Sections of the T&T media biased against gov't: PM Manning

Prime Minister Patrick Manning told a delegation of the Media Association of Trinidad and Tobago (MATT) Tuesday he is convinced that sections of the media are biased against his Government.

The meeting was at the request of MATT, which had asked for the discussions based on statements Manning made at a public meeting on July 13, accusing the media of not fulfilling its role to inform and educate the public.

MATT president Marlan Hopkinson told the Trinidad Express Manning told the MATT delegation that some media houses "are dead set against his Government."

He said the Association defended the media's coverage of the government, refuting the Prime Minister's claims of clear bias against him and other ministers of Government.

Hopkinson also defended MATT's decision to meet with the Prime Minister following several incidents of public criticism of local journalists by Government officials. He told the Express doing that did not compromise media freedom.

"We felt as a responsible association, we had to find out what the Prime Minister and other government ministers were speaking about...The independence of the media remains strong and the meeting had no impact on that," Hopkinson said.

The Prime Minister and MATT agreed that media standards need improvements.