http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20070624/focus/focus2.html
Published: Sunday | June 24, 2007

"Our liberty cannot be guarded but by the freedom of the press, nor that be limited without danger of losing it."
- Thomas Jefferson

"If you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen".
- Harry Truman

"A politician complaining about the press is like a ship's captain complaining about the sea."
- Edward Heath

Politics can decide the destinies of nations. But to many people an election is just another exciting contest where I want my side to win no matter what. And party candidates and voters find it as difficult to be objective as football players and fans. 'The press is biased!' is the political equivalent of 'The referee is a thief!'

No doubt individual media players, from newspaper owners to reporters to cameramen, have their personal prejudices. But in those countries with a tradition of a free and fair media - among which Jamaica is thankfully numbered - the collective press is nearly always an objective onlooker that calls it as it sees it. Market forces make it rather difficult for our almost 20 radio stations, three national television stations, three national daily newspapers, two national weekly newspapers, and many local papers and cable channels to all have a consistent partisan bias.

Amusing accusation

Politicians and party supporters of every stripe seem to imagine the press is unfair to their side. It's very amusing, for instance, to hear the PNP now accusing the Jamaica Observer of favouring the JLP for supposedly not running a Stone Poll which allegedly showed the PNP ahead. Because back in 2002 the very same Observer ran a Stone Poll the day before the 2002 general election which showed the PNP 9 points ahead of the JLP, when two days before the same Stone Polls had the PNP only one point in front. A lot of eyebrows were raised, especially when the actual election result was within the margin of error of the 1 per cent poll and well outside that of the 9 per cent poll. Back then it was the JLP bawling 'Dem bias 'gainst we!' and the PNP saying "Leave the press alone to do their job." Plus a change ...

Polls are a vital part of any modern democracy. They're really the only objective way to measure party standings with any accuracy. The onl is highly unreliable gut feelings. Of course, any poll can be wrong, and the average of all available polls tends to be more accurate than any single one. In the last month or so there have been three published polls. Bill Johnson had the PNP seven points in front. Mark Wignall had the JLP 12 points ahead. And Don Anderson had the PNP four points ahead. Average all three and you get a one per cent PNP lead, well within the margin of error. In other words, the polls suggest what word of mouth is saying, that it's mighty close out there.

Now, Jamaica has not has any significant election violence since 1980. Sure we've seen violent political incidents, but there was no murder rate spike during the 1989, 1993, 1997 and 2002 campaigns. With the highly respected Election Commissioner Danville Walker and Ombudsman Herro Blair on the job, most people expect this election to be as peaceful as the last one. And the public peace pledge between JLP Joan Gordon-Webley and PNP Maxine Henry-Wilson in South East St. Andrew is a positive sign that the control mechanisms are working.

Media workers at risk

However, during the last two weeks statements have been made on public platforms which many media workers feel might put them at risk from over-exuberant party supporters. Let's hope the Media Association of Jamaica's planned meeting with the Political Ombudsman and party general secretaries eases the tension.

Jamaica's wonderful tradition of press freedom has contributed immensely to our 45 years of unbroken democracy. Given the natural size and population constraints, our media have in general done an excellent job of keeping the nation objectively informed. Thanks in part to vibrant competition between media houses, the Jamaican peopleare today far better informed than ever before.

Having come so far, it would be sad indeed if we returned to the bitterly partisan mindset of the late 1970s and 1980. Back then any criticism of politicians was automatically seen as partisan and people were afraid to say what they really felt for fear of violent reprisals. Surely, no one wants to revisit those bad old days.

Whatever P.J. Patterson's faults, no one can deny that he transformed Jamaican politics by opening up the media and putting a man of independence in charge of an electoral office with real teeth. Instead of being a dangerously self-policed free for all, Jamaican politics now has a universally respected referee who can call off the match if either side gets out of hand.

Despite suffering many personal attacks, P.J. himself was a model of non-confrontation. Unlike Michael Manley and Edward Seaga, he never publicly lashed out at the media. Routinely peaceful elections were arguably Mr. Patterson's greatest legacy. And Mr. Seaga in his latter years greatly facilitated the process.

Seeing the big picture

Those actively involved in the fray often can't see the forest for the trees. But surely, Jamaica's only two living former Prime Ministers can see the big picture - that our country and our democracy are infinitely more important than which party wins. Can Mr. Patterson and Mr. Seaga not make a joint public call for a renewed commitment from all sides not to do or say anything that might inflame volatile supporters?

Of course, the press also has a key role to play, for its language often needlessly raises the political temperature. Last month The Star and X-News ran big bold letter 'Political Wars in Schools' and 'Bloody Elections' front pages. Yet, there was little in the actual stories to support the sensationalist headlines. Our media should also realise that words have power and can greatly influence attitudes and actions, for good and for bad.

We also need the Electoral Commission, the Governor-General and themain political parties to draw up contingency plans in the case of a very close election. Geoff Brown a few weeks back asked the question "What if the general elections result in a tie?" Given what we are now seeing happen, it's very unlikely anyone actively involved would be able to think clearly if, say, we had a 30-30 result with a couple seats decided by less than 50 votes. And given our propensity to violence, it's not difficult to envision things getting pretty nasty. Don't wait till the horse has bolted to try and close the gate, Mr. Walker.

Long-term political stability is a rare thing in this world. Given our historical and economic context, Jamaica is an almost miraculously normal democracy. Let's not risk losing this precious achievement through recklessness or complacency. "Chance," said Louis Pasteur "favours the prepared mind." It also favours the prepared country.