#SpeakingOut – Timid: the Fourth Estate should not be

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed by the author(s) do not represent the official position of Barbados TODAY.

by Roderick P. Harris

I notice with some distaste that your publication has gone soft on exposing and exploring some of the infelicities occurring in Barbados, especially when it is the government that is culpable.

Previously, your paper tended to be fearless and open in its views but of late the cozying up to red is quite noticeable. You must at all times remember that you are catering to a wide discerning public and advertisers who will take note of these things.

Some of your competitors are lost causes and beyond redemption with their current management.

You previously presented a ray of hope in the thick, putrid political landscape that exists in Barbados but this is dimming fast.

Where is the robust debate on the vaccine scandal? There has been no discussion in your editorial pages on the police pay-out scandal. What about robust discourse on the Debt Arrears Bill? There has been no serious attempt to delve into the raison d’être behind the snap elections.

There is obvious confusion in the Barbados Labour Party but it seems this paper is under instructions not to touch the subject in detail. What about complaints of malfeasance in some ministries and statutory corporations? What about an editorial probe into the emergence of a sewage problem on the south coast, its sudden end in 2018 and the admissions of a gentleman about what contributed to the problem in the first place? These are issues which have not been fully explored.

Whether this is a business decision, one of patronage, I do not know, but the silence and avoidance scream loudly from your pages. I expect that silence and avoidance from the others. Your paper should be concerned with taste, national security and libel, when it comes to criteria preventing certain views from being shared as was the case previously.

It should not be guided by political phone calls, threats, favours or timidity. To do so is to become an industry embarrassment, like one of your competitors. Barbados TODAY remains my No.1 media outlet in Barbados.

However, the management must realise that the test of an excellent newspaper is the ability to accept criticism, print criticism, and act upon criticism. I will pay attention to your pages to see into which category you fall. It could start by the publication of this missive.