Walwyn's new target, the VI media!
Walwyn, the controversial rookie first-term legislator and Minister, in an attack on the Virgin Islands media told the HOA, “It seems as though some news outlets are comfortable with reporting half-truths, taking things out of context and putting it into their own context and thus distorting the truth Madame Speaker. What ought to be news to disseminate facts and to educate our population has become sensational entertainment, tabloids if you may.”
However, in his unusual attack, Walwyn did not name any media houses or revealed information that fits this category.
Censorship? Main target is online media
It remains unclear whether portions of his statement is a warning, or a threat to local media houses, but the Minister made it clear, “I would not like us to reach the stage of having to take prohibition actions Madame Speaker, but if we continue on the path we are on, we may well have to begin to consider this.”
Mr. Walwyn’s biggest wrath was for the Online media although he did not call names, but there are four online media houses operating in the VI, namely - BVI Hot Press, BVI News, Virgin Islands News Online and Platinum.
He went on to say in his statement: “Our online media especially, Madame Speaker seems to have gotten totally out of hand. Erroneous information is disseminated day after day, facts are made up, and countless anonymous sources infer statements that question the integrity of both public and private citizens. Moreover, the blogs have no restriction whatsoever and media owners seem to not realize their legal responsibility in giving a platform to frequent libel and false statements.”
While the Minister was very critical of the media with one side of his mouth, he still on the other hand said, “We live in a free society, we have rights Madame Speaker, we live in a democratic society.”
Minister Walwyn warned the media houses that his, “Ministry of Education and Culture with its assigned responsibilities for media monitoring, will be taking a proactive approach to encourage our media to be more responsible in their reporting by developing a code of ethics for professional media operators within the Virgin Islands”.
NDP has developed history of bashing the media
To many in the media fraternity and the local indigenous class, Walywn’s statement came as no surprise. Since taking office in 2011, the National Democratic Party (NDP) has made it tradition to bash and blame the media houses for what they claimed to be “false” and “malicious” reporting but they have never proved to the public what were reported inaccurately.
One Online news, for example, has reported many accurate stories coming out of the NDP Cabinet and all have proven to be accurate and spot on. A few months ago, the Communications and Works Minister Mark Vanterpool lashed out at this news site when it reported a story on Dr. Drexel Glasgow about his penning removal from his post at the Public Works Department and Hon. Vanterpool said the reports were false. Two weeks later, after his statement in the HOA, the officer was transferred just as it was reported, and the Minister made a statement on the transfer of the officer but never apologised to this news site for his erroneous statement.
There are many other examples where this news site was attacked by the NDP and when the tapes and other information in dispute were played and revealed, it turned out to be facts and high ethical reporting.
John E. Leonard, the General Manger of Advance Marketing and Professional Services, the parent company of this news site said, “Our policy and producers does not allow us to report information that is not factual so therefore the Minister's statement is not of any concern to us”.
We will maintain our high professional and well cemented standards and after two years not one person in the VI can point to one single story that did not bear out the facts, not one and I articulated this without fear of contradiction,” he told this reporter from Overseas on a business trip.
Many in the community are beginning to see an erosion of freedom of the press and freedom of expression. Recently, the NDP Government barred a citizen Bevis Sylvester from speaking at a graduation exercise with no reason given. A private radio station suspended a long-standing radio programme off the air and according to the host Alred Frett he was told “that management did not like what he was saying”.
The Virgin Islands Constitution Order of 2007 protects freedom of the press and freedom of expression.
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