Media executive Louis Lee Sing joined the debate Tuesday on the visit to a radio station by Prime Minister Patrick Manning and slammed the media for a lack of professionalism. And he took a swipe at the Media Association of Trinidad and Tobago (MATT) for criticizing Manning's actions.“I commend him for finally bringing his concerns to our attention, in a manner that must force all of us to stop and think—that is, if you can think—about your roles as media practitioners in a plural society.”
But he disagreed with Energy Minister Conrad Enill that news reporting in T&T was "the worst in the world".
He said what happened between Manning and the radio station has brought to light a bigger issue. And he warned that that ultimately, somebody would come up with a law where journalists were required to have licences in order to practice.
The Citadel boss noted that it is "most fortuitous" that Manning's action has "brought centre stage the burning issues of professionalism within the media.”
Lee Sing claimed that some journalists believe that being anti-government is more important than reporting the facts. And he said this is an unfortunate trend for the future of public information.
He said, “The grim reality is that officials, both in the private and public sectors, are afraid to speak to the media—out of a single fear there will be no balance, no objectivity—no fairness.
Lee Sing called on the Trinidad and Tobago Publishers and Broadcasters Association (TTPBA), which was critical of Manning's visit to the radio station, to meet urgently to discuss standards of media practitioners.
“I recommend and call upon the TTPBA for an early date to discuss with urgency, the matter of standards within the media. The reality is we now have an absence of overall professionalism, and if we do not fix ourselves, others will attempt to do so.”
And he was highly critical of MATT, suggesting that it did not handle the matter properly.
"I am aghast that the Media Association has seen this purely as an opportunity to fight in the media with the prime minister! A serious professional association, I believe, would have sought to meet with the prime minister to hear his views and have its views heard. Instead, it is fighting within the media, where it has all the ‘trumps,’” Lee Sing said.
MATT's president, who works for Lee Sing, disagrees with Lee Sing's assessment, noting that the organization is not fighting with Manning.
In a response to Lee Sing the media organization issued a statement explaining that expressing an opinion that is contrary to the prime minister's does not constitute a fight.
Lee Sing is a high profile member of the governing People's National Movement (PNM) and one of Manning's advisers. He was at the centre of a major controversy a few years ago when Manning as prime minister bypassed all the relevant authorities and granted him a radio licence overnight.
He is also chairman of the National Lotteries Board (NLCB). In 2005, then Junior Finance Minister Conrad Enill told the Senate Lee Sing's radio station and advertising agencies sympathetic to the PNM received the bulk of the millions of advertising dollars by the NLCB under the Manning administration that took office in 2001.
The minister said Lee Sing's Citadel Limited received $149,255 while the private independently run Trinidad Broadcasting Company received only $3,000 in advertising revenue from the NLCB. And Ample Advertising, which was involved in running the PNM's election campaign, was paid more than $7.4 million in advertising revenue from NLCB, Enill revealed in answer to a question from Opposition Senate leader Wade mark.
In addition, Enill said calypsonian Cro Cro who is best-known for his pro-PNM music got $20,000 from the NLCB.
But Lee Sing insisted that his politics and business affairs had nothing to do with his views on the matter. He told reporters he is known for speaking frankly.
“I am not unknown to say to the prime minister ‘You’ve got it wrong.’ But I don’t cuss him...I don’t behave like a hooligan or wajang. So that is left for the public to judge, but I have always been a very forthright person in dealing with the issues as I see it and it is in this context that I have asked the media to look inwardly.”
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