Comfortable distance
That the relation between the media and political parties can easily become too close for comfort was confirmed once again by the latest developments at the Amigoe newspaper. The appointment of a PAR board member as director comes at a time when that same person is in the news for having been given a 35,000-guilder-a-month salary as director of Curaçao’s study financing foundation SSC when PAR was still in the Island Government.
The editorial staff rightfully demanded and received a guarantee from the shareholder representative that there would no political influence or censorship as a result of the appointment. Time will tell if that holds true, of course.
Creating the mere impression of political favouritism can seriously undermine the credibility of any media, certainly those that claim to be independent. Coming just three months before the Island Council elections, the timing was questionable at the very least, also in light of the SSC controversy.
The public depends on a free and unbiased press to keep it informed. The media are as important to democracy as any other of its other main institutions: the legislature, the executive branch and the courts.
Those who have the honour to work in or own media should always keep in mind the enormous responsibility they have to be fair and objective in carrying out their duties, with the general rather than an individual interest in mind. If people start to lose confidence in those who inform them on a daily basis, society as a whole suffers.
While the intentions of the editorial staff and existing management at Amigoe to protect the integrity of the paper are noble, the proof of the pudding will very much be in the eating. It should in any case be a reminder to all that press and politics are best kept at a comfortable distance.
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