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Torchbearers TV snub said to be ‘politically motivated’

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Sidney Collie

By RICARDO WELLS

Tribune Staff Reporter

rwells@tribunemedia.net

THE decision by the Broadcasting Corporation of The Bahamas (BCB) not to broadcast the Free National Movement’s (FNM) upcoming Torchbearers Youth Association’s convention was yesterday blasted as “hypocritical” and “politically motivated” by party Chairman Sidney Collie.

In a strong rebuke of the national broadcaster’s decision, Mr Collie asserted that the BCB was allowing the ZNS television network to be operated as a “political tool in the midst of a heightened political climate,” claiming that the corporation has opted to hide behind a rule it refused to acknowledge when granting air-time to the governing Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) earlier this month.

According to Mr Collie, the party’s youth convention secretary received a written response from BCB on January 11, which notified the FNM that the corporation could not grant the party a live broadcast.

In that letter of response, BCB General Manager Diana Swann wrote: “We confirm receipt of your letter dater January 6, 2017, in relation to the captioned matter. Please note that the corporation is unable to accommodate your request.”

Mr Collie said the party, upon receiving this information, launched an inquiry to determine why such a decision was made. He said the party was told that it had exceeded its allowed time slots for this year with past broadcasts.

He said he was referred to Section 19 and 20 of the Bahamas Broadcasting Act, which govern how political broadcasts through ZNS are to be handled in and out of election years, providing clear guidelines that any party, governing or opposition, in an election year is only allotted one political broadcast.

“To quote this act in this case is hypocritical because it comes as the PLP just held its three-day convention, with all three days live on that station, a week after it ran the PLP’s three-hour ratification celebration a week before that,” stated Mr Collie.

The PLP’s 51st National Convention ran live on ZNS TV and radio from January 24 to 26. Those broadcasts followed a lengthy PLP ratification exercise which was broadcast to the country via ZNS on January 19.

“That’s hypocrisy by definition,” Mr Collie added. “To tell us we had our convention last year, and thus can’t have another event broadcast makes no sense. We were prepared to pay, but that option was shot down as fast as it was suggested. It is now clear; the political bias of those running ZNS are clear. This entire move, in my opinion, is clearly politically motivated. It is a crying shame that we’re in 2017 and still fighting for broadcast rights. The biggest tragedy is that the youth of our party can’t speak to their peers via means that they can all access.”

The FNM has, in response to ZNS’ decision, agreed to broadcast its youth convention via Cable Bahamas’ Rev TV station. ZNS, unlike the Rev TV station, is broadcast across the entire Bahamas.

When contacted by The Tribune for comment on the matter, FNM Leader Dr Hubert Minnis said the decision must be viewed as overt victimisation, adding that the station was denying the young people the opportunity to be seen on ZNS.

“It’s concerning that a government entity is refusing to air the upcoming youth convention being hosted this week by the Torchbearers Youth Association,” said the Killarney MP. “This gathering of young dynamic minds should be applauded and seen as an opportunity for our youth to engage in the political dialogue of our country. For ZNS to refuse payment for this historic event raises the alarm about the continued political interference of this cash-strapped corporation.

“We remind this government that ZNS belongs to all Bahamians, not just the PLP, and the youth of this country have a right to have their voices heard. This election is about the people. It’s the people’s time, and the government would do well to remember that.”

Officials at ZNS referred comment on the matter to Ms Swann, who could not be reached for comment up to press time.

Comments

sheeprunner12 7 years, 10 months ago

The FNM should know better than expecting the PLP media machine to have them bad-mouthing Perry dem right before the election ........ the PLP Bishop has that on lock down

The_Oracle 7 years, 10 months ago

Of course it is political! If ZNS was in the business of making money, or in the business of furthering political discourse, they would be begging for alternate views. Everything in this G.D. country is corrupted by politics, which is why it is dying economically, morally and in collective intelligence. It is a long road we have been perfectly happy to ride down, then walk down, soon to be crawling down.

Publius 7 years, 10 months ago

Typical ZNS. The more things change, they don't.

Meanwhile, what is also typical is the use of young people to create a platform for the party's leadership to get airtime following the PLP's convention. That's what the real purpose of this event is, though it is billed to the young people as something different. Pretending to suddenly be for the youth is such a typical play by political parties. They only use these young people in ways better left unsaid here; after which time the 'grownups' go back to destroying everything they touch and gathering the spoils for themselves while doing so.

Publius 7 years, 10 months ago

Minnis will use the event to speak and to show off all his candidates. So much for the voice of the nation's young people. If this was truly about them, all nights would be the young people as the speakers and presenters; keynote and program. This is an aspect of the major parties I have always found particularly repugnant; the way the young people are used, exploited and then pushed to the side. They are simply an appendage and a means to an end. It is why these parties look so much like the past, and are scored by the nation's future.

Well_mudda_take_sic 7 years, 10 months ago

You know the FNM party is no longer relevant when you have someone like Sidney Collie as its Chairman. Even those founders of the FNM party who are dead have rolled over in their graves. One can only begin to imagine the "low-life types" who now make up a majority of the FNM party's council members. It was none other than the very spiteful and bitter Hubiggity who left the FNM party in a shambles after he led it to a humiliating loss in the 2012 general election. Hubiggity was so beside himself upon losing his bid in 2012 to be re-elected PM that he made it a point to leave the FNM party an abandoned rudderless ship at sea that was all too easily (and quickly) pirated by the DImwitted Doc Minnis and his cohorts. Anyone who believes the FNM party is still a viable political organisation today is totally delusional from the worst type of wishful thinking - the type that cannot accept cold reality!

licks2 7 years, 10 months ago

Are you Bradly Roberts. . .Lol! One question I will ask you. . ."alla dat skullduggery gern on" in the FNM and yoon. . .with the low-brow answer to "errything" in that party . . .een put that mind er yon to good use? Yoon making much sense there fella. . .you getting like Nicky Kelly. . .lost in she own mind. . .ya feelings has made ya thinking skills an "unbreakable prison" that allows "dumb stuff" to come out most of the time. . .I must say most of the times for you. . .sometimes you do say some balanced stuff. . . but for this stuff up there. . .you could use some "yard time" from that bitter prison mind of yoon. . .lol!

DDK 7 years, 10 months ago

Question, why do you keep bleating that the FNM is not a viable party and no longer relevant? Unless you have a better alternative, it would probably be wise to tone down the constant disparaging rhetoric.

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