“[…] I have no difficulty with the working journalists reporting the news as they find it, whether positive or negative… My concern is with the columnists and the established letter-writers. “I am suggesting that you devote at least one of your contributions per month to a positive message—something that will …
Read More »MATT offers condolences to families of Anthony Harris and Joel Nanton
“[…] Anthony Harris was a well-known and universally appreciated sports photographer who covered events with distinction across more than three decades for Guardian Media. “He was mortally injured when a vehicle struck him while riding around the Queen’s Park Savannah. The driver did not stop…” The following is a statement …
Read More »Farewell Joel Nanton, I have never met a better person
Joel Nanton, the chair of the Department of Journalism and Media at COSTAATT, passed away yesterday at the age of 47—after a three-year battle with illness. Wired868 joins the rest of the media community in expressing condolences to his wife, Hollene, and their three children, as well as to his family …
Read More »Dear Editor: I’ve tried to correct mistakes of grammar and pronunciation in the media, but they ‘held out’
“[…] Introducing a pair of reporters to bring listeners up to date on a particular issue, night after night, the CNC3 tag team of news presenters tells us, for example, ‘Here is Radhica and Kristian de Silva…’ “The de Silvas are husband and wife and, therefore, a team. Thus, the …
Read More »Early Bird: Conversations with Keith Smith, a journalist looking to make T&T and the world a better place
Keith Smith left us in early February. I know that but I still don’t remember the precise date. And one February afternoon this year, a phone call from a former colleague brought back a fond memory of him. A timely one. “Covid’s over,” she complained, “but I still cyar see …
Read More »Daly Bread: The Government and the Media; distracting the watchdog of our minds
Marshall McLuhan, Canadian educator and philosopher, published work in 1964 which became fundamental to understanding the media in the electronic age—even though electronic communication, as we know it, had not yet been invented. He created the famous phrases ‘global village’ and ‘the medium is the message’. McLuhan posited, in summary, …
Read More »Noble: ‘Good guys’ and closed doors—how abusers operate
‘The things that happen to people we will never really know. What happens in houses behind closed doors, what secrets’ — Lee Harper, To Kill a Mockingbird. This quote came back to life this week as we tried to digest the horrors of domestic violence in our land. We attempt …
Read More »‘I chase bad men!’ How the late Andrew Jennings changed investigative sport journalism
One of my most vivid memories of Andrew Jennings came on our second meeting, after a media conference at the Trinidad Hilton in the build-up to the 2001 Fifa Under-17 World Cup in Trinidad and Tobago. It was an elegant event, attended by then Fifa president Sepp Blatter, with every …
Read More »‘Unscientific, lazy, sloppy, illogical, dangerous, and misleading!’ Dr Browne slams Express’ Sinopharm experiment
“[…] Instead of an indictment of Sinopharm, the approach of the Express in this matter offers an indictment of the standard of the Newspaper’s editorial process. “Even if a hapless journalist scribbles such a sloppy attempt at an article, how on earth could a newspaper of such vaunted history and …
Read More »Express stands firm on Sinopharm story, despite criticism from PAHO, St Augustine Medical, China embassy and PM
The Trinidad Express has not backed down from its controversial investigative piece into the efficacy of vaccines being administered locally, despite criticism from the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) and the laboratory used to ‘test’ the protection offered by vaccines. Yesterday, in a story titled ‘Putting vaccines to the test’, …
Read More »China Embassy: Express Sinopharm report ‘completely a farce’ which ‘violated journalism ethics’
“[…] This most irresponsible media report has blatantly ignored plenty of the world-recognised scientific researches, distorted the facts, violated journalism ethics, created public panic and meant to undermine the resolve and actions of the Trinidad and Tobago people in their brave battle against this pandemic at this critical moment…” The …
Read More »Demming: Griffith’s low jibe at interviewer epitomises T&T’s lowered bar for public discourse
In a recent media interview, the interviewee was asked this very direct question: ‘Have you ever accepted a bribe for a firearm?’ Gary Griffith, former commissioner of police, former government minister, former senator, former captain in the Trinidad and Tobago Defence Force who is now husband, father and private citizen, …
Read More »