I’m fascinated by the media. I have been and continue to be a consumer, albeit in a more selective manner now than ever before. I have been a contributor of both advertising and editorial content. I am fascinated and appalled. Fascinated and appalled enough to be drawn into the train wreck that is the Brian Williams fiasco. Appalled by the notion that the likely most accurately researched news programs are hosted by comedians. In 2004, I wrote my unique perspective of the newspaper business and Trinidad’s ranking on the World Press Freedoms index. Since that time we have continued to endure malfeasance from the purveyors of our news and both Trinidad and the United States have slid down on the index.
Trinidad currently sits 41st with a score of 22.39, sandwiched between Samoa and Botswana while the United States sits 49th with a score of 24.41. The score puts both countries on the low side of the ‘satisfactory situation’ benchmark. Just for reference here are the categories and scores in context.
From 0 to 15 points: Good situation
From 15.01 to 25 points: Satisfactory situation
From 25.01 to 35 points: Noticeable problems
35,01 – 55 points: Difficult situation
55,01 – 100 points: Very serious situation
Although the index does not measure the quality of the media, some the variables they grade on like pluralism and media independence should give pause to any country clawing up from the bottom of the satisfactory category. Find the index and methodology here.
As an expat, I was trying to avoid making a public comment on the state of emergency in Trinidad. I’m not there, haven’t been there for a while, so I have no real concept of what’s going on a daily basis.
And here comes the ‘but’
One of the things I’ve always been proud of is good or ill you can say your piece and they’re always people who would. You don’t have to like them or what they were saying but they could and often times did.
In 2003 Trinidad was tied for 5th with Denmark in the World Press Freedom index and it was moment of true pride for me. Since then we’ve consistently slid down the ladder and in the 2010 index, we lay sandwiched between Latvia and Poland in 30th.
To compile this index, Reporters Without Borders prepared a questionnaire with 43 criteria that assess the state of press freedom in each country. It includes every kind of violation directly affecting journalists (such as murders, imprisonment, physical attacks and threats) and news media (censorship, confiscation of newspaper issues, searches and harassment). And it includes the degree of impunity enjoyed by those responsible for these press freedom violations.
Worldwide Press Freedom Index 2010
How the index was compiled
I thought I would be content to keep my mouth closed and let the state of emergency pass and for the government to realise what an abject failure that particular exercise was until this showed up in my news feed. Really, we’re keeping company with Egypt and China? For all the wrong reasons no less? Drafting legislation to deal with the regulation and monitoring of social media? Have these people been paying attention? What kind of backward, ignorant, clueless thinking is that? Oh wait, it’s the same kind of thinking that brought the state of emergency into play in the first place.
