Meighoo: Not enough regional news

What may be good on paper may not be good in practice. The words of Dr.Kirk Meighoo as he spoke on the theme “What makes good governance?” to mark World Press Freedom Day on May 3.

Dr. Kirk Meighoo, Political Analysis, said that too many societies in the Caribbean were politically divided and this extremely partisan style continues to divide countries. He dished out that Democracy was really “self governance” and not just having an “election,” but that people must be able to express themselves without fearing for their livelihood.{{more}}

The political analyst noted that democracy was also determined by how the parliament in any country works: “You must have a vibrant parliament to ensure democracy, you can evaluate a country by analysing its parliament. The parliament is the gateway to democracy; too many parliaments in the Caribbean are anaemic and dry.”

Dr. Meighoo also pointed out that the region must govern it’s own freedom in it’s own context and pace. “While we want freedom, we do not want a Larry Flynn type of society in the Caribbean,” he said.

He noted that the main way in which people know what was happening in their country was through the news.

He said: “The news is what tells us about ourselves, it is an important channel for self-reflection. We don’t have film like the US to reflect our society; newspapers are our primary source of self-reflection and self-knowledge. That’s why we need more human interest stories, the media must reflect the people in the society, but some reporting have failed to do this.”

The political analyst further said that while freedom to import foreign culture was a human right, the quality of local programming must also be revised to ensure that foreign culture does not outdo what is local.

He noted that the media has a tremendous responsibility to understand the events that would make history, hence the need to cover what is also happening in the remote areas.

Dr.Meighoo noted that while the Caribbean wants regional Governance through Caribbean Single Market and Economy CSME, “there is not enough regional news coverage.”