One always suspected the ‘Once-Upon-a-Time’ newspaper had criminals in its employ

–now we know for sure it does

OLD Kai always wondered how the ‘Once-Upon-a-Time’ newspaper would get all the latest breaking stories and inside details of certain crimes occurring in society.There has been a lot of speculation, but these people always seem well connected. They would get intricate details about a crime that no other media house could access. “How it is they achieved this?” I would constantly ask myself. It seemed a mystery.
That is, until the secret US cables revealed that the owner of the newspaper had his finger firmly on the pulse of Guyana’s criminal underworld. During the crime-wave, the newspaper published conversations it had with notorious criminal, Rondell ‘Fine-Man’ Rawlins, said to be the leader of the gang which carried out massacres in Lusignan, Bartica, Agricola and Lindo Creek.
Was there an established relationship or at least an understanding or a point of contact which made this wanted criminal so comfortable to liaise and make his disclosures to an individual(s) over at that newspaper and no other else?
In fact, there were several incidents during the crime-wave, where the people from this newspaper would turn up at a crime scene way ahead of the security forces; in some cases just a few minutes after the incident. It even reached a stage where they were warned and charged with interfering with a crime scene.
How was this possible? What kind of intelligence system could they have possibly had in place to predict, or at least have their people ready to arrive on a scene within minutes of the commission of that crime?
Many Guyanese have been scarred for life during the crime-wave; they saw gruesome images they will never forget; they lost loved ones; they were the victims of assaults, including sexually; some of them even have lifelong debilitating injuries. Parents lost children; children lost parents; even the animals were slaughtered.
Today, they are still seeking answers. Ever since that period, there was concern that certain members of the media had established relationships, some very personal, with these criminals. The counter argument was that these media individuals had a professional duty to tell the story, and, in so doing, could not be pressured into revealing their sources.
But how professional was this relationship, when one female journalist at the time literally moved into the village of Buxton, and could be seen by eyewitnesses being ferried around by one of the 2002 Mash Day prison escapees on a bicycle?
There are several other damaging revelations regarding the criminals and certain media personalities, including other eyewitness accounts that Old Kai cannot reveal at this time, as it will surely expose his sources.
However, what all this brings us back to is the shocking revelation that an employee of the ‘Once-Upon-a-Time’ newspaper has been arrested, based on damning evidence that he was involved in the armed robbery and assault of former Assistant Commissioner of Police, Clinton Conway on Thursday, February 20, 2014 at his home.
We are told that the newspaper employee’s ID card was found at the crime scene, and it is believed that it fell from the perpetrator during his scuffle with Mr. Conway.
If this is indeed the case, we are left to ponder how many victims of this gunman are out there, and whether there is a greater role or link that has been uncovered with this revelation. Is there anyone else with a sketchy or criminal background that has been employed by this particular media house?
While there is nothing wrong with employing someone who would have probably done his time and has reformed (not the PNC-type of Reform), employing persons who are still involved in criminal activities, particularly at a media house which is exposed to an array of sensitive information, has its fair share of danger.
There is a further twist to this saga when consideration is given to the fact that just a few weeks ago, another employee of this very newspaper was reportedly attacked and shot by gunmen while sitting in his car. Is there more to that story?
How can we also forget that it was this very newspaper that gunmen inexplicably targeted during the crime-wave, and killed five of its employees. Up to this day, we still do not have a motive behind the slayings of these men. Which brings me to the point that there is need for proper oversight of the operations of the media in Guyana, as is the case in the United Kingdom, following the phone-hacking scandal involving News of the World, which was ‘the straw that broke the camel’s back’ for citizens in that Confederation.
If the media in Guyana is going to be taken seriously as the Fourth Estate, there are certain responsibilities which come with the territory. So far, there are sections of the media which operate with a ‘wild-west’ mentality; they usually make scandalous statements, and then try to support it later; but when it is convenient, and their actions come under the microscope, they suddenly invoke ‘sacrosanct’ privileges of the profession.
We will all recall when the editor of the ‘Once-Upon-a-Time’ newspaper inferred that a leading female public figure was a ‘prostitute’, among other disparaging remarks he had to make about other females in society.
Yet the women’s groups who are usually vocal, including in their most recent support for a 19-year-old female who severely beat and attempted to strangle a one-year-old child, have remained stone cold silent against these negative stereotyping of females, and such crass public attacks.
In all of this, the Guyana Press Association has been dismantled beyond recognition through incompetent leadership. The most Old Kai will expect is a belly-up groan by the GPA after the people over at ‘Once-Upon-a-Time’ would have asked their friend(s) in the Depressed Association to attack this article, and you will see a release declaring their unwavering commitment to “fight in the interest of the free and independent media” against such ‘attacks’ emanating from the State media. Then they will go into hibernation once again, until they are called up again to dust off their ‘swords’ and try to deflect attention.
There is also another association: IMAG. They too seem to have gone out of circulation ever since Tony Vieira took them to Court over use of the name. The Television Owners Association, or something to that effect, only exists the moment there is a challenge to their profits.
So, basically, none of these entities responsible, or purporting to be responsible, for the media profession in Guyana are functioning. The media basically goes unchecked when they, by admission, are trying to keep those in authority and society ‘in check’.
So, who is watching them while they are watching us? No one! The time for media regulations is now!

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