Media Association of Saint Lucia

04/07/2023

Saint Lucia joins the other Members of the Caribbean Community in celebrating 50 years of the establishment of CARICOM on July 4, 1973.

With this milestone comes the acknowledgement that as a region we have made significant achievements, and in a myriad of ways, the CARICOM has enhanced the daily lives of Caribbean people.

Happy CARICOM Day, Saint Lucia!

21/02/2023

09/11/2017

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

MASL CONCENRED ABOUT COMPOSITION OF COP23 DELEGATION

The Media Association of Saint Lucia is concerned that the Government of Saint Lucia has this year declined to extend its customary invitation to the media fraternity to join the Saint Lucia Delegation at the 2017 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP23) in Bonn, Germany.

In years past, journalists specially trained in climate change reporting such as Stan Bishop of the Voice St. Lucia, and Alison Kentish of HTS News4orce have accompanied the delegation, providing a critical look at Saint Lucia’s activities during this important multilateral conference.

This year, the only coverage of the important policy meetings and lobbying efforts undertaken on our behalf will be provided by content producers employed in the Office of the Prime Minister.

MASL also notes with concern that this year’s delegation seems to lack Information & Communications officers (from the Sustainable Development and Energy units, for example) that would normally provide readouts, reports and other feedback from the technical meetings at COP.

Because climate change is an issue of immediate and serious public concern, the seriousness of excluding these key individuals from this year’s delegation cannot be understated.

The Saint Lucian public deserves to have access to reliable, accurate information about the efforts our delegation is undertaking on the behalf of the nation and the region.

By forcing the nation to rely on the narrative crafted by the official government communication machinery, this administration is curtailing the rights of all Saint Lucians to be informed on matters of national importance by a free press.

We refer to remarks made on Thursday, 18th October by a senior member of the Government Information Service asking that the media be more committed to educating the public on environmental matters:

“Climate change is an issue of absolute importance to the region. Needless to say that Saint Lucia has been spared the brunt of three disastrous hurricanes so far. As media practitioners, we are a very important means of communicating environmental concerns to the general public. We should be concerned with the environment a lot more. [There should be] more public announcements and even discussion programs on NTN, GIS and in the private media.”

Needless to say, the remarks were made at a meeting convened with media stakeholders to discuss ways in which the private media and the GIS could effectively highlight the event, and give more prominence to issues relating to climate change and global warming.

With these statements in mind, the Media Association of Saint Lucia remains perplexed as to why an invitation was not extended to any member of the private media to form part of Saint Lucia’s delegation to Bonn.

In light of the developments, MASL will be left with no choice but to explore our options as it relates to coverage of state-backed climate change and sustainable development initiatives.

The Media Association of Saint Lucia looks forward to a continued and improved dialogue with the Government of Saint Lucia on how to ensure that the ability of its members to operate a free, independent fourth estate is not compromised or further eroded.

05/05/2017

https://rsf.org/en/oecs

Journalism is not a prestige profession in the countries that are members of the Organization of East Caribbean States. Journalists get little training and often abandon media work because it is so badly paid. Many media outlets are under the direct influence of politicians, especially during electi...

03/05/2017

Freedom House ranks St. Lucia as second best in the Americas region for press freedom in the 2017 freedom of the press index.

https://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-press/freedom-press-2017

03/05/2017

extends salutations to Saint Lucia's press corp and media fraternity as we join the global community to observe World Press Freedom Day. We invite you to watch the official address on World Press Freedom Day delivered by president Miguel Evelyn-Fevrier

02/05/2017

The Media Association of Saint Lucia (MASL) remains concerned that vehicular accidents continue to take a toll on the citizenry, often resulting in injury – and worse -- loss of life.

For the year thus far, seven people have lost their lives via vehicular accidents, including two teenage girls – aged 18 and 19 – who were involved in a serious accident last Saturday along the Castries-Gros Islet Highway.

As an Association, we believe that the matter of road safety should be made a priority at all times given the devastating outcomes that can result in its absence. We, therefore, urge all motorists to make it a rule of ensuring that they follow safety procedures when using the roads.

The Association’s concern also stems from the fact that many of our members are also motorists and must use the roads. Moreover, our members are often faced with the task of reporting these tragic incidents. Inasmuch as our duty is to report, we believe that tragedies should always be avoided.

In light of the recent vehicular accidents that have resulted in loss of life and injury, we extend our condolences and wishes for a speedy recovery to all affected.

However, we stress the need that no stone should be left unturned to ensure that greater emphasis is placed on road safety.

MASL also expresses sincere condolences to Donovan Williams, Permanent Secretary in the Department of Youth & Sports and his wife Jacky- the former having enjoyed a close relationship with the media for a number of years.

The Association also mourns with Trevor “Jah-T” Anthony, a long-time member of the local production and entertainment industry.

In addition, MASL is deeply concerned with what appears to be the proliferation of graphic images from accident and other gruesome scenes circulating via social media and instant messaging platforms.

As an association, we would like to appeal to the public to desist from this insensitive and abhorrent practice, which in many cases adds the proverbial salt to the wounds of the bereaved.

22/03/2017

Mr. Lawrence James, your contributions to Saint Lucian journalism and publishing was invaluable. Thank you. MASL extends condolences to the James' family during this solemn time of mourning.

Rest in Peace Mr. Lawrence James

18/03/2017

The Honorable Sir Derek Walcott, national treasure and global literary icon. To this day your accomplishments nationally are unparalleled. Sir Derek Walcott's legacy Will eternally be affirmed in the pantheons of Saint Lucian and international history. Thank you Sir Derek, you helped raise a nation.

Rest in peace Sir Derek.

08/03/2017

The Media Association of Saint Lucia extends warmest International Women’s Day greetings to the women of Saint Lucia.
would like to pay special tribute to pioneering female, Saint Lucians in this noble vocation who have blazed the trail for today’s current crop of highly talented and professional media workers: Imelda Charles Margaret Roberts-Steel Valerie Albert-Fevriere Barbara Jacobs-Small Judy Deterville Virnet Fontenelle Linda Charles-Ambrose

01/03/2017

salutes the Hon. Sir Dunstan G.R. St. Omer, an esteemed and accomplished Saint Lucian artist for producing what is our National Flag today. The Saint Lucia National Flag was first hoisted on this day, March 1st in 1967 to commemorate then, associated statehood with Great Britain.

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