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| PAJ President Jenni Campbell (centre) flanked by members of the Executive (l-r) Audley Boyd, Helene Coley-Nicholson, Milton Walker, Arthur Hall (2nd VP), Archibald Gordon (1st VP), Ingrid Brown (Secretary), Rohan Powell (Asst Secretary) and Ceila Morgan (Treasurer). |
The Press Association of Jamaica (PAJ) led by President Jenni Campbell, is celebrating Journalism Week and, as we get reports of the internet going down in Syria, we must give thanks that we have a free and active press in Jamaica. One theory why Jamaica remains one of the happiest countries in the world, is that the various talk shows help us to let off steam.
But seriously, we should be proud of our press – they have been
exposing wrongs, educating, entertaining and encouraging compassion for the
less fortunate. Kerlyn Brown’s series on sick children on CVM-TV is also
very touching, and we are amazed at the bravery of those young mothers who have
dedicated their lives to the care of their children.
Through TVJ’s ‘All Angles’ with Dionne
Jackson-Miller, Cliff Hughes’ ‘Impact’ and Garfield Burford’s ‘Direct’ we get
to dig deep into national issues. We have a refreshing new talk show on CVM, ‘The Naked Truth’
with host Paula Kerr-Jarrett and panelists Barbara Ellington, Terri Salmon and
Terry Ann Weeks, while Ian Boyne’s ‘Profile’ continues to have a big following.
The seamless relationship between media houses and social
media takes ‘vox pops’ off the streets and on to Facebook pages, and anyone can
be a blogger. What a contrast to our early years in the communications business.
I remember that sad day in the 80s when we had to send out a release telling
the public that Reynolds was pulling out of Jamaica. We booked two motorcycle bearers in addition
to our team member and had them leave together to hand-deliver the release to
Gleaner, RJR and JBC. That was the sum
total of our main media. Now at the
click of a mouse we reach over 30 media houses.
Then we blog the release and tweet the link. Broadcast interviews are no longer fleeting –
they are podcasts on a website and uploaded on YouTube.
With so much information at our fingertips, media now have
an even more important role to separate the wheat from the chaff and to project
what is true and most beneficial to their audience.
Events for the rest of Journalism week:
Tues Dec. 04
PAJ/NIA Breakfast Forum:
Fighting the Corruption Scourge
Knutsford
Court Hotel;
8:00 a.m.
Wed Dec
05
Veterans' Luncheon:
Honouring News Anchors of Excellence
J. Wray and Nephew Hospitality Room
Spanish Town
Road
Thurs Dec 06
Meet The Press Lyme - 6.00pm
After work Jam
PAJ Headquarters
5East Ave
Fri Dec 07 National Journalism Award
Ceremony
7.00 pm Jamaica
Pegasus Hotel
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