THE Kaieteur News editorial – “The state media should not criticise” (August 20,) is, at best, misguided. The editorial makes two points that warrant attention. Let us examine these at length.

The first point is that “[i]n most countries, news is about all the news that is fit to print. As a result, one would find some newspapers printing stories about the private lives of people, particularly those in the public view, such as politicians and movie stars.” Specific mention is made about media coverage of the Monica Lewinsky scandal in the United States.

The Lewinsky case is actually quite interesting because it demonstrated some of the ways in which organised political skullduggery are tied into opposition media strategy.

I must remind Kaieteur News that while President Clinton did indeed engage in unsavoury behaviour, there was in fact a larger story at hand. The petty media groveled for juicy sexual tid-bits, while the more responsible media houses probed very carefully before they started to pronounce.

I can tell readers that I was interviewed in Washington D.C. by a local affiliate of NBC the very night the story broke. The interviewer was careful in the way the question was framed to me. He asked –“do you think it is a serious matter if the allegations about the president WERE TRUE?” I replied – “if true, then it could be a serious matter.” The interview was aired, along with other clips.

What should be clear from the above is the professional caution exercised by the NBC newsman. I regret to say that Kaieteur news does not exercise this type of care. The tendency of KN is to pronounce and then, if forced, investigate.

Still on the Lewinsky scandal we should not forget that, as it turned out, Mrs. Clinton was absolutely correct about a vast right-wing conspiracy against President Clinton. Let me highlight just one aspect of the story. The news broke because Linda Tripp, who was a political operative of the conservative right-wing basically set-up the young Lewinsky through a number of telephone calls.

The calls were illegally taped. In Maryland where Linda Tripp lived, you must get the permission of the person you are speaking with before you begin taping. Tripp was convicted of the crime.

What is the relevance of this? Well, just recently, we found out that some Kaieteur News staff had impersonated GINA staff to gain access to some government facilities. Isn’t this illegal? Now, you might argue that the KN tactic is an instrument of investigative journalism. But the argument does not hold because instead of presenting a fact based account, KN slanted its reporting to suit what appears to be a coordinated campaign of embarrassing the GoG.

The other major point in the KN editorial is that “[t]he private media houses, regardless of the political affiliation of the owner or the reporter, always carry the news as THEY SEE IT” (KN August 20). Forgive me for being blunt, but this statement demonstrates exactly what Kaieteur News has become known for – that is – rabid anti-government bias. Which respectable newspaper in the world would take the position that the NEWS is dependent on the personal perspective of the reporter and editor? If the latter construction is exaggerated then Kaieteur News must explain what it means by “…as they see it.” The ‘they’ here refers to Kaieteur News staff.

KN should take a deep breadth and examine the simple fact that it is selling tons of newspapers, most of it on account of ‘shock journalism’. It should really take account of the fact that it can and does publish whatever it wants, even if its coverage is counter-productive to national unity, and more broadly, to Guyana’s national interest.

Kaieteur News indeed has an audience. It should use the opportunity to educate, rather than create fear, hostility, uncertainty, and psychological insecurity. There is money to be made when your product is fear and anger. But in the long run, we have a nation to build. Responsible journalism has a role to play in that nation-building process. Personal-attack/shock journalism does not.