The message is not the medium.

Rebels without causes are among us, and A Place in the Spotlight is among their needful things.

Mr BA is a journalist in his 20s who reacted to a Gleaner opinion piece that was written by a Mr Alfred Sangster who is an educator in his 80s. After reading the blog, I read Mr Sangster's article which articulated his thoughts on a contentious matter that is a part of ongoing public discussion.

Mr BA's response was that the Gleaner should not allow Mr Sangster the privilege of a column saying, "Let me be clear that I am in no way, shape, or form trying to detract from the contribution of any Jamaican in the building of our country. But let us be fair, some have already played their part and are still stagnating in the same pool of ideas. People who are playing their part now deserve to be heard, and should have the chance to shape public opinion".

Award Winning Gleaner Journalist
Mr Curtis Campbell

This took me to the question on whether young adults living in Jamaica have access to national mass media platforms on which their thoughts can be shared. Certainly, the artiste who yesterday risked his life to get himself played on a national music format radio station might share Mr BA's view that the thoughts and opinions of young people in Jamaica are not being heard.

Mr BA said that he does not believe that age should restrict the airing of ideas and criticized what he says is the lack of access by young people to mass media saying, "But the fact that there are no mainstream opinion makers who are not considered ‘veterans’ must be fiercely questioned. Why is this a realm for people who heard Manley or Seaga speak, or bought shares in the Gleaner in the 70s? And why does the media so fiercely guard their privilege? There are thousands of Jamaicans involved in the building of our nation at this moment who are under the age of 35. We hardly hear from them however, we must follow them on Twitter and Instagram."

I was concerned that this could be true, and decided to write down a list of post Jamaica independence opinion writers

Post independence born political spokesman
Mr Robert Nesta Morgan
being quoted in the Gleaner

who regularly contribute to the Gleaner. To be safe, I selected 1962 as my cut-off birth year rather than choose age 35. This is a short list after a quick browse through a week of printed papers: businesswoman and media personality Miss Patria-Kaye Aarons, award winning playwright Mr Keiran King, attorney-at-law Mr Daniel Thwaites, economist and academic Dr Andrew Haughton, journalists Mr Daraine Luton, Mr George Davis and Mr Daviot Kelly, youth advocate Mr Jaevion Nelson, and business executive Mr Kevin Simmonds. I also recall that a letter by a young woman, Ms Karen Lloyd, generated much national discussion. Journalist Mr Robert Lalah's interview with young businessman Mr Gordon Swaby was given full page treatment in the pages also a few days ago. It was stated very early in the article that Mr Swaby is 23 years old. From this list, the under 50 male opinions are published in the Gleaner, every day, and perhaps twice on Sundays. The selected photos used here were taken from papers between June and August 2014.

During the Emancipendence week (August 1 to 6) I heard 20-something radio journalists Mr Abka Fitz-Henley and Mr Rashawn Thompson play in full, and then joke lightheartedly about, the JCDC festival song Bam Bam performed by Mr Frederick Nathaniel "Toots" Hibbert. The joke was that if they added both their ages, it was still lower than the the number of years that Toots had been performing that song. I enjoyed the mirth, and found it admirable that the proprietor of Nationwide News Network, Mr Cliff Hughes, knew that he could confidently leave the anchoring of the station's flagship programme in their capable stewardship. This is another example of the opinion of young males flowing freely on a popular media platform during prime time.

A full page editorial in the Gleaner of Aug 5,
the same day a supplement in honour of
the late Governor-General Sir Howard Cooke was published.
Writer R Lalah and interviewee G Swaby were born after 
Jamaica's independence. 
Sir Howard Cooke was an educator who would 
have no doubt been pleased to see 
this edtorial. 

The points that I have mentioned are really some simple observations, and not the reason why I wrote this post. I am concerned that there is no desire by emerging leaders to acquire a broad base of knowledge for themselves.

Some months ago, a public relations practitioner who is under the age of 40 posted a remark on Twitter that she was frustrated with the Meteorological Service of Jamaica for "using words like trough" that no one can understand". That statement, and then Mr BA's remarks, make me concerned that professional public relations practitioners seem to have a distaste for general information, and an aversion to understanding technical jargon that is related to the fields in which they work.

I admire Mr BA. He is a 20-something go-getting businessperson who received the 2007 Prime Minister's Youth Award for Excellence in Journalism. His Linked-In page states his areas of specialty include creative consultancy, crisis management, media relations and coaching. To effectively perform these areas calls for maturity along with general knowledge.

This is how he ended his article, "The fact that some of us do not know what the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s were like IS NOT A BAD THING." 

If emerging leaders are to be successful it cannot be a bad thing to be aware of what has influenced current ways of life. In fact, it is essential to understand the antecedents of institutions and traditions and procedures in order to make wise decisions that will lead to change that will further drive advancement of a society.

Mr Sangster's article recalled that it was a freedom of speech issue in the 1970s (when he would have been in his 40s) that led him to respond to an appeal by the Gleaner that its readers buy its stock in order to ensure its editorial independence and ongoing business health. Mr Sangster's central question was to ponder if the Gleaner organisation now has any editorial responsibility to those loyal stockholders who bought into their vision more than 40 years ago; Mr BA interpretation was that Mr Sangster was gloating that he owns media stock.

I recall development projects in Jamaica where the old timers, cautioning about flooding and other natural hazards, were disregarded, and in the short run, the country paid for this shortsightedness with human and economic loss. The town now known as New Market St Elizabeth first flooded in 1899, before it was even a settlement. 

Award winning filmmaker
Mr Adrian McDonald
highlighted in the Gleaner

These thoughts led me to remember a young Jamaican who completed his Grade 12 and 13 education in a private school in Canada, and he impressed his colleagues by being able to converse about Frank Sinatra. The young scholar had grown up listening to the musical preferences of his parents and grandparents, and knowing that helped to make him fit in abroad. It was not essential, but a broad based education is like a
knowledge passport.

Recently, I participated in the editing of a small amount of educational material about Jamaica for use by high school students in a Scandinavian country. The educators there have seen the importance of ensuring that their children learn about their world and its history - about this small country in the Caribbean that is so far removed from them by both geography and by culture. 

On more than one occasion I felt embarrassed in conversations with Dutch people when they spoke of the port of Elmina in Ghana, a historically significant place that I had not remembered learning about. I felt embarrassed for not knowing about a place that was significant to the triangle of trade. On another occasion I wanted to discuss the quaint surnames in Suriname that were given to enslaved persons by the Dutch, and now realise that, at best, it is a highly impolite thing to talk about, and at worst, insensitive and rude.  

Parliamentary reporter,
award-winning journalist
and proud product of
the parish of St Thomas,
Mr Daraine Luton.

Many of the international leaders of today - including the disruptors and the innovators - have had the benefit of very good schooling, and they converse with others at that level. Mark Zuckerberg, it is said, excelled in classical studies in high school before enrolling  at Harvard University, as well as pursuing a private interest in computer software programming.

Jamaica celebrates its musical traditions and international achievements in music, so I now address the matter of music appreciation as a mark of general awareness. The panelists at the "Heart of Ska" discussions staged by the Jamaica Cultural Development Commission in the Louise Bennett Garden Theatre on August 2, 2014 were international recording musician and music educator Ibo Cooper,  Institute of Jamaica's musical director, and curator for the Jamaica Music Museum, Herbie Miller; Chairman of the Jamaica Association of Composers, Authors and Publishers (JACAP), Paul Barclay; ska enthusiast Robert Moore; and New Orleans jazz musician and public speaker on music, Delfayo Marselis. I attended a session because I thought that as a public relations practitioner myself, this is a valuable way to be informed about what influenced current culture.

Prominently placed letter to the editor
commending Mr Raymond Pryce, MP

A point that was was raised in the discussion is relevant to thinking about the value of respecting dissenting voices on public speaking platforms. The panelists agreed that Europeans elevated the music of Beethoven, Tchaikovsky, Wagner and others to the level of "classic" and treat their compositions with a particular kind of ongoing high status. On the other hand, they say, what we in Jamaica have done with our traditional popular music such as mento, ska, rock steady and reggae is to discard them and belittle them, while others are appreciating the value, infusing the music into their own cultures, and making a good living from it. The current chart topper Rude by the Canadian group Magic! is a current example; The USA group's song No Doubt's Hey Baby with DJ Bounty Killer and also Underneath It All with Lady Saw and a sample of the late Bob Clarke of IRIE FM both won non-reggae Grammy awards a few years ago, and I think it is safe to believe that the creators and performers are still reaping financial benefits. Can the same be said of what is popular here at home?

Challenging the opinions of people who make public commentary is expected and essential, but I wish to believe that the beneficial response is to challenge the thoughts, and not to tear down the person and the medium in or on which he or she appears. Laying out statements without challenging the points -  as Mr BA did repeatedly in his article - and instead choosing to belittle a personality type is not that helpful for advancing discussion.

-30-

PS
This little exercise has shown me that there are less female opinion writers in the Gleaner than male, even if you consider the opinions in the weekly women's magazine.

The Alfred Sangster who was the subject of Mr BA's derision is a former President of the University of Technology and a public intellectual of many decades in Jamaica. He was Vice Chairman of the Farquharson Institute of Public Affairs which provided a forum for persons to express their view on matters of national interest.