The Tribune

By NICO SCAVELLA

THE Bahamas Press Club has announced a “new start” to its initiatives after years of dormancy.

The organisation, a group of various professionals from the country’s media industry, announced the revitalisation of its initiatives, which are to “encourage friendly intercourse among news practitioners and everyone with whom they have contact in the pursuit of the profession”.

The statement from Bahamas Press Club 2014 president, Anthony Newbold, however, dismissed the notion that the club would function in the capacity of a formal union for journalists in the country.

“In practically all professions everywhere in the world, there is a body that oversees and looks out for the best interest of the practitioners of the profession,” the statement said.

“Right here in the Bahamas the legal profession has the Bar Association and the Bar Council, the doctors have the Bahamas Medical Association, the accountants have their associations and so do the engineers, the architects, etc.

“We will endeavour to promote and uphold the highest ideals and standards of journalism, while providing for the exchange of ideas and experiences and the offering of professional development opportunities. We look forward to a very exciting future of positive interaction between the Press Club and the people of the Bahamas.”

According to the statement, numerous attempts at establishing a press corps association dates back to the early 1970s. Those attempts became a reality in 1996 thanks to an idea from talk show host Steve McKinney; fellow talk show host Darold Miller eventually founded the Bahamas Press Club in 1996, becoming its first president.

News photographer Margaret Guillaume succeeded Mr Miller, and under her presidency a scholarship was given to the College of the Bahamas in memory of Dorothy Panza-Robinson, the first woman to anchor news at ZNS Channel 13 in the 1970s.

According to the statement, the club was dormant until last month. An election of officers was held on August 28 and a constitution for the Press Club 2014 was ratified at the club’s first monthly meeting on September 7.

“The purpose of the club, to borrow from the National Press Club in Washington, DC, is to encourage friendly intercourse among news practitioners and everyone with whom they have contact in the pursuit of the profession, to promote the interests of those employed in the media, to ensure public access to information and to guarantee as much as possible the accuracy of that information and to cultivate literary tastes,” the statement read.

Some of the Press Club’s goals for 2014 include requesting an accredited national press pass, becoming affiliated with the National Press Club in Washington, DC, establishing a code of ethics for those involved in the media and establishing a solid membership base, including members from the Family Islands.

Mr Newbold, the Broadcasting Corporation of the Bahamas parliamentary reporter, leads an executive including Anthony Capron, second vice president; Lindsay Thompson, Secretary; Shenique Miller, assistant secretary; Vincent Vaughan, treasurer; Carla Palmer, assistant treasurer; Kendeno Knowles, public relations officer; and Julian Reid, education officer. Clint Watson was appointed as the club’s chaplain.