THE Saturday August 27, 2011 edition of Stabroek News published an article “Aerial search for missing fishermen fruitless” and once again chose to disregard the real issues at hand to continue its campaign to misinform and discredit efforts as a continuation of the misinformed article published the previous day. It seems that Stabroek News does not understand the gravity of the situation or is deliberately neglecting to carry a balanced report. However, the general populace cannot be continually fooled as there are numerous other media sources providing accurate and balanced reports.
The previous article alleged that the minister failed in his promise to the relatives to have search teams in Suriname among other discrepancies. Lo and behold, the very newspaper reported that aerial searches were conducted in addition to a search team which was already in Suriname to conduct search and meet with relevant Surinamese authorities. Is it just me or Stabroek News avoided to report that work is being done behind the scenes to conduct searches by sea and air for the missing fishermen in Suriname? This is simply poor journalism.
The Stabroek News erred in accusing authorities of not delivering on commitments and not making an effort to search for the missing fishermen, when in fact several interventions were made to bring closure on the matter to families and relatives. I suppose the authorities chose to remain quiet in an effort to protect the grieving families something which the Stabroek News and its handlers are not concerned about.
Most importantly, the humane factor was not adhered to by a report and newspaper that seeks to misinform the public by using the grief of families’ fear of losing their loved ones to continue their efforts to spread fear and misinformation.
Reporters and editors need to be more diligent in gathering the facts rather than rush to assumptions without making a concerted effort to clarify and ensure a balanced story fit for public consumption. This is the basic fundamentals of effective investigative journalism which the reporter lacked and most disappointing the editor allowed the story to be published.
In ending, I would like to reiterate that the media has an important role to play and some sections need to be more diligent in executing their duties to keep the public reliably and accurately informed which is necessary for Guyana to more forward as a nation.