Headlines:
| Gov’t trying to suppress - MAJ & PAJ |
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| Thursday, 25 June 2009 | |
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The umbrella organisations which represent journalists
and local media houses is urging Jamaicans not to support a Government which
represses and controls information flow while hurting legitimate media organizations. The Joint Select Committee considering the country's libel laws heard submissions from the Press Association of Jamaica (PAJ) and the Media Association of Jamaica (MAJ) as well as their legal advisor  Lester Spaulding who chairs the Board of Directors of the
RJR Communications Group delivered a seven page submission jointly prepared by
the MAJ and the PAJ.He argued that Jamaica needs to encourage the Best International Practices which enforce fair practices in adjudicating libel cases. According to Mr. Spaulding, such practices include out-of-court settlements and to avoid lengthy trials. "Of all the points that have been made about the fundamental importance of good business practice and a reasonable bottom line in the media ...none is more impactful than the realization of the high cost of every action against a media house," he said. Mr. Spaulding said the high cost pf court actions could bankrupt most media house. "This bankruptcy could occur even before the imposition of uninformed sometimes emotional, sometimes irresponsible and unconscionable awards for damages in libel suits," he said. The Chairman of the RJR Communications Group also bemoaned what he described as little general awareness of the chilling effects on publishers who face bankruptcy even if media houses are successful in defending their publication. Mr. Spaulding also noted that media houses also face constant challenges of sorting through raw information against the background of unrelenting pressures of the public expecting more from the business of mass media publication. In the meantime, legal advisor to the MAJ and the PAJ Raul Henriques also presented arguments to the committee, critiquing crucial omissions in the Hugh Small report specifically relating to the capping of damages awards and the imposition of a wire service defense. |