PRESIDENT Bharrat Jagdeo yesterday met, at their request, representatives of the regional media, during the 18th Inter-Sessional Meeting of CARICOM leaders to discuss the issue of the reduction of government advertisements placed in the privately-owned Stabroek News.
The delegation comprised Mr. Harold Hoyte of 'One Caribbean Media', Mr. Newton James of The Gleaner Group of Jamaica, Mr. Dale Enoch of the Association of Caribbean Media Workers and Mr. Rickey Singh, independent Caribbean journalist.
Mr. Jagdeo met the group during a break in the meeting in Kingstown, St Vincent and the Grenadines.
A statement from the group said they sought clarification from President Jagdeo on his government's decision to significantly reduce the flow of government advertising to the Stabroek News.
The group said, "The President explained that the switching of the majority of government advertisements from Stabroek News to the Kaieteur News was not a press freedom issue but a decision based on economic value for his government and was determined on the newspaper's circulation.
"The President stressed that this was never an issue of press freedom, but was made so by the Stabroek News. He further spoke about his government's commitment to maintaining freedom of the press and defending the right of the Stabroek News, as well as the Kaieteur News to publish and to disagree with his government.”
The media representatives said they “expressed concern to the President over the potential of this matter to escalate and to work with his government to suggest a method for the distribution of state advertising that would be based on empirical information.”
Asked about the suggested method of the distribution of state advertisements, President Jagdeo told the Guyana Chronicle he could not give a commitment at this point in time to the media representatives because he had not seen the details of the proposal.
The group said the President extended an invitation to representatives of the Caribbean media to visit Guyana and observe first-hand press freedom here.
The media delegation said the talks were frank and cordial and felt that “a window of opportunity for resolving the matter may have been opened".
But Mr. Jagdeo stressed that it was the group that saw the “window of opportunity” and not him.