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| File: Jack Warner in a media scrum |
JYOTI's sources have confirmed that Warner will seal the deal on Monday.
The Mirror is owned by the Chookolingo Group, which also owns 39 per cent of the shares in the Newsday.
MATT acknowledged that while there is precedent for members and officials of political parties and governments to own "substantial stakes" in media houses, it is unusual for a minister to acquire such an interest while in office.
"Perhaps this is something that Parliament should examine to see whether it represents ipso facto a conflict of interest and if so, on what grounds—especially in the case of acquiring a media house, which owing to its potential for influencing public opinion and the special place of the freedom of the press in the Constitution, could arguably be classed as a special category of business," MATT stated.
"It should also be noted that in small societies such as this one, much of the news is based on the government's activities. That being the case, for wealthy and politically powerful political figures to own media houses could mean there is a danger not only that the news will be censored, but also that journalists will practise self-censorship, since they will find it hard to criticise those employers, and that directly affects the media's role as a watchdog of democracy."
Opposition Senator Fitzgerald Hinds called Warner's move to get into the newspaper business “a grand plot.”
He added, "I think Warner has plans for T&T and I think he wants to be Prime Minister and he may find the Mirror and the Newsday within recent times have begun to demonstrate in writing by revealing these facts that may hurt the Government to manage crime in the background of his hotheaded promises,” he said. “He has recognised controlling the media is a facet in the whole plan to remain in government and become Prime Minister."
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