THE Guyana Press Association (GPA) has announced several workshops/training sessions which it has planned for the next few months, aimed at improving the capacity of local journalists to cover key issues in a professional and well-informed manner.
In a statement issued on Tuesday in observance of World Press Freedom Day, the GPA noted that over the past months, the association had held a number of training programmes with the support of many organisations, including the Canadian High Commission, the Pan American Health Organisation, the Society Against Sexual Orientation Discrimination and Scotia Bank.

“Over the past year, there have been occasions when the GPA has had to upbraid and caution some of our members, re their reporting and they consented to our views. We look to continue this excellent relationship with media workers and owners,” the GPA statement note.
The theme of this year’s observance is “Critical Minds for Critical Times: Media’s role in advancing peaceful, just and inclusive societies.” In this regard, the GPA urged the legal fraternity as well as colleagues in the media to be cognizant of the various laws and regulations that have a chilling effect on freedom of expression and access to information.

“The GPA takes the firm view that a strong judiciary is an important pillar in the protection and promotion of free media as part of the promotion of a healthy democracy, in which ordinary people and decision-makers alike can share competing ideas, constructive criticisms and suggestions for nation- building.”
According to the press body, the rule of law forms an integral part of a democratic and inclusive society as it protects fundamental freedoms and applies universally to each individual and entity.

FACT-CHECKING
In its message, the GPA also encouraged fact-checking and verification of relevant and authentic sources materials before dissemination on social media.
“If information is replicated without the necessary due diligence, this can essentially result in the peddling of information that may be detrimental and call into question the role of the press.

“GPA, therefore, calls on media houses to ensure their editors and reporters alike take advantage of the various training activities and professional development events as we seek to dismantle existing barriers and reduce or eliminate historical tensions.”
Meanwhile, the association pledged its unwavering support to any effort that will improve the level of Digital Literacy, while at the same time being vigilant against hate speech.
“In this regard, the GPA bemoans the Government of Guyana’s increasingly rigid posture against sections of the media and their organisation, the GPA, by refusing to concretely address several concerns.”

According to the association, it has sought an audience with the prime minister on various issues but to no avail, but pointed to at least three meetings with President David Granger.

POLITICAL INTERFERENCE
According to the GPA, the body continues to receive complaints of government / political interference in the work of taxpayers’-funded, State-owned media.
The GPA stated that it has received complaints from two of its members who stated that they were accosted by presidential public affairs personnel and pulled away, although President Granger had expressed a willingness to speak.

“These actions taken together clearly send a damning message to the regional and international media community that Guyana and Guyanese media workers need to take decisive action to arrest what could very well be the continuation of media repression by successive political directorates under the guise of repeated public declarations in support of press freedom,” the statement noted.
The association called on the Government of Guyana to “immediately desist from carrying out certain actions that are inimical to press freedom and instead to subscribe to its promise of breaking with the past.

“The Guyana Government needs to play a significant role in helping to shape the press freedom environment, especially in an era of digital delivery of information on which people are increasingly dependent, like conventional mass media, to make a wide array of decisions that affect their lives,” the GPA concluded.