MGJR Volume 3 2014 | Page 8

8

It’s Not

Better

in the

Bahamas for

Journalists

In a country with deep political fractures and an environment where campaign season extends well beyond election year, The Bahamas is far more than a vacation paradise.

It is a place with a constant hunger for information, where the average citizen is very much a part of dissecting national issues daily and journalists come up against a long-rooted culture of secrecy.

Forty-one years after gaining independence from Britain, The Bahamas has made significant strides in creating a more open society.

But while there has been notable progress in government transparency and media freedom, the country of just over 300,000 citizens has no constitutional protections for the press and no Freedom of Information Act.

Citizens demanding answers to serious questions impacting their lives and their communities are often left to speculate as the search for truth is sometimes met by roadblocks.

For decades after its first majority black government was elected in 1967, The Bahamas had just one government owned and controlled broadcast outlet. The government of the late Lynden Pindling ruled for a full 25 years, as there are no term limits.

Today, the Broadcasting Corporation of The Bahamas still pushes the agenda of the current government and serves as the government’s public relations arm.

By Candia Dames