Media self- censorship

Assuming three things: that ethnic tensions between Indians and Africans are worsening; that a significant contributor (some would say the main contributor) is politics; and that mainstream mass media remain a legitimising conduit for racial rhetoric, is it time for media leaders to agree on self-censorship in their coverage of racially provocative statements/events?

We have come through a divisive and desperate Tobago House of Assembly (THA) election which will be remembered for Hilton Sandys Calcutta ship announcement, the failure of his PNM party to censure him in an unprecedented way, and the Governmentunder the banner of the Tobago Organisation of the People (TOP)milking it for all its political poison. And thats only one very recent event. We wait in trepidation for local government and general elections.

The country is at a crossroads, saturated with discontent and resentment. Trauma at the loss of political reins is raw among some Africans and translatesin uniquely Trinidadian termsas Indians taking over, which in turn draws from the equally unique Trinidadian proverb Indians have land and money; Africans have political power.

The present Government, meanwhile, promised a coalition that represents and treats equally with all peoples but quickly turned into a UNC Government consumed with old racial prejudices and a rabid desire to equalise government patronage by unethical means. That the UNC found a new face and voice to spew old prejudices born of self-hate has been a handful of salt in racial wounds.

All this is happening in a climate of exceptional violence, short tempers, unending cries for justice, and plenty, plenty guns. Is it time, then, for mass media to prevent circulation of news that can potentially incite that which I will not name but which most of us fear?

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Media self- censorship