ST. GEORGE’S, Grenada, Jan 9, CMC – The Media Workers Association of Grenada (MWAG) Friday said it has taken note of comments made by Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell regarding the absence of regular government press briefings and the conduct of media workers at past engagements.
MWAG said it was issuing the statement in the “interest of accuracy, institutional memory, and the public’s right to understand the basis of long-standing media concerns” and that it “ considers it necessary to correct several assertions made during that interview, which do not accurately reflect the longstanding concerns raised by media professionals over the past three years.
Speaking on a television programme earlier this week, Prime Minister Mitchell, who is also the Information Minister, said that reporters and media workers in Grenada were suffering from “long COVID” and as a result they are opting to attend his press conferences virtually instead of in person.
Mitchell, who was asked by the host of the programme about the lack of news conferences by him and his ministers or personnel within his administration, told viewers that when he goes to the designated venue for a news conference there are no humans in the room, only the cameras of the Government Information Service (GIS).
“I think there were two issues with the press conferences, I am happy to hold a news conference, the media was not showing up, …I call it long COVID, where people said it was all virtual,” he said.
“They come up to Parliament building or wherever, Ministry of Works conference room and it will just be cameras, cameras all over, that is our cameras and persons appearing at best virtually,” said the Prime Minister.
He said also that attendees at the news conferences in which he is the main speaker, complain of receiving too much information.
“I also had press conferences, and I was told we are providing too much information. They actually said that and there are times they said they need to study the information to ask questions about the information that was provided.
“I did not want to put myself in a position where I was talking to myself. I am happy to do the post cabinet… It does not have to be post cabinet but weekly news conference, myself or others but we also need the media to be present, I can’t do their work for them, and so I am happy if they are going to show up if we invite them to the press conference that they will come,” he added.
But in its statement, MWAG notes that concerns about access to information and the absence of regular press briefings were raised early in the life of this administration, including during a formal engagement between the association and the prime minister.
“One of the first acts of the administration was to discontinue scheduled press engagements, with the prime minister declaring publicly that information would be shared on a “need-to-know” basis, an approach that understandably heightened concern within the media community about transparency and routine access.
“At no time has the media objected to the volume of information shared by the Government of Grenada. On the contrary, journalists welcome timely, detailed, and accessible information in the public interest.
“The central concern raised by media workers relates to the structure and format of many government news conferences, which prioritise sequential presentations over interactive exchange, resulting in insufficient time for journalists to question, clarify, and scrutinise issues on behalf of the public.”
MWAG said routinely, media workers were “expressly advised that questions would be restricted strictly to the content presented.
“This practice undermined the core purpose of a press conference, which is not merely to transmit information but to allow for questioning, clarification, scrutiny, and accountability on behalf of the public.
“The suggestion that journalists chose not to attend or disengaged because they were overwhelmed by information is therefore misleading. The issue was never the media’s capacity to digest information, but rather the lack of focus, coherence, and adequate space for questioning within these engagements.”
With respect to virtual attendance, MWAG notes that hybrid participation has long been facilitated by the government’s own communications teams, with Zoom credentials routinely circulated to media houses.
“Where the prime minister felt disconnected from participants attending online, MWAG maintains that it was the responsibility of the communications apparatus to ensure that appropriate technical arrangements, standard in hybrid engagements, were in place to facilitate full interaction. It is also inaccurate and unsupported to suggest that media workers did not attend in person.”
MWAG said that historically, news conferences hosted by the prime minister have attracted some of the largest levels of in-person media attendance.
“MWAG remains committed to constructive engagement with the Government of Grenada. We reiterate that regular, focused, and well-structured press briefings, designed to allow sufficient time for questions, are a fundamental component of transparent governance and democratic accountability,” it said, adding that it “stands ready to engage in good faith toward improving these arrangements in the public interest”.
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