Island 102.9 FM’s News Director Jerome Sawyer said political pundits and advertisers continue to threaten his colleagues to report news favouring their political party or business.
Mr Sawyer joined former talk-show host Michael Pintard and playwright Phillip Burrows on ‘Sunday Conversations’ with Patty Roker yesterday.
“There are some forces at work in this country that have some reporters under the gun,” said Mr Sawyer. “I speak to my colleagues in the field all the time. They’re being called into meetings, threatened for attempting to do their jobs which is to go out and report news.”
“Your credibility really is all that you have to stand on,” he added. “I can tell you some stories where I was under the gun because of some personal convictions that I had and would not stand down. And, I was victimised for years because of it. I was asked to omit the truth.”
Mr Sawyer also said some major advertisers threaten to, and pull ads from a media establishment based on true statements made during newscasts.
However, he explained that in such a small community where the broadcast media market is increasingly becoming saturated, “Sometimes you have to consider the economics of what you’re doing. If you lose a huge account, can you still afford to keep staff onboard?” he asked.
By: MINDELL SMALL, Senior Reporter, The Nassau Guardian
