Media must not allow lawsuits to prevent it from presenting truths to the public
It is a norm in several countries, particularly so in Guyana, to threaten or actually file (court) lawsuits to prevent the free press from exposing guilt of crime or wrongdoings by public figures. Some lawsuits have merit – those where the media deliberately seek to libel or slander. But most lawsuits lack merit; they are threatened or actually filed to gag or censor the press. And in recent years, more and more such suits are filed or threatened against media houses. Out of fear of lawsuits, the media is careful of what it publishes; it goes too far in not publishing worthy comments and reports to avoid lawsuits; the public needs exposure of certain facts that should be published regardless of threatened lawsuits. Bad speech is better than no speech.
Public figures must be held accountable by the media. Almost everyone who regularly writes or speaks or comments in the media is de facto a public figure. Some letter writers don’t like to be responded to even when they pen nonsense or egregious misinformation. Every politician or anyone who works for the state is a public figure. Their actions must be scrutinized; they must be willing to ‘taketh’ when they ‘giveth’. But they don’t like to have their political activities scrutinized, and they don’t like when people question their motive or actions; probity is the last word on their mind. Thus, when the media is close to exposing wrongdoing, they threaten lawsuits or quickly rush to the courts for a gag order.
I don’t like court actions even when I am libeled or slandered. I believe in unfettered free speech. Thus, I am opposed to libel and slander lawsuits. That does not justify maligning peoples’ reputation without a shred of evidence as happened in the state media during the last administration. Deliberate defamatory statements should be actionable. Factual foundation is critical. Offending discourse must be punished.
When I see commentaries or letters in the media of individuals threatening a lawsuit, right away I draw a conclusion that the individual has something to hide. And indeed, several of them have cocoa in the sun fearing the rain.
On publishing matters, editors have great discretion to determine what information to publish. But writers and editors must take all measures to provide for ‘fair reporting”, a concept learned by those of us who did some studies in journalism. The publication must provide a fair and accurate report of an event or source documents. It simply means that measures were taken to verify a report or commentary, and that no malice was intended in its publication. Comments and reports must not intentionally and deliberately, with knowledge and malice, publish materials that recklessly disregard truths. And almost all writings I see in papers speak truthfully. Yet, public figures threaten lawsuits. The media must not allow lawsuits (threatened or filed) to censor it from presenting the truths to the public. And public figures must restrain themselves from filing or threatening lawsuits.
Yours faithfully, Vishnu Bisram