The Fourth Estate
By Hilbert Haar
How is it possible that St. Maarten is the only island where the “local media” is from everywhere else in the world BUT St. Maarten? Thus begins a Facebook-post by historian Will Johnson. Pseudo journalist Michael Granger put in his two cents in a reaction to this question. Unfortunately it does not make a lot of sense.
If Johnson refers with the term “local media” to journalists who actually write (or wrote) stories for local media outlets he is right in the sense that there are no locals working in this industry. But his observation that those journalists who are obviously from elsewhere “abuse their stay under the guise of freedom of the press, bring down governments and make all sorts of accusations against local politicians” is an almost Trumpian statement without merit.
I worked at the now defunct Today newspaper from April 2007 until its demise after Hurricane Irma – first as a reporter and later as its editor-in-chief. In all those years I have had to deal with ridiculous local employment laws. I have come close to begging former commissioners to send me five local journalists – if they could find them – and I would hire them on the spot. Instead I have seen good people being chased off the island because they were – by necessity – working “illegally” at my newspaper and I have been threatened by the police with charges of human trafficking because of it. In all those years ONE local man has worked as a journalist for Today in spite of our best efforts to find more locals to do the job.
I have offered a youngster who was involved with Teen Times a summer job, I had his contract ready and he never showed up. Another local guy demanded such a ridiculous salary that there was no point taking his application any further.
This is not a complete overview, but it illustrates how difficult it is for serious local media to find qualified journalists. And no – you don’t need a bloody degree to be a journalist. It is a free profession and anybody who masters the language, anybody who is able to write a story or to report on current events is welcome. And yes – journalism is not a nine to five job; your hours are irregular and at times your days seem endless.
REAL journalists do not mind. But I have seen too many people come through the door that were just looking for a paycheck and their medical insurance in return for a minimal effort. That’s disappointing but that’s the way it was during all those years.
There is of course a reason why locals don’t want to work as a journalist. St. Maarten is a small community and journalism requires independence – from your neighbors, from your friends and at times even from your family. I have seen plenty of journalists – and they weren’t even local – cozy up to politicians that were in hot water for St. Maarten’s most popular pastime: bribery and fraud.
I have never befriended any politician in St. Maarten during my tenure at Today, but I managed to maintain proper and professional relationships with most of them. That’s how it should be.
The objective of journalism is – contrary to what some politicians like to think – not to educate but to inform. I have never made “all sorts of accusations against local politicians” but when the shit hit the proverbial fan I have always felt free to report about it.
The case of Theo Heyliger is a typical example. Guilt or innocence have yet to be established in court – and in terms of health I wish Mr. Heyliger all the best – but when such a high profile politician gets arrested and the charges against him become public a proper news outlet reports about it.
And you know beforehand what the local reactions are going to be: the prosecutor’s office is corrupt, the Dutch have an agenda to get him out of the way, poor Theo – all this without a shred of evidence to support such observations. Some people are still miffed about the trial against Claude Wathey and in Curacao George Jamaloodin – convicted for ordering the assassination of Helmin Wiels – apparently still has plenty of friends who are ready to ignore the fact that he is a cold blooded killer who lets others do his dirty work.
But according to Johnson “back in the day” the work journalists are doing these days on St. Maarten “would not have been accepted by local politicians.”
How ridiculous is that? The media are there to control what politicians are up to. And Johnson thinks it is a good idea to let those politicians decide who is allowed to work as a journalist? That is a very slippery slope.
And then there is Michael Granger’s claim that Teen Times – a wonderful initiative in itself – “has produced over 40 journalists” – yet “less than five” (I guess he means “fewer than five”) have tried to practice journalism in St. Maarten. The reason: money – the local newspaper don’t pay enough.
Then Granger has the nerve to label those who do accept the job and the accompanying pay as “annoying pseudo journalists” that “provide content to satisfy the media house.”
I do not know how this works elsewhere but I can assure Granger – who once wrote a toe-curling public relations piece for The Daily Herald justifying the wrongdoings of former Public Health Minister Maria Buncamper-Molanus – that at my time at Today the owner never, ever interfered with the content of the paper. But the pseudo journalist Granger has the nerve to state this: “The modern-day politicians Mr. Johnson referred to use these pseudo journalists to further their agenda rather than encourage that the local 4th estate live up to and respect its principles.”
Well, well. I guess Granger refers to the principles that underpin ethics in journalism. I invite him to read the Code of Conduct established in 1954 by the International Federation of Journalists. Nuff said about this pseudo journalist.
The main question: why are there no local journalists has nothing to do with the modest pay newspapers can afford. It has to do with the overblown expectations youngster have when they enter the job market. They want top dollar and easy working hours in exchange for zero skill. Furthermore, it is almost impossible to expect locals – with rare exceptions – to functions independently within such a small community as St. Maarten. Sooner or later you have to report the ugly truth about somebody you know. And if you are unable to do that, you have no place in my profession.
To become a good journalist you will have to put in your 10,000 hours of practice before you are entitled to make any demands. And the last ones who should have anything to say about the way journalist ply their trade in St. Maarten or elsewhere are local politicians – or historians for that matter.
