By Trevor Thwaites (St. George's correspondent)


ST.GEORGE'S, Grenada: The local media will have to raise its standard and become more professional, if it is to win the respect and admiration of a wider section of the population and further a field. This was one of the revelations coming out of the recently held Media Week Celebration 2006 here June 18th-24th. It dominated two of the activities, marking the rounds- ‘a Luncheon at the Tropicana Restaurant’ and ‘a Retreat at Wesley Hall in the city.

It has been identified that most of the workers employed in the local media are young and untrained, lacking the rudiments of their profession. President of the Association of Caribbean Media Workers Trinidadian Dale Enoch said that there is a need for serious training with the proliferation of radio and television stations, now operating around the region. It was unanimously decided that the work of most were under par and that serious training has to be the answer, if quality and standards are to improve.

The professional management of media entities was also brought into question with media managers too coming under the microscope for their apparent lack of interest to set higher standards. It was clear from the lively discussions at Wesley Hall, that there needs to be drastic improvement. Sensitivity in Broadcasting, News Production and Advertising Standards were the interesting topic debated. PRO at GRENLEC Zarah Chase reminded participants that bad news is not only the news out there because good news happens all the time and that workers should strike a balance in their reporting.

She also raised the burning issue of a Media Policy to guide the operations of the media, something which has been on the burner for a number of years. It was also agreed that censorship and insensitivity were also missing judging from the kind of derogatory and x-rated music and shows that are sometimes played on the airwaves and viewed on the television stations. Panelists Sherma Wells, Rawle Titus and Joseph McGuire agreed, much to the nod of the participants that censorship and discretion were sadly lacking.

Advertising was also scrutinized with the conclusion being that more research and creativity could be done so that some of the advertising campaigns can have a greater impact. The session took a close look at the current advertising campaigns of George F Huggins and Company, Republic Bank and Courts among others and asked whether or not they were having the desired results. However, the most disappointing development of Media Week Celebration was the inability of young media workers and Media Managers to attend the training sessions and activities as has been happening over the years.

MWAG says that Media Managers and Owners have a crucial role to play in raising the standard and quality of the media in the country. It is calling for the setting up of in-house policies to guide the operations of their entities. Training is also crucial and media houses will have to ensure that their staffs are appropriately trained to effectively execute their jobs. MWAG is collaborating with the TA Marryshow Community College to organize a training programme for young and aspiring media workers. It says that accreditation will be key with the advent of the Caribbean Single Market and Economy.



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