ON the eve of World Press Freedom Day 2024, the Kaieteur News under an editorial titled, “No media Conferences,” launched a wild, careless, unfounded and vexatious attack on the Department of Public Information (DPI), ministers of the ruling PPP Government, and our collective intelligence as a progressive nation.

Through the editorial, it sought to protest the alleged government’s policy of not engaging the media regularly or at all. It sought too to state that the ministers were not handling their respective portfolios, and were being protected by the DPI. According to this editorial, the DPI was helping the ministers to tell their “half stories, and clever cover stories… adding farce to spectacle resulting in usual government circuses”.

The newspaper editorial did not stop there, it went further to suggest the ministers of government lack integrity in the execution of their jobs. It named some of the portfolios such as the Vice President and the Minister of Natural Resources. It then lectured to the nation about truth, balance, fairness and accuracy of information, stating that they do not need to hide behind the DPI.

The final part of the 804-word diatribe seeks to suggest government ministers were hiding and acting suspiciously because they were not facing the mainstream media, and instead sheepishly protected by the DPI.
This is a poorly written editorial. It is rubbish and filled with misplaced metaphors, hanging sentences and lumpy generalisations.

It presents not one iota of truth or fact about government and how it operates when it comes to access to information and the media.
The newspaper instead, sheepishly, presented a twisted perspective which it sought to back by circumstantial evidence from events that never happened or occurred. At least, the events did not occur the way the newspaper said they did.

This editorial, unfortunately, sought to lecture the government ministers about how they should do their jobs and face tough media questions, when it is doing a horrendous job telling the truth and facts, upholding basic journalistic standards and acting as a responsible national news entity. Surely, the editorial must address its own internal problems with the truth and facts before it tells the government and its ministers about doing their jobs.

Like a teacher in a school or classroom, let us address some of the lies and deliberate confusion in the KN editorial.
Firstly, the government does not depend on just hosting a post cabinet media briefing to get information out to the public and media.

This was the approach in pre-2015 era. From looking at it, the government has adopted a more modern and progressive approach to the media and information landscape since 2020. It has adopted a different style. Major contracts are released to the media on the DPI website and via the ministry.

These contracts are even available at the NDCs, Regional and National Tender Boards. The government tries to make all contracts available, especially the ones for oil and gas. The editorial cannot have a problem with employing competent journalists who will know where to look and who to ask, and how to ask questions.

The government cannot be expected to do their jobs for the KN. No. This would be supporting lazy journalism and ain’t nobody got time for that!
Then, there is the accusation that ministers who are holding very important portfolios have never faced the press.

This is a bald-faced lie or real “balderdash” as the editorial sought to suggest. The public knows that Ministers Bishop Juan Edghill, Robeson Benn, Sonia Parag, Dr Frank Anthony, Collin Croal, Dr Vindhya Persaud, to name a few, have all faced the press and media limelight for protracted questioning several times since August 2020.

Go back to October, November and December last year, you will see clear evidence of this. They do not hide behind the DPI but use the forum as tool for effective and efficient communication to all the social media platforms that the government PR cannot seem to reach.

Secondly, is obsessed with Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo and President Dr Irfaan Ali. The latter use of the social media platforms and press conferences to get his message uninterrupted and directly to the public is seemingly bothering the KN badly. So much so, that they are not getting to scandalise, push their own narratives and perspectives as to the work of the President.

Unfortunately, this is not the case for the VP. He has to battle the errors, misinformation and concocted headlines in the media, particularly KN, daily. Just Friday, the KN admitted to lying on another Chinese Businessman and seeking to suggest Jagdeo lied.

Whether he keeps his weekly press conference at the Office of the President or Freedom House, the wholesome information Dr Jagdeo releases to the public is always misquoted and taken out of context by the KN. So, this KN editorial is balderdash and far from the truth!

Thirdly, PPP ministers aren’t like APNU+AFC ministers who are arm-chair ministers, chained to their desk in cozy offices. They do the work at the office but they do a great deal more. They get out and talk to people, engaging them about issues about projects and services.

They get to the bottom of their concern. They cut out the dependency on the middle man – KN and the use of unfair and biased media. They cut the misinformation and disinformation caused by misquotation, taking statements out of context, sensationalism and other types of distortion. Surely, KN could appreciate this or does the newspaper need empirical examples?

It is sad and unfortunate that this editorial is adopting such a bad view of the DPI. Maybe, it’s because it is confused and kerfuffle by its roles and responsibilities as regards the public information. It is achieving its goals of providing the public and media with government information that is wholesome.

From the looks of it, DPI only has powers to tell the story of government unfettered. It does not protect or shelter any minister but acts as a vehicle for them to get their messages across. Clearly, DPI is functioning as it should because government is gaining ground and its message is resonating with the people. This is not because of DPI but the hard work of the government in achieving its manifesto commitments.

Fourthly, there is nothing to conceal and no one is overwhelmed or lost in the area for which they are responsible as this editorial suggests. It is quite the opposite.
The DPI and government can defend itself, if it wants, against the rest of this editorial which underwent bouts of fantasies about what the ministers ought to do in a civilised environment.

Looking at the bigger picture here, no one deserves to be a reader of this type of editorial or information posted as news in a real objective newspaper or media.
No one, much less the government, deserves this level of rancor, bitterness, and hate from the media and KN in particular. A newspaper and it’s publisher would be respected if they allow the journalists to follow a story with truth and facts to the end about a politician or company.

However, if the newspaper, like the KN, constantly manufactures controversies and headlines out of thin air, telling easily proven lies and stories, and constantly misleads the public, then they are part of the problem and not the solution for the media and free press. This is very dangerous in a modern country that is developing rapidly like Guyana.

Yet, the Guyana Press Association, Civil Society, NGOs and media people themselves are okay with these reputations of ordinary people, businesses, politicians and others being sacrificed and shattered by irresponsible media but cry out when they are criticised in the same way using the facts. This is duplicitous and hypercritical. Make it make sense?

Finally, at some time, they will have to stop tarnishing the reputations of these innocent people and breaking their lives apart in pursuit of their agenda against Bharrat Jagdeo. These lies, misrepresentations and distortions in the newspaper must stop. They lie and retract every time! They are not sorry at all.

This is irresponsible and greenhouse journalism at the least. KN is a mudslinging tabloid that needs to be fact checked. It is turning into the political arm of the publisher. The Information packaged under the guise of “news” cannot be trusted. This is not people’s newspaper. This is an enemy of people and clearly an enemy of the PPP and State.

This newspaper has no ethical or journalistic standards. It is appalling that KN is allowed to apologise every time without any consequences from the state.
Self-regulation is not working in this case. The real circus is over at KN and society normalises its buffoonery. KN is a mudslinging and muckraking newsprint dedicated to advancing the political aspirations of one or many persons who would not be named.