Covering the State of Emergency

On Sunday night, our Prime Minister declared a State of Emergency in Trinidad and Tobago. A journalist friend called me last night and said: I spent the whole day just trying to get an understanding of WHAT a State of Emergency involves. As he told me, he was too young to have been involved in the 1990 coup, and now he was required to follow a beast whose nature he simply didn't understand. But you know what, Gerard? I was much older than you when we had The Coup, and I didn't understand this one too well either. So yesterday morning, I found myself busily skimming all the online newspapers, and listening to the morning shows as I tried to get a feel of what was involved.

The first challenge that the State of Emergency presented to all reporters in this country seems to have been just that - to get clear exactly what the State of Emergency involves, so that they could let the public know. Their confusion is entirely understandable. The first information coming from official quarters was vague, and scanty at best. And yet, here is a situation in which the public is crying out to know more - what is involved? How long will it last? And how will it affect me? I work, I fly out of the country, I lime....what should I do? And to give them credit, many reporters have been making an honest effort to find out what is involved and let people know.

The second challenge, however, is the temptation of the scoop. Yesterday morning, one newspaper published a list of 'hotspots' that included places in Tobago. The list was re-posted many times on FB by people wanting to give needed information to their friends at home and abroad. It was wrong. The list that was finally published by the Ministry of National Security looked nothing like it.

In times of crisis, professional journalists come into their own - this is the task for which they were created, isn't it? To let the public know the truth about what is happening, in a timely manner, at a time when they are crying out for information - isn't that the point of the profession? This is where they get to shine! But .... spreading false information to people who are already confused? Just take a minute to think, ladies and gentlemen of the press. It's easy enough to publish the quick tidbit of misinformation that everyone who is anxious to find out the facts will gobble up. It will sell a ton of papers too, no doubt. But, just pause a moment to reflect on what it means for you in the long run - because if that's what you're going to do, who really needs you? If it's rumours I want, I can get that from me on Facebook!