Joint press statement by the mainstream media

THURSDAY, MAY 27:  Today we jointly proposed to government a plan to set up our own Bermuda Media Council.

We submitted a written pledge to have the self-regulated council up and running by September 14, 2010.

We also made a commitment to jointly sign and adopt a Code of Practice by June 8, 2010.

Our move comes in response to government’s tabling, earlier this month, of the Media Council Bill. The Bill calls for substantial government representation on the council, which raises concerns about the prospect of political interference in the dissemination of news.

We plan to set up our own council and our proposal to the Cabinet Office today states that details about its aims, scope, membership structure and complaints procedure will be provided to government by June 8.

The move will be coordinated by Tony McWilliam, editor of the Bermuda Sun, assisted by Glenn Jones, general manager of Bermuda.com and veteran journalist Meredith Ebbin. They will work closely with all of the co-signatories of today’s proposal, namely Thaao Dill, Chris Lodge, Rick Richardson and Bill Zuill. The online-only news websites will also be approached for their input.

Public debate has been lively in recent weeks and we feel the case for media self-regulation, drawing from examples around the world, has been well made.

Conversely, the potential drawbacks of a statutory media council, with heavy political representation, have also been highlighted.

We feel confident that this proposal will meet goals we share with government of raising journalistic standards, elevating accountability and providing an effective forum for grievances against the media — while eliminating the negativity associated with a statutory body.

We take this opportunity to formally and collectively acknowledge that we ‘dropped the ball’ on the formation of a media council. It has been discussed on and off for years and we have had ample time to act. There are myriad reasons but no excuses — nor is there anything to gain by dwelling on what might have been.

But we are now committed to a firm course of action. In this context we feel it is worth pointing out that, while it’s our intention to establish our own media council, the current government can rightly claim credit for the initiative.

Most important though, is our sincere commitment to establishing a self-regulating body through which we can better serve the people of Bermuda.

Thaao Dill, Inter-Island Communications

Chris Lodge, DeFontes Broadcasting Co.

Rick Richardson, Bermuda Broadcasting Co.

Tony McWilliam, Bermuda Sun

Bill Zuill, Royal Gazette