While asserting a commitment to freedom of the press, Prime Minister Andrew Holness on Sunday stressed that the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) and its supporters must engage in a strategy of promoting information favourable to the party in combating what he considers the “skewed, biased, and untrue” narratives being put out to the public by sections of the media.
Addressing a Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) St Catherine South East constituency conference at the Portmore HEART Academy on Sunday night, Holness stressed that an important element of Jamaica’s democracy for which it is respected internationally is that the country has a very free press.
“Jamaica is a free country, and we believe in freedom of the press, and we must do everything in our power to protect the freedom of the press,” Holness said
However, he recalled an interaction he had with a journalist several years ago when he raised concerns about a media report he did not like and which he felt was unfair to him, biased, and did not capture the truth.
According to Holness, the journalist told him, “I am not your PR firm.”
“What it says is that in a free press, if somebody says something that you don’t like, develop the capacity to say what you like and what you want to hear and get it popularised and fed to the people,” the prime minister said.
“In the landscape of a free press, some of us may feel uncomfortable when the dominant media houses portray our positions in ways that we don’t like. But let me be clear with you: we have seen the media landscape in Jamaica change dramatically and radically.”
The JLP leader encouraged the party to engage with alternative media sources to ensure that their message reaches the people.
“What the Jamaica Labour Party must do as we enter into the battle for your minds is ensure that we put the information out there [not just] in the traditional media, but in all forms of media to ensure that the people of Jamaica have the balanced and accurate view of what is happening in their country.”
Holness further praised the JLP’s communication efforts but emphasised the need for greater visibility.
“The party’s media policy is always to be upfront and truthful with its information. Nastiness sells, but truth doesn’t sell like nastiness,” he noted.
Earlier during the event, firebrand parliamentarian Everald Warmington sharply criticised the RJRGLEANER Communications Group, for a second weekend in a row, accusing the media entity of trying to undermine the Holness administration. His outburst prompted fellow MP Daryl Vaz to intervene, cautioning supporters against hostility towards the media.