1. How would you rate the level of journalism in the Bahamas?
(Vote and reply)

2. If it’s not adequate what is lacking?

3. Who seem to have the most accurate stories?

4. If it is sufficient; why?

5. Do you see a political edge between the lines with any of the syndications?

What do you think we want to hear…..?

I think that for the most part, the level of journalism in the Bahamas leaves much to be desired. For a nation which has had a news media from 1973, it appears that "the plant is growing, but because the flower pot is so long, water never reaches the bottom, therefore the growth is slow." I am still waiting for a station with a breath of fresh air such as live breaking news and on the spot coverage. The tragedy in Miami with Chalks airline was a good example, where was the local media, I got more news from channel seven than from Z.N.S... IT INVOLVED BAHAMIANS. iT IS NOW 11:30PM AND Z.N.S is still in the dark, they have not interviewed a single family member, better yet, while the tragedy was unfolding, low and behold Z.N.S HAD ON JUNKANOO....:what: THEN THE REGULAR SCHEDULE PROGRAME. My family in Andros many of whom are related to people in Bimini cannot receive south florida channel so they had to rely on CNN &CNBC.



What I believe is lacking is more Innovative thinking. (live breaking news, on the spot coverage) Fresh ideas (interactive screens for weather, get rid of the scripts) reporters with a zeal for what they do and more training. (check the reporters who try to use their hands when telling a story, it's pathetic.


Cable 12 news is the best in my opinion, the reporting is better, they go into more details AND SOMETIMES ON THE SCENE, with their stories and the reporters do not keep their eyes on scripts ALSO, THEY ARE NOTALWAYS BEHIND A DESK!!! I like the Bahamas Journal because they are the only ones online who updates their pages everyday. I don't know why the rest of them have a website.....

For the most parts, the newspapers in the Bahamas (except the PUNCH) are like an OPINION, The report will vary according to who's telling it!!!!

OVERALL I APPEARS THAT THE MEDIA HOUSES HAVE ALL MISSED THE TRAIN.

Journalists are supposed to be the Fourth Estate in the social order. The institution outside the Executive, the Legislative and the Judiciary that assists in coordinating society. In the Bahamas, they have failed because they simply don't ask the tough questions. There are some that try mind you, but if you have ever gone to a press conference you would know that the majority of them only interested in summarising what you say and are ill-equipped to challenge any statement. Take for instance the declaration by Dr. David Allen in a press statement that Capital Punishment deters crime, not one single journalists asked him what was his source! The result is that you can make ANY UNSUBSTANTIATED CLAIM, once you are willing to attribute the same to yourself. Of course this then means that the readers and receivers of the journalistic content are dumber because inaccuracies become truth. Journalists are supposed to be intelligent and know a little about a lot so that they can challenge and record a record of FACT and not heresay or make those people or at least distinguish between the two, but in this country they just seem to know a little!

I feel that because we have so many other sources and options to get information from, that ..at least ZNS does not feel that they need to break that much of a sweat. I mean they just record other peoples newscast and place them on t.v. without any editing or acknoledging the original souce ( they should be thankfull they are not sued for that yet!) I might as well just watch channel 7! Reporters are not stationed in the islands or abroad, but just stay in Nassau and Freeport. News brodcaster in other countries may only have AP and CNN as the only other source, so they must go out and get the story for the people, esspecially pretaining to stories abroad concerning them. We are lucky to get a barely audible phonecall. I remember when they were jumping for joy when they were able to do live television from another island in the bahamas. It's sad because they should have been doing this more than a decade ago.

I consider the newspapers, most notably the Tribune, to be the best. Some may see them as politically charged or bias, but I believe they get the true and story on either side of the divide.

Just my oppinion:

Nassau Guardian: On an anti PLP agenda...and their reporting on this administrations activity is sketchy to say the least..
They can NOT be trusted on bringing key events within the political structure fair and balanced!

Punch: Just a whole load of crap!...Bottom line!

The Source: Too feiry..even though they get to the crux of the matter..in fact they do more investigation into their stories than any other paper in the country in my oppinion!
But because they slam everyone hard...and no news they report is ever good:sarcastic ...they are not respected to be a leading information source!

Bahama Journal: Leans more towards to PLP in my oppinion..which balances out the Guardian and the Tribune's obvious attack campaign.
Which brings this paper to a must read by anyone who takes this countries goings on serious. (Along with the Guardian and Tribune)

Tribune: Oh dont get me started on that FNM's kiss fest that go on at that paper...At least they didnt like Hubert when he was in power..so they had to report bad news on him to some extent..but that paper is worse that the Guardian in its reporting the facts accurately and objectively. "And any communications major, or spin doctor worth his salt can tell you....you can tell the truth of a story, but the way you package it can be leading and damaging as well as uplifting to the reader" All depends on how you bring it to the people!

ZNS: PLP to the core...from Darold miller straight down to the Janitor...ALL LEAN TOWARDS THE PLP...hahaha
If you go to the PLP meetings..you find find any one of them there..not covering stories, but muckin up with their party freinds!!
LOL...."Sorry for letting the cat out of the bag"...:shhh:
This is dangerous...how did they all get that way..beats the hell out of me, but I dont like it because i want to know what everyone is doing..and becasue they take sides, I get very disturbed by that!


They gat a few other slam magazines out there..but they are really a good funny read if anything!
BTW has anyone seen the new Black Belt news??
hahahahahahahahaha.....

Oh, the internet blogs are even worse...that ebloggy thing blasts PLP and FNM even the CDR very hard, but they never seem to critizize anyone else...I wonder who they are???:rolleyes:

All just my oppinion of course!

I feel that because we have so many other sources and options to get information from, that ..at least ZNS does not feel that they need to break that much of a sweat. I mean they just record other peoples newscast and place them on t.v. without any editing or acknoledging the original souce ( they should be thankfull they are not sued for that yet!) I might as well just watch channel 7! Reporters are not stationed in the islands or abroad, but just stay in Nassau and Freeport. News brodcaster in other countries may only have AP and CNN as the only other source, so they must go out and get the story for the people, esspecially pretaining to stories abroad concerning them. We are lucky to get a barely audible phonecall. I remember when they were jumping for joy when they were able to do live television from another island in the bahamas. It's sad because they should have been doing this more than a decade ago.
I consider the newspapers, most notably the Tribune, to be the best. Some may see them as politically charged or bias, but I believe they get the true and story on either side of the divide.
:eek:

LOL

I've seem to have stopped your heart for that one moment there!

I gave em an F

I figure if the Guardian cant even respond to an email, then the reporting cant be any good either.

Hey anybody from the gaurdian here? Why put an email addy on your web site then dont respond when any one emails you? real profesionlism there I tell ya .. or maybe just lazyness ... or maybe they dont know how to use a keyboard.

-Q

I gave em an F
I figure if the Guardian cant even respond to an email, then the reporting cant be any good either.
Hey anybody from the gaurdian here? Why put an email addy on your web site then dont respond when any one emails you? real profesionlism there I tell ya .. or maybe just lazyness ... or maybe they dont know how to use a keyboard.
-Q

I emailed the Journal, and got no response too.

The only real good news that one can read here in the Bahamas is the Punch..yea sometimes there is a little foolish stuff in the grapevine but I know for a fact if a name is mentioned it is true..otherwise the Punch could be sued, the Punch has never been sued, if no name is mentioned in an article...where there is smoke there is fire!
Having friends in the news business here and other places in the world, I have learnt that most news articles are staged, when it comes to many political written articles 'Hot shots' have their news people that they call when they want to be seen or heard, and hide from some when they don't want to be in the spot light.

ZNS, 100% for whoever is in power ..
Punch - great for grins and giggles and free advertising
Guardian - lost in the past, crappy web site but at least they have one
Tribune - not bad, but they lost me along time ago when they screwed up a story i was in, but also lost in the past, at least the guardian has a web site, even though its pretty pathetic.
Bahamas Journal - only one i check out, why? cause they have a web site!
as for the question .. what journalism?? They all print what they are told about by the prosecutors office, as far as news goes. Most news never reaches us.
I disagree with you about the Punch, I think it is more than grins and giggles..yes there is a good bit of that! those men that pose? who are they? the page three girls, well some are kinda tacky looking, but I think never really funny, but those men, gee pretty funny some of them!
Anyway I think you get real news from the Punch! I also think it can make or break an election for a party. Wanna make a bet?

I think that for the most part, the level of journalism in the Bahamas leaves much to be desired. For a nation which has had a news media from 1973, it appears that "the plant is growing, but because the flower pot is so long, water never reaches the bottom, therefore the growth is slow." I am still waiting for a station with a breath of fresh air such as live breaking news and on the spot coverage. The tragedy in Miami with Chalks airline was a good example, where was the local media, I got more news from channel seven than from Z.N.S... IT INVOLVED BAHAMIANS. iT IS NOW 11:30PM AND Z.N.S is still in the dark, they have not interviewed a single family member, better yet, while the tragedy was unfolding, low and behold Z.N.S HAD ON JUNKANOO....:what: THEN THE REGULAR SCHEDULE PROGRAME. My family in Andros many of whom are related to people in Bimini cannot receive south florida channel so they had to rely on CNN &CNBC.
What I believe is lacking is more Innovative thinking. (live breaking news, on the spot coverage) Fresh ideas (interactive screens for weather, get rid of the scripts) reporters with a zeal for what they do and more training. (check the reporters who try to use their hands when telling a story, it's pathetic.
Cable 12 news is the best in my opinion, the reporting is better, they go into more details AND SOMETIMES ON THE SCENE, with their stories and the reporters do not keep their eyes on scripts ALSO, THEY ARE NOTALWAYS BEHIND A DESK!!! I like the Bahamas Journal because they are the only ones online who updates their pages everyday. I don't know why the rest of them have a website.....
For the most parts, the newspapers in the Bahamas (except the PUNCH) are like an OPINION, The report will vary according to who's telling it!!!!
OVERALL I APPEARS THAT THE MEDIA HOUSES HAVE ALL MISSED THE TRAIN.
you are so on target!

i know, they all have the same news anyway which they get from the same source ... the prosecutors office .. basically what I was trying to say is there is no investigative journalism, which is what journalism is all about.
yea I agree with you there, I think the punch tries to dig further in some areas and are trying to do better in others, but still there is no journalist out there that is out standing in reporting. I know of one years ago that reported something about Pindling, and was called in and asked to stay away from that topic. They moved away and is now a big time CNN behind the scenes writer.

I keep looking at this thread and wondering WHY we don't have top class journalists here, and I am wondering whether politics has something to do with it!

It could well be that politics has a stranglehold on journalism 'cause if a journalist starts digging and checking things thoroughly (investigative journalism), there is a good chance he/she ga find something that could cause an MP to see red! And ya know the trouble that could cause!

Maybe that's why some of the good ones went into politics -- as the saying goes, "If ya cant beat em, join em! (Isn't that a Bahamian saying?).

Nicky Kelly is a very good journalist. The Bahamas has produced many other top professionals in other professions, so it would be interesting to know WHY we can't produce a number of investigative journalists!

I keep looking at this thread and wondering WHY we don't have top class journalists here, and I am wondering whether politics has something to do with it!
It could well be that politics has a stranglehold on journalism 'cause if a journalist starts digging and checking things thoroughly (investigative journalism), there is a good chance he/she ga find something that could cause an MP to see red! And ya know the trouble that could cause!
Maybe that's why some of the good ones went into politics -- as the saying goes, "If ya cant beat em, join em! (Isn't that a Bahamian saying?).
Nicky Kelly is a very good journalist. The Bahamas has produced many other top professionals in other professions, so it would be interesting to know WHY we can't produce a number of investigative journalists!
I know of a journalist that was called by a former Prime Minister and warned to stop digging into certain matters, so I think your opinion is right about them having their hands tied on investigating journalism.