Everyday I read the newspapers and listen to the radio from home online. I love being able to keep up with the current events. However, it never fails that I leave feeling more confused than enlightened. The media plays a very important role in society. It can be a watchdog over the government, a teacher for the people and a mirror that reflects the attitudes and norms of society. After weeks of reading news stories and feeling cheated, it raised the question for me: Shouldn’t more choices in news outlets mean better news stories?
There are at least four newspapers, three radio stations and granted only one television station in St. Kitts, but the choices have certainly increased. Most of us can remember when there were only two choices for newspapers and one choice for radio and television. So we have certainly stepped up but why can’t we still get reliable, quality news?
Newspapers are considered the crème among media outlets because the medium allows the writer more space and usually more time to research and present their readers with an in-depth, quality story. Television is crunched for time. A good story gets three minutes while non-breaking news will suffice with a minute and half. I know the reality of radio and television production.
So if we have all these choices now, what is the obstacle to providing accurate and credible news to our people? How can we have so many newspapers that only publish what can be considered fluff stories or rewrites of government press releases?
I think a little more pride should be taken in the words that fill the pages of the newspapers and definitely the screens of the Internet-based versions. The World Wide Web is a blessing and a curse. It connects us to the world, but it also connects the world to us. Unfortunately, if the current selections of news items that parade the websites of our media outlets are an indication, I am concerned and slightly embarrassed at the message that is being sent about my beautiful country and the intellect of my people.
