Bad vibe over ‘abuse claims’

Children’s Authority chairman Hanif Benjamin. -
Children’s Authority chairman Hanif Benjamin. -

“WHAT were you thinking? I mean, what were you trying to achieve?”

These were questions Children’s Authority (CA) chairman Hanif Benjamin asked yesterday of the radio station, which Benjamin identified as Vibe CT 105FM, over abuse claims aired “live” during a morning talk show which turned out to be false.

On Wednesday morning, during the station’s Mixed Nuts morning talk show, there was an interview with a woman named Grace who said she put her children in cages as a disciplinary measure. She said they would only be sent there when they misbehave, and she likened it to a naughty corner.

She also said that throughout her marriage, her husband would also put her in a cage when she did something he was not pleased with. This she believed made her a better person. Listeners were allowed to call in to share their views as they interacted with “Grace.”

Several told the interviewee she was being abused and was abusing her children, but she repeatedly denied these comments, saying her husband was a “good man” who provided for her and she did not need or want help.

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On Wednesday evening, the CA issued a press release calling on the media to conduct itself responsibly and practise sound ethical journalism. It said the authority received several calls to its hotline about the interview, but when the authority investigated, they later found out that it was fake.

“|The authority was informed by the media house that the interview with alleged child protection concerns was a ‘play to create awareness’, and was not actual events. The authority notes that at no time during the interview or after, did the presenters notify its listening audience that the interview was fake or an enactment.”

The CA described this as “salacious and irresponsible” and called on the Telecommunications Authority (TATT) and the Media Association (MATT) to launch a full investigation.

In a one-on-one interview yesterday morning, Benjamin said he heard the second half of the programme “live” while he was driving. He said he too believed it to be real and was left very disturbed. “I couldn’t leave my car until I heard this thing in its entirety. I even ended up reaching my appointment late, only to be told two hours later that this was a play.”

“We activated all our internal mechanisms. We got the emergency response team heading to her home, heading to the schools to see if the children were in school. We already contacted the head of the Police Service’s Child Protection Unit, who was already on his way to get warrants to search the home for these cages. I had people who were in high-powered meetings that had to come out and deal with this situation,” Benjamin said.

“I don’t know what would cause a radio station to do that. It begs the question, ‘how many other programmes you had that were not real?’ This thing is so much bigger than just the Children’s Authority. I would like to know what was their thinking, what they were trying to achieve. I’m just confused. Something is fundamentally wrong with that whole scenario,” Benjamin said.

MATT president, Dr Sheila Rampersad, told Newsday she had spoken with Benjamin, but the MATT’s executive has to discuss the possibility of issuing a public statement. She suggested the matter be taken up with the Publishers and Broadcasters Association (TTPBA) instead.

“I think in the news release they mistook MATT for some kind of regulatory authority, and we don’t have any regulatory power over any media house. We can’t tell media houses what to do. I suggested to him that he contact the media house, because media houses are accountable to their public,” Rampersad said.

Rampersad pointed out, “This is not a matter of journalism, because those people are not journalists – they are radio talk-show hosts. It really is about having the media house account and the authority to whom they (the CA) should be approaching is the TTPBA.”

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Vibe CT 105FM is one of Guardian Media Ltd’s (GML) seven radio stations. Newsday tried to contact GML’s (radio) commercial manager Brandon Khan and GML managing director Nicholas Sabga, but calls went unanswered and there were no replies to messages sent to both Khan and Sabga.

TATT CEO Cynthia Reddock-Downes told Newsday while the authority has not received an official complaint, it is nevertheless looking into the incident. TTPBA director Kiran Maharaj, contacted for a comment, said she had not heard about the issue.

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"Bad vibe over ‘abuse claims’"

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