MS. SALANDY, CNMG & MS. RAMDASS

The heading says it all.

"Hi,

"A few observations:

"1) Is the late Ms. Salandy's first name Jizelle or Giselle? The Express and Guardian spell ii Jizelle; the Newsday spells it Giselle. I even saw a story where Ms. Salandy was called Jizelle in the body of the story, but Giselle in the photo caption. Why can't our reporters get these basic facts right? After all, this was a national hero, an accomplished athlete widely reported on before her death. How can we still be getting her name wrong???

"Also, the Guardian headline was incredibly insensitive. I've seen editors lose their jobs for that type of insensitivity. I can't believe that this type of garbage still passes for journalism in T&T. It's a disgrace. New year, new site, same ole rubbish...

"2) I visited the CNMG website after 'Trini' commented on it and found it to be really visually engaging (good photography, visuals, good use of white space etc.). The site is also the most accessible of all the Trini news sites I've visited. Sadly, the reporting was poor. I also glanced at the presenter bios and have to wonder: Is CNMG a 'friends and family' company? I saw that the Lee ladies are sisters, and I also saw two ladies with the surname Briggs who resembled each other. Are they also related? Also, some of the bios were shockingly infantile. The impression I left with is that this was a group of interns having fun at taxpayers' expense. If memory serves me correctly, the government has spent something like TT$135+ million on CNMG's operations so far? Amazing...

"I also wonder -- and I don't know if it has been debated here before -- about the government owning a media company and a major broadcaster. Do we need state-run media at this point in our country's development? Is there really a case for government owning media today? There is frequent outcry over big corporations owning media companies and of media concentration in too few hands. I think government-owned media are even more dangerous given the risk of these being used for propaganda. How aggressively and objectively can/does CNMG report on government matters? Given Manning's tantrum at a radio station a short while ago, I would doubt that CNMG can do anything but toe the line. Is this acceptable? Are CNMG's journalists credible? I see many (useful) comments on this blog about how to present news in a professional manner and so on, but can we trust the very veracity of the reports on government matters when the source is state-funded? Just some thoughts...

"3) The Anna Ramdass interview -- I agree that this story raises serious questions about self-interest vs the public interest. I sympathise with Ms. Ramdass's plight, but these types of police abuses have been happening for as long as I can remember. In fact, I always wondered why it is the media never took up the challenge of defending people in depressed areas who are subjected to this type of police harassment (and in some cases, brutality) on a regular basis. Why is it that because it is a reporter and Valsayn resident that all of a sudden we feel a need to investigate citizens' rights? Is this by accident? No, the fact is T&T media are generally biased against the powerless. Think about how crazy this is: the media, which exist to check abuses of power by the powerful, often tacitly support such abuses. Then when it happens to one of their own they seek public sympathy.
Trinidad nice yes..."

"Mike"

Thanks Mike for the observations. You beat us to the question of the spelling of Ms Salandy's first name.