MATT was responding to a statement Monday by Griffith in which he said media must not take it as an "entitlement" to have interviews on demand with the Prime Minister. Griffith said the Prime Minister's safety must get priority.
Read the story: PM Kamla's security adviser says PM's security takes precedence over unplanned media interviews
MATT called Griffith's statements, "ill-advised" and suggested that Griffith was "attacking the media for seeking to put questions to the Prime Minister during her official appearances."
MATT said, "We resent the implication that members of the media themselves are somehow a threat to the Prime Minister. The Media Association is not qualified to say whether the Prime Minister's security has been breached. That appears to be part of Captain Griffith's portfolio.
"It is therefore up to him - not the media - to ensure the Prime Minister's safety, and to provide the media with adequate and suitable access.
"In approaching the Prime Minister for comments - on any occasion and at any venue - the media are simply going about their legitimate business. In the Association's view, they invariably do so appropriately and respectfully."
MATT said it is not accurate for Griffith to suggests that media access to the Prime Minister is only available by prior arrangement since as Griffith himself pointed out, the Prime Minister has always made herself available to the media while going about her duties.
According to MATT, "Most interviews with the Prime Minister are impromptu and take place on these occasions. If Captain Griffith is now suggesting that media access to the Prime Minister is now to be further restricted, that is in fact a change in policy, and he should simply say so.
"The Association would like to remind Captain Griffith that freedom of the press is protected under the Constitution to ensure that journalists can report Government activities to the Trinidad and Tobago public without interference," MATT said.
In a related development, senior cabinet minister Roodal Moonilal said Tuesday it might be a good idea to review the PM's relationship with the media in light of statement made by Griffith.
“I think it is probably a good time to assess the media’s interaction with the Prime Minister and the Office of the Prime Minister,” he said.
“At this time, she is extremely open and accessible to the media and we should probably structure it, in a way that presents no problems to the office of the Prime Minister and her security team."
However Moonilal was careful to note that while the security issue is important the authorities must ensure that "the Prime Minister is fully accessible to the media and available to the media."
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