Independent PBS coming to T&T; minister promises to protect media freedom

Trinidad and Tobago could soon have a Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) as part of its development of national media.

It's one of the major initiatives outlined by Public Administration Minister Rudrawatee Nan Ramgoolam when she addressed this week's annual general meeting of the T&T Publishers and Broadcasters Association (TTPBA) in Port-of-Spain.

She said the People's Partnership government is reviewing the national broadcast policy, adding that all stakeholders, including Telecommunications Authority of Trinidad and Tobago (TATT), media representatives and the general public would be engaged in the establishment of an amended policy.

The minister added that one of the things she would like to see is more local content in the Trinidad and Tobago media.

Ramgoolam said the country is rich in its cultural diversity and heritage and noted that in recent years there have been significant developments in the local content, particularly in music and audio visual production.

She told the TTPBA that both TATT and stakeholders are constantly approaching her ministry “for an amendment to the existing policy to encourage the carriage of a larger percentage of local content by the nation’s broadcaster.”

The minister said the existing broadcast policy provides for local content to be supported through the establishment of a Public Broadcasting Service.

She added that a PBS must be an independent entity established to inform, educate and entertain public audiences, "while maintaining due insulation from political, social and commercial interests."

She also suggested that a broadcast code would ensure that while the media industry is held accountable to the interests of the public, "the institution of the freedom of the press is supported and nurtured."

In an interview with the Trinidad Guardian, Ramgoolam said 2015 is the proposed date for the global switchover to digital transmission for all terrestrial television broadcasting.

She said that the TATT already had a draft Framework for Digital Terrestrial Television Broadcasting Services in T&T.

She said benefits of thye change include:
• increase the revenue generating capacity of the domestic television market
• improvement in the quality of services delivered
• greater efficiency in the management of the public electromagnetic spectrum