AN IRRESPONSIBLE PRESS

AN IRRESPONSIBLE PRESS

Recently, there has been a chorus of opinions by people sympathetic to the media and the freedom of the press. The press would like us to give them carte blanch to say whatever they want, regardless of how outlandish.

The press would love us to accept that they are “gods” and should not be questioned or criticized.

Just like because we all enjoy freedom of speech, we cannot and should not scream “fire” in a crowded room because there is a chance that it will cause a stampede, injury, and possibly loss of life.

With that simple analogy, we do not expect and cannot accept irresponsibility journalism.

No one said that the press could not report the news, but how it was perceived caused the desired effect.

Dead bodies plastered on the front page of the newspaper every day for weeks have a devastating effect on the mental state of a frightened populace. It strikes fear and puts all of us in a very unsafe space. Is this the intention of the “free press”?

Is the press pandering to the opposition and using the unfortunate events for political reasons?

Every Bahamian knows that both Guardian, led by Candia Dames and Tribune, with strong FNM influence, have a hidden agenda. While the agenda is obvious, they would use anything that would piss off the people to feel uncomfortable in their own country.

We are not fools and would not remotely suggest that the press should not report, but we do not have to use the front page for advertising that we have a crisis.

The local press knows what they are doing; they know that they would attract inquisitive international press and, like vultures, are starving for insatiable news. They would destroy their mother to get ratings.

The local press is nothing more than a business looking for profit. The people’s feelings or well-being is secondary.

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