http://caribbeanreviewofbooks.com/2009/05/03/freedom-to-write/ Bimonthly review of Caribbean literature and art Thu, 07 Nov 2013 03:03:00 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.1 http://caribbeanreviewofbooks.com/2009/05/03/freedom-to-write/comment-page-1/#comment-50 JT Thu, 14 May 2009 00:38:09 +0000 http://caribbeanreviewofbooks.com/?p=334#comment-50 And it's worth remembering that press freedom is an issue not only for writers under direct threat, but for journalists who are lulled into a false sense of security. As here in Trinidad & Tobago, with its unspoken political agenda, its clearly marked boundaries. You accept crusts of official information in exchange for good behaviour. Step over the line and you soon find out why media barons are so called, how easily official crusts can be withheld, how effective a libel charge can be when it is hung over your head indefinitely. It is not that journalists are stripped of their freedom: it is that they willingly surrender it. It's a more subtle technique than crude threats of imprisonment, violence or worse. And it's worth remembering that press freedom is an issue not only for writers under direct threat, but for journalists who are lulled into a false sense of security. As here in Trinidad & Tobago, with its unspoken political agenda, its clearly marked boundaries. You accept crusts of official information in exchange for good behaviour. Step over the line and you soon find out why media barons are so called, how easily official crusts can be withheld, how effective a libel charge can be when it is hung over your head indefinitely. It is not that journalists are stripped of their freedom: it is that they willingly surrender it. It's a more subtle technique than crude threats of imprisonment, violence or worse.

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