St Lucia PM: Media must unite region

St Lucia’s Prime Minister Dr Kenny Anthony, said a regional media would boost both the economy and culture of the Caribbean as he spoke Friday night to the Trinidad and Tobago Publishers’ and Broadcasters’ Association’s Annual Dinner at the Hilton Trinidad.

He said the media would itself benefit from a larger, diversified regional market of readers, viewers and listeners, with the accompanying competition and economies of scale. Moreso, a regional media would bring the region economic and social benefits, for instance in tourism and in culture. “But perhaps most importantly, a truly Caribbean media would be an invaluable asset to the regional integration movement...,” he added. Information and communication, he said, were the vehicles to arrive at a shared perspective for a single, larger, unifying purpose across the Caribbean. Anthony said our future depends on the creation of a Caribbean Single Market and Economy, a single economic space in which people, goods and capital move in response to market forces.

To create this unified economic space, he said, our regional media have a crucial role to play. He said: “Assuming relative freedom of movement, reliable information and efficient communication serve to accelerate rather than retard growth.” Pointing out that subject-matter specialists were required in the media to facilitate objective debate for informed decision-making, he said: “The implication is that media practitioners must continously educate themselves and develop specialist skills beyond generic journalism.”

A healthy media, he said, must be competent in areas as diverse as international trade, economics, law, art, health, business, and finance. Our fragmented islands, he said, meant that we require more than a superficial coverage of issues. Noting that 85 percent of regional television originated from North America, Anthony warned that the General Agreement on Trade and Services (GATS) was pressuring countries to liberalise their domestic audio-visual sectors, with media heavyweights like the USA and Japan keen to get a foothold in new markets. Anthony challenged his audience: “Imagine what would happen if we spoke to the region’s massive audience in its own Caribbean voice.” He continued: “Now imagine yourself venturing into the world as a Caribbean person with the entire legacy of the region within your arsenal of weapons.

Suddenly you can lay claim to the Blue Mountains, Pitons and Pitch Lake. You are descended from Marryshaw, Manley, Williams, Bishop, Barrow, the Mighty Sparrow, CLR James, Lord Kitchener, Bob Marley and Garfield Sobers...You become part of 500 years of social evolution, and a legacy that includes some of the most enduring democracies in the western world. Suddenly you have six million brothers and sisters.” Anthony said we all share the responsibility of producing and projecting things Caribbean including our values, our products, our culture, our image of ourselves as superior to the imported alternative. “A Caribbean media should be the primary vehicle in this offensive.” He concluded: “Our regional media shares the dual responsibilies of protecting our economic integrity and preserving our cultural diversity.”