Wednesday, January 28, 2009

"MEDIA WORKERS ABUSING CARNIVAL COVERAGE" 4

Here's a first-hand account of what happens when media people feel entitled to have extra passes to all-inclusive Carnival fetes.

"Hi Martine,
I am an avid fan of your blog and keep up the great work.
On the question of media workers abusing their so called Carnival coverage, I think the editors should be the ones calling the promoters. There have been instances where editors do call and make arrangements and reporters/photographers call for extra passes.

"Having been a former Guardian entertainment reporter, I can tell you of my personal experiences where a certain photographer will bring his girlfriend to several Carnival all inclusives and we will be stopped at the door/gate and asked for our passes. Normally a press pass will get you in, but since the promoters send two passes (reporter/photographer) we did not have a third pass and the end result will be the photographer arguing and sometimes calling for security to come to the gates. Tres embarrassing....and this photographer does this year after year.....
In some cases this same photographer goes to every party, inclusive of Zen with the company's camera on the pretense that he is working and gets into the parties free of charge.

"At a certain all inclusive last year, a photographer was already rostered to cover an all inclusive and the other photographer who was not rostered showed up with his girlfriend and when told there was already a representative from the company inside the photographer said: "All yuh ain't know who is me, I is Creole, I know the promoter, he called me personally...". The photographer (Creole as he calls himself) then took out his cell phone and pretended to call the promoter, but the guard let him and his girlfriend into the party.

"Martine, my point is this, when media personnel do this, they all look bad; media people have been known to like free thing and that is a dangerous thing. By doing this people start losing respect for the media and look at them as one laughing stock. Trust me, I know 'cause having left the media, I am privy to the talk from high officials...."

"Missing the media"
"VP"