Kingston, Jamaica, 6 December 2007: Caribbean scholar Dame Bernice Lake, QC, was again called on to contribute to an important regional conference on a topic close to the hearts of all Anguillians: Press freedom and the prevention of corruption.

Dame Bernice Speaking at The Press Freedom seminar

Along with other notables, including the newly installed Prime Minister of Jamaica, Honorable Bruce Golding, and Emeritus Justice Hugh Small, Q.C., the high-profile seminar helped lay the foundation for an important commission charged with the responsibility of writing new legislation to remedy the inadequacies and limitations of press freedom in Jamaica and to address how these limitations negatively affect or shield corruption. Prime Minister Golding and others expressed the desire to see statute modifications for Jamaica and which might also serve as a regional model for press freedom for the dissemination of accurate, untainted information, regardless of draconian defamation precedents.

Dame Bernice’s remarks were instructive with respect to the serious limitations in the region regarding press freedoms and societal disadvantages in the dissemination of information at the seminar. These were followed by further elaboration during a live radio interview and other broad exposure during her stay. In fact, coverage of Dame Bernice was somewhat splashed across the media, crediting her with bringing needed expertise and wisdom to the seminar and subsequently, helping the legislative initiative by sharing her wisdom with the commission regarding this ambitious, however, tedious work. In part, she lectured that greater Press Freedom is necessary for good governance, and she traced the precedent-setting rulings that negatively impact contemporary Knowledge Societies and might even shield political, governmental and social corruption. Dame Bernice asserted that ordinary citizens must not be disadvantaged regarding the free flow of accurate information in any regard or respect, and politicians, bureaucrats, and the rich and powerful private citizens should not enjoy protection from defamation that impinges on the public right and need for unvarnished information.

For example, it might be noted that people with such platforms already have far more powerful dissemination privileges and “spin control” than ordinary citizens. Typically, this intrinsic influence is not bridled nor balanced by investigative reporting and freedom of information, irrespective of political and administrative pledges of transparency and openness. Bureaucrats may have various motives for hiding or massaging information and resist dissemination due to an intrinsic aversion to being held accountable to non-bureaucrats and ordinary citizens – even when they have voted for them in a democratic process. This subtlety may be illustrated by a radio announcer being ill-advised to join an anonymous talk show discussion that might denigrate or disparage a government official for fear of defamation and libel. Or, alternatively, if the local news reporters were to broadcast real-time images of school yard fights before procedural adjudication, the fighters might legitimately charge defamation and libel. Clearly, ideal governance and democracy requires absolute transparency, and the Jamaican commission hopes to address various matters in regard to Press Freedom toward removing these and other handicaps, such as the statutory fear of defamation charges lodged against the media or private citizens.

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