And
what a new-age asset would it be to the inheritors of the empire that Mr Sabga built
on this archipelago of islands, out of the rubble and from the trauma of fleeing
as a child Syrian immigrant, with his family from the still resonating crises of
cultural accommodation in Syria, Palestine and the Middle East today!
That neither
our society, nor his amalgam of companies that include cement, block-building or
other factories have yet found ways of morphing into a commodity of high
commercial import these subliminal esoteric characteristics and experiences that
make up the fine qualities of personality and business acumen that define the
likes of Anthony N Sabga, suggests that we may be in our state of social degeneration
and recession for some time yet.
Would
it not be the crowning glory to a life of superlative successes to generate
from his experiences such elixir as a byproduct of all that he has done with
his life, to distill, process, package and replicate in mass
production within and across our range of social, cultural, economic and political institutions and
organisations?
Wouldn’t
that be an exceptional product of immense profitability by the inheritors of his empire, and social
capital of immeasurable value that can serve, like the epoxy, glue or cement (produced
by some of his companies) rather than the agents of abrasion (like those products
for household or industrial use also produced by some his companies)?
The
incapacity to reproduce his elixir, may well be his singular regret, as it could be our lament,
as we come to bury and to praise Anthony N Sabga with his death in this island on
World Press Freedom Day, March 3 2017, just short of a century since his birth
across the seas and continents in Syria.
I was
able to briefly partake of this elixir and an up-close-and-personal glimpse of
the manner of the man when Mr Sabga invited me to sit with him in a one-on-one,
tete-a-tete, which evolved into another and a few more sessions thereafter, to
discuss the future of journalism and media and of course some pertinent
elements of the media branch of his empire.
The insights
from these encounters immediately dispelled the image of the megalomaniacal
monster that rears its ominous shadow whenever his name surfaces in the same
breath as considerations on media freedom. As much as that may jar at the widely-held
notions of the name ‘Sabga’ in the context of ‘media’, that’s my story and I am
sticking to it, though others may hold alternative facts to dispute such a claim in a media world that has moved beyond "Lies, Half Truths and Innuendos" to its own 'post-truths.'
The
winds of change were already blowing around conventional media. The acute
businessman may have already whiffed the waning of the glory days of
conventional media, which the local media world was interpreting as rejection
of the broadsheet. But misinterpreting the value of form over content has been
the bane of media management, perhaps everywhere.
This
at a time when the media world on the universal scale as much as in a small
island is no less in flux than almost every one of the other traditional
pillars of society, and wrangling with the age-old tensions between profit
motive and that of media freedoms from encumbrances that weigh down its
functions as an agent of social edification and enlightenment.
Mr Sabga invites and graciously welcomes me to his office and offers me my choice of tea,
which I accept.
“I do
not interfere in the operations,” he blurts out as we settle into conversation.
I took that as a reference to the newspaper and radio stations that form the
media element of his conglomerate. I am surprised for I had said nothing to
provoke or evoke such a declaration, but I could sense that he understood it is
the most incisive wound on his brand, inflicted in no small measure by this
entity that should be the flag bearer of branding his empire and his entrepreneurship.
He is
setting the stage.
Apart
from the occasional corporate Christmas lunch or dinner I have never had cause
to interface with the emperor, and all such albeit brief encounters were
cordial.
For
my own part, in my years of association with the media entities under his
entrepreneurship, I experienced no direct interface nor ‘interference’ from him
in relation to my editorial duties. Whether he wielded his influence and power through
the given channels of his management structure is only a matter of speculation,
as I treated such pressures as par for the course and in the manner any editor
focused on the mandate for generating credible journalistic content would treat
with undue attempts at editorial interference, without the cry of ‘havoc’, pounding
on the gong and alerting the town crier that might have been the modus operandi
of others similarly placed.
At
our tetes-a-tetes, he is keen on conveying that money is no problem before
sharing his eagerness to explore what may be done to enhance journalism and
indeed this branch of the empire.
Before
him is a proposal from the Guardian Board - a plan for some new directions for
the media entity and he seems to want to hear my opinion and share some of his
own ideas on the same.
Occupational
hazards
I am
the sitting editor of the Sunday Guardian, newly celebrated as the only sitting
journalist to have completed a PhD in the highly-stressed environment and daily
grind of newspaper production – celebrated by many, except, it seems, the
powers that be, whom, I was told, spent an inordinate amount of time
discussing where could I have gotten the time or energies to pursue a doctorate
while producing the Sunday paper and its aligned publications and its related
duties. Their concern was not how this may be harnessed by the organization for
advantage of the society being served, but the potential impact such
aspirations to higher education might have in raising the bar for other journalists
who may wish to so aspire. Yes, they were concerned, it seems, not jubilant,
that there would be implications on expectations – i.e. for example, higher
salaries - that will negatively impact their profit line. The idea of more journalists reaching for higher education and lifting the society's expectations of itself can surely put a damper on any thoughts of celebration!
I
completed the doctorate thesis only because of the pile of research on the
topic I had been accumulating simply out of personal knowledge quest into the
history of journalism and literature that was to that time unexplored
territory. Perhaps it seemed as no easy feat in a work environment which pays
little heed to research, nor to education nor development of its human resources.
As editor of the Sunday Guardian,
with limited staff and resources, there were many days in which I was sourcing and writing
the lead and other story on virtually every page while performing other administrative, management and editorial functions of the office, while pursing studies.
It is
well known that the high-stressed environment of journalism is one that drives its functionaries to not to higher learning, but to drink and other escapades. Pancho’s bar just
next door to the Guardian offices has become an establishment of historic note
in its service to journalism in this regard and is deserving of an award for its
role in stress relief. Studies have shown that journalists are among the most
at risk for such stress-relief options, among others. That one would seek to
redirect such stress into some other pursuit as education must be a baffling to
the corporate mind.
Believe
it or not, this position of the powers would be patiently explained to me as a
rational and pragmatic consideration, in its view, rather than consideration of how the potential ricochet effect of a better-educated human resource might
benefit the readership and society being served.
I pointed
out that the company was investing heavily in new equipment to facilitate
production of its proposed tabloid – perhaps influenced by Mr Sabga’s own entry
into the business of media through selling printing presses and training for
their uses across the Caribbean. That helped expand the regional
printing industry, elements of which I map in the research contained in my book
Finding A Place, which is drawn from
my doctoral thesis.
While
the powers huffed and puffed discontent, across town the managing editor of a
rival newspaper was weekly waving copies of our Sunday edition as examples of
attention-gripping content in news and feature, page after page.
The
constant need to assert the newspaper as a product that is judged not on its advertising
but by the articles it contains and the battle for editorial space, not to
mention the challenge of finding the mental and emotional space required to deliver quality journalism in amidst the constant tug-of-war takes its
toll. These are not among the media industry's list of
occupational health and safety hazards, nor are their regulations of employers' humanistic handling of the same. That and the
eternal wrangle for appreciation of the need to balance the profit motive and the public expectation of media as an
influence on the minds of men and women and agent of acculturation, social
condition, social transformation and social change, makes it among the most challenges of professions.
Content-driven
journalism seemed to the controlling powers an old concept of journalism at
death’s door, yet it is the axis of the new media environment fully accourant
with how content drives advertising, well-proven by the likes of #Google and #Facebook
and #Twitter and #Instagram and #Snapchat and the range of new and trending media – elements of
outreach success with which our environment is still struggling to come to
grips.
It
was largely to allow myself flexibility and to avoid the constant wrangling for
time between administration and studies I had for the most parts, opted to
freelance so as to pursue my studies, though it meant foregoing the stability
of a salary and medical or other benefits and usually resulted in putting in
more hours than most just to meet basic expenses. I was handed an ultimatum that
with proposed cuts in freelance budget, to accept a staff position, or else. It would
confine me to the editor’s hat, seat and office, though I had little aspiration
or ambition or inclination to hold office as has been my modus operandi.
And some
months later, here I am, discussing the future of the media business with the
emperor of Caribbean media himself.
Sipping
tea and pouring over the Board’s proposal, Mr Sabga was anything but emperor-like
in his humble demeanour and eager excitement to explore what is before him and
the way forward.
There
are elements in the Board’s proposal that disturbs his pragmatism, as they do
mine, on which he invited my opinion, attentively. The discussions might have
gripped him because he spent more than his allocated time, and I was invited
back to continue those discussions, and then invited back again. It was by this I gathered
that Mr Sabga is also genuinely pained at the brand that wears him – that is
perceptions of his interference in the editorial operations of the newspaper. He exhibited a keen interest in creating the necessary bridges to transport his
vision for change into institutional mechanisms and actions.
There
are elements in the Board’s proposal that disturbs his pragmatism, as they do
mine, on which he invited my opinion, attentively. The discussions might have
gripped him because he spent more than his allocated time, and I was invited
back to continue those discussions, and then invited back again. It was by this I gathered
that Mr Sabga is also genuinely pained at the brand that wears him – that is
perceptions of his interference in the editorial operations of the newspaper. He exhibited a keen interest in creating the necessary bridges to transport his
vision for change into institutional mechanisms and actions.
It is
just before the Guardian’s
transitioning from a broadsheet into a tabloid sized publication. In fact,
what’s before him and the reason he invited me to discuss with him is what
became the interim measure – the Board’s decision to establish a new
tabloid-sized newspaper and considerations of its management. The new newspaper
would come to be known in all of its short-lived few months as The
Wire and would function as the since defunct Evening News which was an
earlier daily publication of The Guardian that captured unfolding
news of the day and was released by early afternoon to coexist with the
broadsheet. There was only one other tabloid daily at the time.
Its
rationale seems to be to create a rival for the two tabloid-sized competitors,
while insulating the core traditional readers of the broadsheet Guardian. As I pointed out what I
thought was the obvious as he too was already foreseeing a fourth newspaper as
competition - to, not just the daily tabloids that were already the Guardian’s main competitors, but as a
potential competitor to the Guardian itself.
The
company was investing heavily in new equipment and office infrastructure to facilitate production of its
proposed tabloid. I pointed out the continuing imbalance in the investment in
equipment and building structures rather than human resources and the need for
similar investment in attracting and upgrading the skills of those producing
the news and actions that may improve the level of working morale in the
company that had been trending downward for some time. I suggested some
similar investments to attract and upgrade the skills of those producing the
news.
His thoughts on a school of journalism surfaced and we discussed the challenges of education, as I pointed out the limitations of journalists’ access to education opportunities, the absence of a friendly environment that allow time to pursue education as well as the potential locally relevant curriculum.
His thoughts on a school of journalism surfaced and we discussed the challenges of education, as I pointed out the limitations of journalists’ access to education opportunities, the absence of a friendly environment that allow time to pursue education as well as the potential locally relevant curriculum.
The
discussion turned to my own relentless preoccupation, as it seems was also one
of his - nature of news and the role of the media as an agent of change and
transformation and in shaping the social, economic and political culture and
climate. It is then almost two decades since my entry into journalism, at the Guardian, where I cut my journalistic tooth, so to speak. It is just
about a decade since - for reasons that would be explored later - I had joined
the team that started what would become its competitor, Newsday.
Newsday came on the scene amidst public
outcry about increasing sensationalism and highly negative nature of the news
of the day, imbalance in reporting, lack of critical interrogation and investigation and
its resulting impact on habits and behaviours and had among its intentions as the
third daily, good news. I was labelled its Good News Reporter, with the first
lead story, ‘5000 Lives Saved’ (by
the suicide hotline – the high levels of suicide attempts being a reflection of
the mental state of the society) and focused on uplifting features that focused
on social achievements and accomplishments of people and institutions in every
sphere. Such intention was good in itself, but in a twist to the old adage that
‘no news is good news’, the Newsday
Board’s decision that ‘good news is no news’ a few months later, ensured that Newsday’s good news endeavors would be
as short-lived as The Wire’s run
later would be – albeit The Wire
touted no such pretensions to piety.
Instead
of good news, Newsday devoted itself
to establishing a brand as the number one town crier on crime, making mimics of
the others trying to catch up with its overnight success, including the Guardian. Many of the founding editorial
entities of Newsday were retired or former employees of the Guardian, including the now deceased
Therese Mills, and my early editor John Babb who invited me to join the start-up team, but more
on that later.
Somewhere
in the decade between the founding of The
Wire which is now the focus of attention of Mr Sabga, and the founding of Newsday, is the spurt that saw, also
to be shortlived, and now defunct, the birth and demise of the Independent newspaper,
built on the sceptre or specter – deciding on which side of social truth one
sits – of Mr Sabga brandishing a newspaper to some of the editorial team at the
Guardian, their exit, and retaliation with production of this short-lived
Independent.
Within,
there is another interlude of huff and puff over the Green Paper on Media Reform,
piloted by the then Government that drew the ire of the journalistic community,
fed by some elements not too friendly to the administration, in a manner that
is yet to be replicated despite now the piloting of several pieces of
legislation with pernicious implications to the privacy and rights and freedoms
of not only journalists, but all citizens in the context of new media, the internet, and new trends in media online media and citizen journalism over which one hears little more than a whimper – if any stirrings at all.
I
make no apologies for so describing what many of my colleagues may cite as pivotal
to their career achievements in the field. These episodes may be mere footnotes
to the history of media in Trinidad and Tobago and the Caribbean to the longest
surviving media entity, in its centenary year. Huff and puff it was as the brief spurts resulted in little, if any constructive long term solutions and actions that would have
stabilised the media environment and put it on firmer footing to confront the much larger impending challenges, being experienced today. Of course, without a consistently discerning and objective media, the general undercurrents, prejudices and entanglements
of the society of the day coloured many of the issues and steered it in the
directions it took. Where critique is absorbed by thin skins and fatter egos as synonymous with criticism, I had boldly identified some of these in an analysis and critique of the Green
Paper on Media Reform, partly represented in the article entitled ‘Of Lies, Half Truths and Innuendos’ (the title
is drawn from the criticism of the media by the Prime Minister of the Day,
Basdeo Panday; that is two decades before the emergence of Trumpian 'post truths'):
“Nowhere
in the Green Paper is there an holistic attempt to address that relationship
between the power centres” (identified in the Green Paper as government, the
media and the law - visibly absent: corporate power). The elephant in the room remains – now as
then - many of the core issues that hinge on the nature of our small island and
its politics, cultural, social and corporate underpinnings, manoeuverings by
perceived power centres – that is historic mistrust, prejudice, and the
powerlessness of those perceived power centres .
A society
that can only interpret itself in black and white, we and them, can hardly
fathom the diverse shades of greys and other rainbow tones in its social
relations, interactions and reactions, nor does it possess the courage to delve
into or treat with scrutiny, nor engage in self-scrutiny, and address critiques of the impulses that
motivate its actions and reactions to change.
More
insistent to me has been the lack of - ironically even within the media, and such other public institutions of education and ideas exchange - maturity in the culture of engagement
and lack of mechanisms for “on-going debates and discussions” identified in the
critique that may cultivate a culture of respect for and appreciation of the
value of contestations of diverse ideas and opinions as essential and foundational to a
creative and visionary democracy. The inability of not just the media, but any
of our institutions to solidify social and other upheavals into policy,
institutional frames, and have such learnings filter into practice whether in
education, law, media, politics or otherwise, was my concern then as it has
been in promoting my branching out of the confines of conventional media to working to craft international global policy on the same, to here,
penning this.
“The
alternative (to such mechanisms of strengthened democracy) – the imposition of
zip-lipped regulations – threaten to churn up mistrusts, antagonisms and
betrayals, even among seemingly close friends and those trusted as protectors,”
my assessment then read.
That
remains the elephant in the room as is the role of media as a credible voice of
the people – not just as the voice of the corporate or the
political-flavor-of-the-day, interests or ethics, in the way that the State
positions its power appropriated by politicians to their convenience (that is
to make or break laws).
Though
certainly aware of how some of the
media huffs and puffs issues that
surface seem supremely significant to the players and actors in the moment, in
the longer view of history and social contexts, many become and is treated here
as merely anecdotal because that becomes the big picture when one considers the longer time frame of history - that I began exploring in my dissertation
and first book Finding a Place, that places the growth and development of
journalism as pivotal to social, political, cultural and literary adaptation
and evolution and the formation of a society out of diverse elements; a society that is defined by its
small island nature and multicultural character.
In
this context, even the Guardian’s and
Mr Sabga’s near centenary (about half a century of which involved his exploits
in media) may seem also just an interlude, if more than a chapter – but sadly,
one in which there seem to be little interest for self-reflection and
examination as a means of charting a course forward.
For
society and fraternity that places little value on its history or knowledge of
its history – and perhaps considers reflections like these little more that
self-indulgent ramblings - I would hesitate to say that the rest is history as
so little of even that contemporary history is known to core actors, much less have any of it been
examined, objectively.
Mr
Sabga emerged from the incidents surrounding threats to media freedom
considerably scarred, which his opening statement to me implied, or rather his
brand was scarred. Those who know him perhaps recognise the veracity of this
introspection, as he displayed significant concern at the state of the society
and the potential role of media and his empire to carve a part through it,
though as one of the captains of industry and as he is identified and as a ‘pillar’
in the society, there remain sufficient grounds for skepticism.
And that provides evidence for the central dilemma and my preoccupation here with the underlying sense of disempowerment - even by those within the power centres - or lack of creativity in ‘harnessing the elixir’ to bridge the gaps between vision and action and to establish and fuel and ensure longevity to institutions, mechanisms and programmes for sustainable social transformation.
And that provides evidence for the central dilemma and my preoccupation here with the underlying sense of disempowerment - even by those within the power centres - or lack of creativity in ‘harnessing the elixir’ to bridge the gaps between vision and action and to establish and fuel and ensure longevity to institutions, mechanisms and programmes for sustainable social transformation.
Part
of the social frustration of vision-fulfillment may be the inability to move beyond ideas harvesting - in the way this blog is combed by incognito readers; Part is also the inability to cull and provide necessary support to those executives who can transform vision into action. Or perhaps it is the ingrained
social and cultural practices and conditioning that facilitate those who land
such positions to effect change are not the ones equipped to effectively do so. They are placed in decision making positions not so much on the basis of merit but on those other factors that
make decision-making in a small island almost pathologically incestuous in many
senses of the word – the entangled web of familial, social and political and religious
and cultural allegiances and the circles and clubs that bind
even the most well-meaning of visionaries into a web of inaction and inertia and forces the less society to belief that the only way change may be effected is through violence and violent or revolutionary reaction.
The
sessions with Mr Sabga were informal talks, and not geared to any conclusive
decision making, it seems – as many of our most incisive social interrogations seem to
be, testimony to my observation of the lack of streamlined mechanism to harness
vision and ideas to fulfill goals and objectives.
What
ensued would be twists and turns in social engineering on which may be hinged
some of the contemporary social catastrophes we now face.
When
the history is read on the path taken, as irrational as its
rationale seemed to be, and as anticipated, The
Wire was birthed and expired, for the reasons that were also anticipated, and
at considerable costs and disruptions that may have been better directed to the improvements
for the profession. Does it have resonance of the culture of public sector spending and accountability as well? Culture, whether in private or public or NGO or media or academic sectors in all pervasive and invasive The
lifespan of The Wire was a little
more than the time it takes to say Anthony Norman Sabga.
No elements of the society, nor the corporate world, nor the media, nor journalism seems to have
profited or benefited from the degree of energies and creativity expended in
this breath of ‘winds of change.’
And we
continue to reap the whirlwind.
The
newspaper and its expanding spheres into radio and later television continue to
suffer from deficiencies in quality journalism and adequate staff motivated and
contented to pursue the profession for its esoteric value rather than exoteric
trappings, whose only form of leverage is the mad merry-go-round of negotiating minutely higher salaries or perks by a continuous hop skip and jump from one media
entity to the other, itself contributing to the state of flux, and ricocheting
the unraveling of the social fabric in ways that we never care to make
connections – For example, with the influx of the new grasshopper-type mentality,
the kind of early environment of community and loyalties on which I had been
nurtured in my early days at the Guardian
was already disintegrating.
One
doesn’t need a crystal ball - which some say my krystal bowl – to recognize that Mr Sabga’s
vision for the proposed school for journalism which we discussed then, like the
aspiration for the media entities in his empire, may take on form and
structure, but may head into to a similar dead end when it comes to meeting anticipated goals and
objectives with resulting minimal social impact or realization of its aspirant’s
intentions, if conducted in the current mindset, conditions, climate and
culture which drives our social actions interactions and reactions and that pervade our social institutions, especially the ones in which it is lodged.
Realizing this vision for social transformation will not materialize on its own. It must come
from harnessing the vision, passion and a drive from within our social,
economic and political sectors, and distilling and distributing it (much like
the furniture and appliances Mr Sabga so distributed that set him on his path
to successful business endeavours).
That
is the challenge to the inheritors of his empire, and the benchmark on which the
uses of his success and legacy will be assessed.
RSVPs
and Genuine Regrets
As an
epilogue, rather than go the merry go round of media management, I thrust out
on my own quest to learn and to build social capital through other social
mechanisms – education and empowerment for which the understanding of media,
engagement and outreach is also pivotal.
I
heard of occasions in which Mr Sabga – who is said to have scrutinised and read
every paper from cover to cover - with his own insights, comparing them to
competitors - has chuckled with delight at my audacious writings that take to
task leaders and office holders while leading elements in the society reeled
and grasped and pressured the powers to take action – which they tried.
It becomes more than a business culture that assess achievement on the basis of profit line, or a lack of understand of media in its role to shape a social conscience.
It becomes more than a business culture that assess achievement on the basis of profit line, or a lack of understand of media in its role to shape a social conscience.
It is
the shortsightedness of the value of the intangible and elusive elixirs of
human fulfillment.
I
encountered Mr Sabga, some years later, walking through the halls of another of
his entities while addressing an insurance matter. He waves me over with the
hug of a long lost friend and declares heartily:
‘Eh Eh, Kris, you abandon me’. I greeted and hugged him, laughing that ‘I haven’t abandoned you. I think it is the other way around’. He promises an 'RSVP'.
‘Eh Eh, Kris, you abandon me’. I greeted and hugged him, laughing that ‘I haven’t abandoned you. I think it is the other way around’. He promises an 'RSVP'.
I saw him a couple years later, still alert and
still warm and cordial in his greeting, but less active.
There is other precedent too, I would learn, to these interludes
with Mr Sabga. One relates to the now deceased Therese Mills, whom I had
succeeded as Editor of the Sunday
Guardian, and whom I had joined in starting Newsday. In her Memoirs -
to which I am privy having encouraged her in our days at Newsday to write it, but which the public may never see given the
current state of litigious contention among her relatives,
she reminisces on an invitation to coffee by Mr
Sabga following what she describes as being somewhat unceremonious replaced as Editor in Chief by the then powers, and similar unceremonious
dismissal of the previous Editor-in Chief Mr Lenn Chongsing (a yet different set of powers)
whom she replaced and the overlooking of the long-serving Mr Carl Jacobs. These were my early mentors and the model and pattern of treatment guided my decisions on my my future. Therese claims to have enjoyed a long and very pleasant relationship based on mutual respect with Mr Sabga. “There was genuine regret in his voice,” she states of his invitation to her to have coffee following her replacement, again intimating that he had no prior knowledge of those decisions and actions.
While
the man is mourned; we continue to mourn the deteriorating state of a democracy
in which the weaknesses in media is no small measure a contributor, as are the disintegration of corporate, education, judicial and legal and political value systems, fraying at
the ends and collapsing at the centre, yet all perceived to be the power centres of our social being and
body politic in a spiraling condition of dispossession within a culture of powerlessness.
For
they have sown the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind: it hath no stalk:
the bud shall yield no meal: if so be it yield, the strangers shall swallow it
up.
Harvesting the whirlwind. It may well remain the status quo until we establish social frameworks on a platform for equity that promote an environment of respect, appreciation and value of knowledge and experiences, grow mechanisms for social discourse - however contentious they may be so - as to provide for changing the culture of business, corporate practice, finance management, social engagement and discourse, politics, policy and legislation making and implementation, education and transmission that can form the bridge between vision and action for implementation of those intangible profits that a society can show as hallmarks of its progress.
In
essence, the reach remains the cultivation of value for the intangible and
elusive elixirs that are the ultimate hallmark of human fulfillment. Ah, but a man's reach should exceed his grasp, Or what's a heaven for? RIP Dr Anthony N Sabga.
But
do not let us quarrel any more…
The
sudden blood of these men! at a word—
Praise
them, it boils, or blame them, it boils too.
I,
painting from myself and to myself,
Know
what I do, am unmoved by men's blame
Or
their praise either. Somebody remarks
Morello's
outline there is wrongly traced,
His
hue mistaken; what of that? or else,
Rightly
traced and well ordered; what of that?
Speak
as they please, what does the mountain care?
Ah, but a man's reach should exceed his
grasp,
Or what's a heaven for? (Robert Browning, Andrea
del Sarto)
World Press Freedom
Day 2017 as significant to introspection of the state and status of the media
and freedom of expression, that is also the day of the passing of business
magnate and media mogul Anthony N Sabga, prompts this introspection on a
century of journalism, and some intense discussions with Mr Sabga and others on
the role, responsibilities, functions and future of media in our society and
the media dimension of the ANSA McAl Group, the conglomerate he founded by
amalgamating three of the countries most established business entities.
Dr
Kris Rampersad is an independent journalist, author and sustainable development
educator and facilitator, of no fixed place of abode. Find more: Facebook: Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram
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Tribute-to-literary-mentorPat-bishops-last-struggle-killingsThem-red-house-bonesA-tale-of-two-skeletonsArresting-tears-for-us-and-haytian-globeLagahoo-tribute-to-independent-spiritsThe-human-face-of-constitutional-reformThe-ghost-of journalism pastOverCopulation - The Archbishop The Priest The Politician & The JournalistAsk About LiTTscapes,Ask about LiTTours and LiTTributesDiplomats get stimulating LiTTour
Murder She Wrote: Death Written in Stone in Dana Seetahal Assassination
Creating Centres of Peace in Trinidad and Tobago
The Price of Independence:#DanaSeetahalAssassination
Conceive. Achieve. Believe
Demokrissy: Wave a flag for a party rag...Choosing the Emperor's ...
Oct 20, 2013 Choosing the Emperor's New Troops. The dilemma of choice. Voting is supposed to be an exercise in thoughtful, studied choice. Local government is the foundation for good governance so even if one wants to reform the ... http://kris-rampersad.blogspot.com/
Old Casked Rum: The Emperor's New Tools#1 - Demokrissy - Blogger
Apr 07, 2013 Old Casked Rum: The Emperor's New Tools#1 - Towards Constitutional Reform in T&T. So we've had the rounds of consultations on Constitutional Reform? Are we any wiser? Do we have a sense of direction that will drive ...http://kris-rampersad.blogspot.com/
Demokrissy: Valuing Carnival The Emperor's New Tools#2
Apr 30, 2013 Valuing Carnival The Emperor's New Tools#2....http://kris-rampersad.blogspot.com/
See Also:
Demokrissy: Winds of Political Change - Dawn of T&T's Arab Spring
Jul 30, 2013 Wherever these breezes have passed, they have left in their wake wide ranging social and political changes: one the one hand toppling long time leaders with rising decibels from previously suppressed peoples demanding a ...http://kris-rampersad.blogspot.com/
Demokrissy: Reform, Conform, Perform or None of the Above cross ...
Oct 25, 2013 Some 50 percent did not vote. The local government elections results lends further proof of the discussion began in Clash of Political Cultures: Cultural Diversity and Minority Politics in Trinidad and Tobago in Through The ...http://kris-rampersad.blogspot.com/
Demokrissy: Sounds of a party - a political party
Oct 14, 2013 They are announcing some political meeting or the other; and begging for my vote, and meh road still aint fix though I hear all parts getting box drains and thing, so I vex. So peeps, you know I am a sceptic so help me decide. http://kris-rampersad.blogspot.com/
Demokrissy: T&T Constitution the culprit | The Trinidad Guardian
Jun 15, 2010 T&T Constitution the culprit | The Trinidad Guardian · T&T Constitution the culprit | The Trinidad Guardian. Posted by Kris Rampersad at 8:20 AM · Email ThisBlogThis!Share to TwitterShare to Facebook ...http://kris-rampersad.blogspot.com/
Related:
Demokrissy: To vote, just how we party … Towards culturally ...
Apr 30, 2010 'How we vote is not how we party.' At 'all inclusive' fetes and other forums, we nod in inebriated wisdom to calypsonian David Rudder's elucidation of the paradoxical political vs. social realities of Trinidad and Tobago. http://kris-rampersad.blogspot.com/
Demokrissy: DEADLOCK: Sign of things to come
Oct 29, 2013 An indication that unless we devise innovative ways to address representation of our diversity, we will find ourselves in various forms of deadlock at the polls that throw us into a spiral of political tug of war albeit with not just ...http://kris-rampersad.blogspot.com/
Demokrissy: The human face of constitutional reform
Oct 16, 2013 Sheilah was clearly and sharply articulating the deficiencies in governmesaw her: a tinymite elderly woman, gracefully wrinkled, deeply over with concerns about political and institutional stagnation but brimming over with ... http://kris-rampersad.blogspot.com/
Demokrissy: Trini politics is d best
Oct 21, 2013 Ain't Trini politics d BEST! Nobody fighting because they lose. All parties claiming victory, all voting citizens won! That's what make we Carnival d best street party in the world. Everyone are winners because we all like ...http://kris-rampersad.blogspot.com/
New Media, New Civil Society, and Politics in a New Age - Demokrissy
Jan 09, 2012 New Media, New Civil Society, and Politics in a New Age | The Communication Initiative Network. New Media, New Civil Society, and Politics in a New Age | The Communication Initiative Network. Posted by Kris Rampersad ...http://kris-rampersad.blogspot.com/
Demokrissy: T&T politics: A new direction? - Caribbean360 Oct 01, 2010 http://kris-rampersad.blogspot.com/
Oct 20, 2013 Choosing the Emperor's New Troops. The dilemma of choice. Voting is supposed to be an exercise in thoughtful, studied choice. Local government is the foundation for good governance so even if one wants to reform the ... http://kris-rampersad.blogspot.com/
Old Casked Rum: The Emperor's New Tools#1 - Demokrissy - Blogger
Apr 07, 2013 Old Casked Rum: The Emperor's New Tools#1 - Towards Constitutional Reform in T&T. So we've had the rounds of consultations on Constitutional Reform? Are we any wiser? Do we have a sense of direction that will drive ...http://kris-rampersad.blogspot.com/
Demokrissy: Valuing Carnival The Emperor's New Tools#2
Apr 30, 2013 Valuing Carnival The Emperor's New Tools#2....http://kris-rampersad.blogspot.com/
See Also:
Demokrissy: Winds of Political Change - Dawn of T&T's Arab Spring
Jul 30, 2013 Wherever these breezes have passed, they have left in their wake wide ranging social and political changes: one the one hand toppling long time leaders with rising decibels from previously suppressed peoples demanding a ...http://kris-rampersad.blogspot.com/
Demokrissy: Reform, Conform, Perform or None of the Above cross ...
Oct 25, 2013 Some 50 percent did not vote. The local government elections results lends further proof of the discussion began in Clash of Political Cultures: Cultural Diversity and Minority Politics in Trinidad and Tobago in Through The ...http://kris-rampersad.blogspot.com/
Demokrissy: Sounds of a party - a political party
Oct 14, 2013 They are announcing some political meeting or the other; and begging for my vote, and meh road still aint fix though I hear all parts getting box drains and thing, so I vex. So peeps, you know I am a sceptic so help me decide. http://kris-rampersad.blogspot.com/
Demokrissy: T&T Constitution the culprit | The Trinidad Guardian
Jun 15, 2010 T&T Constitution the culprit | The Trinidad Guardian · T&T Constitution the culprit | The Trinidad Guardian. Posted by Kris Rampersad at 8:20 AM · Email ThisBlogThis!Share to TwitterShare to Facebook ...http://kris-rampersad.blogspot.com/
Related:
Demokrissy: To vote, just how we party … Towards culturally ...
Apr 30, 2010 'How we vote is not how we party.' At 'all inclusive' fetes and other forums, we nod in inebriated wisdom to calypsonian David Rudder's elucidation of the paradoxical political vs. social realities of Trinidad and Tobago. http://kris-rampersad.blogspot.com/
Demokrissy: DEADLOCK: Sign of things to come
Oct 29, 2013 An indication that unless we devise innovative ways to address representation of our diversity, we will find ourselves in various forms of deadlock at the polls that throw us into a spiral of political tug of war albeit with not just ...http://kris-rampersad.blogspot.com/
Demokrissy: The human face of constitutional reform
Oct 16, 2013 Sheilah was clearly and sharply articulating the deficiencies in governmesaw her: a tinymite elderly woman, gracefully wrinkled, deeply over with concerns about political and institutional stagnation but brimming over with ... http://kris-rampersad.blogspot.com/
Demokrissy: Trini politics is d best
Oct 21, 2013 Ain't Trini politics d BEST! Nobody fighting because they lose. All parties claiming victory, all voting citizens won! That's what make we Carnival d best street party in the world. Everyone are winners because we all like ...http://kris-rampersad.blogspot.com/
New Media, New Civil Society, and Politics in a New Age - Demokrissy
Jan 09, 2012 New Media, New Civil Society, and Politics in a New Age | The Communication Initiative Network. New Media, New Civil Society, and Politics in a New Age | The Communication Initiative Network. Posted by Kris Rampersad ...http://kris-rampersad.blogspot.com/
Demokrissy: T&T politics: A new direction? - Caribbean360 Oct 01, 2010 http://kris-rampersad.blogspot.com/
Others:
Apr 07, 2013
Old Casked Rum: The Emperor's New Tools#1 - Towards Constitutional Reform in T&T. So we've had the rounds of consultations on Constitutional Reform? Are we any wiser? Do we have a sense of direction that will drive ...
http://kris-rampersad.blogspot.com/
Apr 30, 2013
Valuing Carnival The Emperor's New Tools#2.
http://kris-rampersad.blogspot.com/
Oct 20, 2013
Choosing the Emperor's New Troops. The dilemma of choice. Voting is supposed to be an ... Old Casked Rum: The Emperor's New Tools#1 - Towards Constitutional Reform in T&T. Posted by Kris Rampersad at 10:36 AM ...
http://kris-rampersad.blogspot.com/
Feb 26, 2014
This Demokrissy series, The Emperor's New Tools, continues and builds on the analysis of evolution in our governance, begun in the introduction to my book, Through the Political Glass Ceiling (2010): The Clash of Political ...
http://kris-rampersad.blogspot.com/
Feb 10, 2014
This Demokrissy series, The Emperor's New Tools, continues and builds on the analysis of evolution in our governance, begun in the introduction to my book, Through the Political Glass Ceiling (2010): The Clash of Political ...
http://kris-rampersad.blogspot.com/
Apr 22, 2014
It is placing increasing pressure for erasure of barriers of geography, age, ethnicity, gender, cultures and other sectoral interests, and in utilising the tools placed at our disposal to access our accumulate knowledge and technologies towards eroding these superficial barriers. In this context, we believe that the work of UNESCO remains significant and relevant and that UNESCO is indeed the institution best positioned to consolidate the ..... The Emperor's New Tools ...
http://kris-rampersad.blogspot.com/
Jun 15, 2010
The Emperor's New Tools. Loading... AddThis. Bookmark and Share. Loading... Follow by Email. About Me. My Photo · Kris Rampersad. Media, Cultural and Literary Consultant, Facilitator, Educator and Practitioner. View my ...
http://kris-rampersad.blogspot.com/
Related Links: LiTTscapes at Greeenpeace: http://kris-rampersad.blogspot.com/2014/05/littscapes-at-greenpeace.htmlrio-claro-through-kristal-bowl-sids
The Walcott Files
A LiTTribute at UNESCO Inscription by UNESCO of Poems
Small only in Size UNESCO Executive Board told
World in a Fishbowl
Death of Knowledge & social Conscience
A Musical Heritage walk UNESCO Creative Cities
Breezes-of-tropical-arab-spring
In-war-and-peace-from-hiroshima-to-home.html
A-path-out-of-mayhem-and-murder
Turning-our-dreams-to-shame-rip-asami
Focus-resources on real crime
jus-call-me-cooligan
The world-in-fishbowlThe-other-magnificent-seven
Tribute-to-literary-mentorPat-bishops-last-struggle-killingsThem-red-house-bonesA-tale-of-two-skeletonsArresting-tears-for-us-and-haytian-globeLagahoo-tribute-to-independent-spiritsThe-human-face-of-constitutional-reformThe-ghost-of journalism pastOverCopulation - The Archbishop The Priest The Politician & The JournalistAsk About LiTTscapes,Ask about LiTTours and LiTTributesDiplomats get stimulating LiTTour
Murder She Wrote: Death Written in Stone in Dana Seetahal Assassination
Creating Centres of Peace in Trinidad and Tobago
The Price of Independence:#DanaSeetahalAssassination
Conceive. Achieve. Believe
Demokrissy: Wave a flag for a party rag...Choosing the Emperor's ...
Oct 20, 2013 Choosing the Emperor's New Troops. The dilemma of choice. Voting is supposed to be an exercise in thoughtful, studied choice. Local government is the foundation for good governance so even if one wants to reform the ... http://kris-rampersad.blogspot.com/
Old Casked Rum: The Emperor's New Tools#1 - Demokrissy - Blogger
Apr 07, 2013 Old Casked Rum: The Emperor's New Tools#1 - Towards Constitutional Reform in T&T. So we've had the rounds of consultations on Constitutional Reform? Are we any wiser? Do we have a sense of direction that will drive ...http://kris-rampersad.blogspot.com/
Demokrissy: Valuing Carnival The Emperor's New Tools#2
Apr 30, 2013 Valuing Carnival The Emperor's New Tools#2....http://kris-rampersad.blogspot.com/
See Also:
Demokrissy: Winds of Political Change - Dawn of T&T's Arab Spring
Jul 30, 2013 Wherever these breezes have passed, they have left in their wake wide ranging social and political changes: one the one hand toppling long time leaders with rising decibels from previously suppressed peoples demanding a ...http://kris-rampersad.blogspot.com/
Demokrissy: Reform, Conform, Perform or None of the Above cross ...
Oct 25, 2013 Some 50 percent did not vote. The local government elections results lends further proof of the discussion began in Clash of Political Cultures: Cultural Diversity and Minority Politics in Trinidad and Tobago in Through The ...http://kris-rampersad.blogspot.com/
Demokrissy: Sounds of a party - a political party
Oct 14, 2013 They are announcing some political meeting or the other; and begging for my vote, and meh road still aint fix though I hear all parts getting box drains and thing, so I vex. So peeps, you know I am a sceptic so help me decide. http://kris-rampersad.blogspot.com/
Demokrissy: T&T Constitution the culprit | The Trinidad Guardian
Jun 15, 2010 T&T Constitution the culprit | The Trinidad Guardian · T&T Constitution the culprit | The Trinidad Guardian. Posted by Kris Rampersad at 8:20 AM · Email ThisBlogThis!Share to TwitterShare to Facebook ...http://kris-rampersad.blogspot.com/
Related:
Demokrissy: To vote, just how we party … Towards culturally ...
Apr 30, 2010 'How we vote is not how we party.' At 'all inclusive' fetes and other forums, we nod in inebriated wisdom to calypsonian David Rudder's elucidation of the paradoxical political vs. social realities of Trinidad and Tobago. http://kris-rampersad.blogspot.com/
Demokrissy: DEADLOCK: Sign of things to come
Oct 29, 2013 An indication that unless we devise innovative ways to address representation of our diversity, we will find ourselves in various forms of deadlock at the polls that throw us into a spiral of political tug of war albeit with not just ...http://kris-rampersad.blogspot.com/
Demokrissy: The human face of constitutional reform
Oct 16, 2013 Sheilah was clearly and sharply articulating the deficiencies in governmesaw her: a tinymite elderly woman, gracefully wrinkled, deeply over with concerns about political and institutional stagnation but brimming over with ... http://kris-rampersad.blogspot.com/
Demokrissy: Trini politics is d best
Oct 21, 2013 Ain't Trini politics d BEST! Nobody fighting because they lose. All parties claiming victory, all voting citizens won! That's what make we Carnival d best street party in the world. Everyone are winners because we all like ...http://kris-rampersad.blogspot.com/
New Media, New Civil Society, and Politics in a New Age - Demokrissy
Jan 09, 2012 New Media, New Civil Society, and Politics in a New Age | The Communication Initiative Network. New Media, New Civil Society, and Politics in a New Age | The Communication Initiative Network. Posted by Kris Rampersad ...http://kris-rampersad.blogspot.com/
Demokrissy: T&T politics: A new direction? - Caribbean360 Oct 01, 2010 http://kris-rampersad.blogspot.com/
Oct 20, 2013 Choosing the Emperor's New Troops. The dilemma of choice. Voting is supposed to be an exercise in thoughtful, studied choice. Local government is the foundation for good governance so even if one wants to reform the ... http://kris-rampersad.blogspot.com/
Old Casked Rum: The Emperor's New Tools#1 - Demokrissy - Blogger
Apr 07, 2013 Old Casked Rum: The Emperor's New Tools#1 - Towards Constitutional Reform in T&T. So we've had the rounds of consultations on Constitutional Reform? Are we any wiser? Do we have a sense of direction that will drive ...http://kris-rampersad.blogspot.com/
Demokrissy: Valuing Carnival The Emperor's New Tools#2
Apr 30, 2013 Valuing Carnival The Emperor's New Tools#2....http://kris-rampersad.blogspot.com/
See Also:
Demokrissy: Winds of Political Change - Dawn of T&T's Arab Spring
Jul 30, 2013 Wherever these breezes have passed, they have left in their wake wide ranging social and political changes: one the one hand toppling long time leaders with rising decibels from previously suppressed peoples demanding a ...http://kris-rampersad.blogspot.com/
Demokrissy: Reform, Conform, Perform or None of the Above cross ...
Oct 25, 2013 Some 50 percent did not vote. The local government elections results lends further proof of the discussion began in Clash of Political Cultures: Cultural Diversity and Minority Politics in Trinidad and Tobago in Through The ...http://kris-rampersad.blogspot.com/
Demokrissy: Sounds of a party - a political party
Oct 14, 2013 They are announcing some political meeting or the other; and begging for my vote, and meh road still aint fix though I hear all parts getting box drains and thing, so I vex. So peeps, you know I am a sceptic so help me decide. http://kris-rampersad.blogspot.com/
Demokrissy: T&T Constitution the culprit | The Trinidad Guardian
Jun 15, 2010 T&T Constitution the culprit | The Trinidad Guardian · T&T Constitution the culprit | The Trinidad Guardian. Posted by Kris Rampersad at 8:20 AM · Email ThisBlogThis!Share to TwitterShare to Facebook ...http://kris-rampersad.blogspot.com/
Related:
Demokrissy: To vote, just how we party … Towards culturally ...
Apr 30, 2010 'How we vote is not how we party.' At 'all inclusive' fetes and other forums, we nod in inebriated wisdom to calypsonian David Rudder's elucidation of the paradoxical political vs. social realities of Trinidad and Tobago. http://kris-rampersad.blogspot.com/
Demokrissy: DEADLOCK: Sign of things to come
Oct 29, 2013 An indication that unless we devise innovative ways to address representation of our diversity, we will find ourselves in various forms of deadlock at the polls that throw us into a spiral of political tug of war albeit with not just ...http://kris-rampersad.blogspot.com/
Demokrissy: The human face of constitutional reform
Oct 16, 2013 Sheilah was clearly and sharply articulating the deficiencies in governmesaw her: a tinymite elderly woman, gracefully wrinkled, deeply over with concerns about political and institutional stagnation but brimming over with ... http://kris-rampersad.blogspot.com/
Demokrissy: Trini politics is d best
Oct 21, 2013 Ain't Trini politics d BEST! Nobody fighting because they lose. All parties claiming victory, all voting citizens won! That's what make we Carnival d best street party in the world. Everyone are winners because we all like ...http://kris-rampersad.blogspot.com/
New Media, New Civil Society, and Politics in a New Age - Demokrissy
Jan 09, 2012 New Media, New Civil Society, and Politics in a New Age | The Communication Initiative Network. New Media, New Civil Society, and Politics in a New Age | The Communication Initiative Network. Posted by Kris Rampersad ...http://kris-rampersad.blogspot.com/
Demokrissy: T&T politics: A new direction? - Caribbean360 Oct 01, 2010 http://kris-rampersad.blogspot.com/
Others:
Apr 07, 2013
Old Casked Rum: The Emperor's New Tools#1 - Towards Constitutional Reform in T&T. So we've had the rounds of consultations on Constitutional Reform? Are we any wiser? Do we have a sense of direction that will drive ...
http://kris-rampersad.blogspot.com/
Apr 30, 2013
Valuing Carnival The Emperor's New Tools#2.
http://kris-rampersad.blogspot.com/
Oct 20, 2013
Choosing the Emperor's New Troops. The dilemma of choice. Voting is supposed to be an ... Old Casked Rum: The Emperor's New Tools#1 - Towards Constitutional Reform in T&T. Posted by Kris Rampersad at 10:36 AM ...
http://kris-rampersad.blogspot.com/
Feb 26, 2014
This Demokrissy series, The Emperor's New Tools, continues and builds on the analysis of evolution in our governance, begun in the introduction to my book, Through the Political Glass Ceiling (2010): The Clash of Political ...
http://kris-rampersad.blogspot.com/
Feb 10, 2014
This Demokrissy series, The Emperor's New Tools, continues and builds on the analysis of evolution in our governance, begun in the introduction to my book, Through the Political Glass Ceiling (2010): The Clash of Political ...
http://kris-rampersad.blogspot.com/
Apr 22, 2014
It is placing increasing pressure for erasure of barriers of geography, age, ethnicity, gender, cultures and other sectoral interests, and in utilising the tools placed at our disposal to access our accumulate knowledge and technologies towards eroding these superficial barriers. In this context, we believe that the work of UNESCO remains significant and relevant and that UNESCO is indeed the institution best positioned to consolidate the ..... The Emperor's New Tools ...
http://kris-rampersad.blogspot.com/
Jun 15, 2010
The Emperor's New Tools. Loading... AddThis. Bookmark and Share. Loading... Follow by Email. About Me. My Photo · Kris Rampersad. Media, Cultural and Literary Consultant, Facilitator, Educator and Practitioner. View my ...
http://kris-rampersad.blogspot.com/
@krisramp, +krisrampersad, @KrisRampersadTT, @lolleaves,
