Instead, he accused former Prime Minister Basdeo Panday of publicly criticising the media on a political platform and said Panday attempted to institute reform where the freedom of the press was concerned.
Manning has also publicly criticized the media on political platforms and accused them of being against him and his party.
Last week he claimed there is bias in the daily newspapers and said the majority of stories published since the election and anti-government.
And in March he suggested that the media are biased against him because of his fight against the drug trade.
"Anytime you tackle the drug trade, you are up against a powerful force...There are drug dealers in this country (who) are not so much against the PNM, but against the Prime Minister because that is the man standing in their way.
"You see integrity - that is all I have. I am incorruptible. You cannot buy me, I am not for sale. So I am watching the attacks, but we will see. Stand by, we have some action coming," he warned.
Read the story: PM defends his integrity, says drug dealers out to get him
His tirade against the media led to a strong reaction from the Trinidad and Tobago Publishers and Broadcasters Association (TTPBA), which demanded that Manning clarify his remarks with respect to a media connection to the drug trade.Read the story: Media deny connections to drug trade; ask TT PM to clarify remarks
In 2009 Manning dropped in on a radio station to complain about what he deemed to be unprofessional behaviour by two announcers who were critical of the budget. The two were later suspended. The station said they had breached the company's ethical standards.
Manning defended his action saying he was acting like any other citizen and would do it again "if the power moved him" to do so. His personal intervention to lodge a complained was roundly criticised by the Media Association and by media icon, Ken Gordon.
Read the commentary: We the media
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