Media must be free

THE FRAMERS of our republic saw fit to include, within the supreme law, freedom of the press. While the Constitution protects free expression as a fundamental right, the 1974 Hugh Wooding Commission believed it necessary to go further, given the historical and emotional importance of a free press in a society premised on rights.

And so, the law tells us: The media are no sacred cow; they do not exist in a framework above citizens. At the same time, a vigorous press goes hand in hand with an alert democracy, and its freedoms are not to be trifled with.

This is the context in which we today take note of recent developments in relation to the Government and One Caribbean Media (OCM), the parent company of the Trinidad Express Newspaper, CCN TV6 and i95.5 FM.

The State’s move to appoint two members to the OCM board – wisely rejected by shareholders at an annual general meeting on July 11 – is cause for disquiet. It brings into focus a cavalier, if not hostile, approach.

Since 2018, the National Investment Fund Holding Company Ltd (NIF) – whose sole shareholder is the Government – has owned 15,285,917 OCM shares. These shares were previously held by Clico, which was subject to a 2009 bailout.

Separately, Republic Bank Ltd (RBL) owns 2,993,209 OCM shares. RBL’s registered owner is Republic Financial Holdings Ltd, which is 26 per cent owned by NIF.

Classing its peculiar media holdings, which it has opted not to dispose of, like any ordinary entity, the ostensible reason given by the Government for its meddlesome position was one of preventing share-price dissipation.

“This move by no stretch of the imagination has anything to do with seeking to influence editorial policy,” said Minister in the Ministry of Finance Brian Manning in reply to Senate queries from Wade Mark earlier this month.

Mr Manning, whose father Patrick Manning, ironically, sparred with the press as prime minister, claimed nominal share fluctuations suggest it is “necessary for the largest shareholder in OCM to be present in corporate decision-making.”

However, the minister’s position pays little heed to the fact that the NIF share of OCM accounts for only two per cent of NIF’s overall portfolio. And that well-rated portfolio has been thriving, irrespective of any share fluctuations.

In fact, OCM recently recorded rising profitability and has consistently paid out dividends in the years 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023.

In any event, being “present in corporate decision-making” very strongly suggests operating in a way that does not necessarily firewall editorial independence at a moment when the State itself is already in the media business through entities like TTT.

That dangerous possibility, and its perception, are plainly what shareholders this week took heed of.

They know, unlike the Government, that a media organisation without independence is not one worth having.