, libel, public ridicule, unbalanced reporting, rumour mongering, opinion inserted into news stories, race hate speech or even incitement to create civil disorder . Whylie told this newspaper that any member of the public can call and if requested can remain anonymous once it is established that their complaint is genuine. Whylie and Mayers have so far visited the leaders of the main political parties, the Mayor of Georgetown, and a number of media organisations. They hope to hold meetings with all broadcasters and talk show hosts as part of an initiative to convince the media that responsible journalism is in the interest of the practitioners and the public. The panel will also be carrying out its own monitoring of the newspapers, radio and television stations.
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