PRESIDENT

This post is currently being held by Emmanuel Joseph of MIX FM.

According to the BAJ Constitution, the president shall:

a. be responsible for the integrity of the Association;

b. chair Board of Governors and general meetings;

c. provide leadership to the Association and ensure that the responsibilities of the Board of Governors are carried out; AND

d. be a signatory to all agreements and legal documents on behalf of the Association.

The VICE PRESIDENT shall, subject to 12.3 of the by-laws, act as President in the event of the death, resignation, absence or dismissal of the President.

If there is no Vice-president, or if he or she is unwilling to replace the President, the Board of Governors, subject to 12.3 of the by-laws, shall have the power to elect an Acting President from among the members of the Board of Governors.

This post is currently held by Tracy Moore of the Nation Publishing Company.

The GENERAL SECRETARY shall;

a. receive and respond to correspondence on behalf of the Board of Governors;

b. give notice of general meetings of the Association and meetings of the Board of Governors;

c. be responsible for recording minutes of general meetings of the Association and meetings of the Board of Governors and for the integrity of those minutes;

d. be a signatory to all agreements and legal documents on behalf of the Association.

This post is currently held by Adriel “Woody” Richard of CMC.

The TREASURER shall:

a. oversee on behalf of the Board of Governors, the financial management of the Association;

b. oversee the financial operations of the Association;

c. approve the draft financial statements of account; AND

d. be responsible for the collection and management of members’ fees.

This post was held by Randy Howard of the Barbados Advocate but he has since left the media.

The PUBLIC RELATIONS OFFICER shall:

a. ensure that details of the Association’s activities, appointments, and awards are publicised and communicated appropriately to the membership and the wider public as necessary;

b. decide what is the appropriate vehicle for communication, ie website, newsletter, e-mail, flyer, personal letter or telephone;

c. agree with the Management Committee the strategy for publicity and formulate a plan for implementation;

d. report regularly to the Management Committee on both the communications and success rate, recommending any revision to the plan; AND

e. deal with the media on behalf of the Association ensuring that details of any such media involvement are immediately communicated to the Management Committee.

This post is currently held by Julia Rawlins-Bentham of Barbados TODAY.

These posts are all open for voting at the March 6, 2011 annual general meeting. Please log into the BAJ email address at bdsmediaworkers@gmail.com or on the BAJ Facebook page to make your nomination. Each nomination MUST be seconded. Please note that those nominated to serve on the Board of Governors must be engaged in active journalism.

The Barbados Association of Journalists is still alive and active. As you would have seen through our various messages, different activities within recent months engaged members of the fraternity. However it’s now a new year and things have somewhat returned to normal.

As a result the BAJ also wishes to get on with its plans for the coming year. These plans will start with our annual general meeting on Sunday, March 6, 2011 at Solidarity House starting at 6 p.m.

There will ONLY be 8 people allowed per course so please sign up early. The course is not very long but the programme is quite full and if the groups are larger than eight it will be difficult for people to ask questions or get detailed answers. This course is being planned for October so please indicate your interest early.

COURSE OUTLINE

DAY 1 -

AN OVERVIEW AND THE ROLE OF THE REPORTER ON THE WEB

- Overview of how the Internet is changing the business of news

- Overview of what works best online in terms of text (length, live reports, blogs, background, etc), photo, video

- How to use the web as a reporter5

- RSS feeds, search engines

- The importance of verifying what you find

- What you can find from social networking sites

HOW TO REPORT FOR THE WEB

- Writing style

- Adding links

- The live report

- Thinking photo

- Knowing the camera

- Strong, uncluttered images

- Rights issues

- Tips for web video

- What to shoot

- What to do before assignments

- Tips for shooting

DAY TWO

THE EDITOR AND THE WEB

- The difference between newspaper and web – adapting content (headlines, leads etc)

- The database of background stories

- Benefits and dangers with user generated content

- Risks and ethical issues in using material from social networking sites

- Issues in use of photo online

- Managing reader feedback and involvement online

Now in its 9th year, the Caribbean Population Awards seeks to encourage and reward journalists across the English and Dutch speaking Caribbean for their work and the role they play in placing a wide range of population and development issues relevant to the region’s people on the public agenda.

Issues such as population size, growth, age-sex composition, and distribution – and the linkages with economic growth, poverty, and the need for social services are important when governments plan for present and future generations says Daniel Baker, Acting Director, UNFPA Sub-Regional office for the Caribbean.

“The media play a critical role in highlighting these inter-linkages and elevating these and other issues such as the migration of nurses, the impact of climate change, domestic violence, gender equality, HIV and AIDS, teenage pregnancies and other sexual and reproductive health issues onto the national agenda so that they are taken into consideration in framing national policies and programmes for development,” he explains.

Individuals or groups working to improve the quality of life of people with a focus on gender, sexual and reproductive health and rights and HIV/AIDS are also invited to submit entries (projects) in the non-media category to qualify for a grant to advance their work. Projects or initiatives submitted in this category should demonstrate relevance, sustainability, significant impact on the lives of community members and should have provided equal opportunity for participation by men and women, without gender bias. Applicants should have at least two years experience working in population issues.

The United Nations Population Fund Sub-Regional Office in Jamaica serves 21 countries in the English and Dutch-speaking Caribbean, and remains the largest international source of population assistance to governments, non-governmental organisations and civil society.

Deadline for submissions is September 3, 2010.

CONTACTS:

Althea Buchanan

Advocacy & Communications Advisor

Telephone: (876) 906-8591/2 (Ext. 30413)

Fax: (876) 906-8593

Email: buchanan@unfpa.org

OR

Isiuwa Iyahen

Assistant Representative-Barbados

Telephone: (246) 467-6135

Fax: (246) 435-3243

Email: iyahen@unfpa.org

The BAJ stands firmly behind Ms. Martindale, who is a journalist of considerable experience and the highest integrity and professionalism.  Further, the BAJ considers the reported actions of Mr. Henry to be wholly and utterly unacceptable, unnecessary and unworthy of any senior figure in the Government of Barbados, a government which is a guardian of the Constitution of Barbados and its long-held, hard-fought for fundamental rights and freedoms.

Threats to members of the press will undoubtedly have the effect of undermining the democratic traditions for which this country is globally recognised.

While the press in a democratic society is not an official organ of a government, it, too, is a guardian of our constitutional rights and freedoms. As a former journalist himself, Mr. Henry should not be so long and so far removed from understanding this.

This latest incident, taken together with occasional threats and intimidation by politicians, political operatives and their supporters, does nothing to enhance this country’s hard-fought for reputation as one which upholds press freedom.

While we are disappointed at this report, we are not entirely surprised. Ms. Martindale is not the first journalist to have been at the receiving end of threats or intimidation by politicians or political operatives.

Such incidents indicate that Barbados’ virtually spotless reputation and high rankings in various global press freedom indices and international reports may not be entirely well-deserved.

The dormancy of the BAJ before our re-establishment in December 2008 may have contributed to this state of affairs as there was no formal mechanism in place to report such incidents.

However, with the BAJ now functioning once more, we will ensure that such challenges to Barbados’ press freedom are met with a vigorous response.

This incident has been documented and the complaint disseminated to our regional umbrella organisation – the Association of Caribbean Media Workers, as well as to various international press monitoring organisations, including the Committee to Protect Journalists, Reporters Without Borders and the International Freedom of Expression Exchange.

The BAJ takes this opportunity to salute the Nation Publishing Company for its swift and supportive response to this issue and hopes that, in general, news organisations in Barbados will stand equally strongly with all journalists and photojournalists who uphold the highest ideals of our profession in the execution of their daily duty.

Amanda Lynch-Foster

President,

Barbados Association of Journalists

Our monthly general meeting

TIME: 6 p.m. – 9 p.m.

VENUE: Liberal Arts Auditorium of the Barbados Community College

With the Crop-Over season upon us, we thought it would be good to look at the relationship between the media and entertainment fraternities in Barbados. Our main areas of focus: – How do entertainers view the media? Friend, foe or a bit of both? – How does the local media cover entertainment issues? Is there more we could be doing? – What are the entertainment issues and/or personalities that the media tends to highlight or promote? Do we deal with all equally? Are there entertainment issues we could delve into more deeply? All media workers and all members of the entertainment fraternity are invited to attend. Some of your favourite entertainers will be there, so you don’t want to miss this one!

The theme of refreshments is Hard Times Hit We! You got to be there to find out more…..!

On

Sunday, May 3, 2009

At

Solidarity House

Start time

6 p.m.

TOPIC: The language of Journalism

Speakers are: Veteran Journalist Charles Harding and prominent broadcaster Carl Moore

Areas to be covered include:

Grammar & style

English versus dialect

Accent versus perceived pronunciation

Come out armed with your views and questions.

As usual refreshments, including drinks, will be served compliments the

BAJ Interim Committee

DATE: March 30, 2009

TIME: 9 a.m. – 2 p.m.

VENUE: Shell Suite, UWI, Cave Hill, Campus

THEME: Media Capacity Building on Tobacco Control and Public Policy

RATIONALE:

Media attention is vital to increase the visibility of tobacco control and to ensure tha the relevant target audiences including the legislators are reached. In an effort to achieve the desired outcomes, it will be strategic to build the capacity of the media in the area of tobacco control. Also the media could be an effective medium for educating a large cadre of people at the grass root level and for galvanising their support and involvement in the anti-tobacco cause.

OPENING SESSION

Chair – Barbados Association of Journalists

Opening Remarks – Dr Gina Watson, WHO/PAHO Representative for Barbados & the Eastern Caribbean

Brief remarks – Mr Patrick Cozier, Secretary General, CBU

Keynote address – Minister of Health, Donville Inniss

WORKSHOP OUTLINE:

The Global Tobacco Epidemic – Dr Shirley Alleyne, PAHO

- The need for action

The Tobacco Industry – Mr Wayne Hunte, Bloomberg Caribbean Project

- Vector of the epidemic marketing tactics

- Corporate social responsibility programmes, tobacco farming.

Tobacco and Economics – Dr Lewegaba, Lecturer at UWI

- cost of smoking (individuals and families)

- Finance burden to the health care system (cost to society)

- Production and productivity (cost to industry, labour costs)

Smoking and Health – Professor Hassell, Chairman of CNCD

- Health effects – active smoking

- Health effects – passive smoking

WHO FCTC & the Declaration of Port-of-Spain (15th September, 2007) – Ms Denise Carter-Taylor, Health Promotion MOH

- Government obligations

- Tobacco Controls at the country level

The media’s role – Mr Adrian Randall, CEO HSFB

Feedback

Call to action

HOST:

The workshop is being hosted by the Caribbean Graphic Health Warning Project, Heart and Stroke Foundation of Barbados Inc, in collaboration with:

- PAHO

- CNCD Commission/MOH

- Caribbean Broadcasting Union

Barbados Association of Jouranlists.

All interested people are asked to contact Mr Wayne Hunte at waynehunte@hsfbarbados.org, or similar be present on March 30, 2009 in the Shell Suite at the UWI. You can also see your media house BAJ representatives for more information.

Attorney-at-law Ralph Thorne, QC, is expected to speak on the topic: Journalists Know Your Rights.

Refreshments will be served.

DATE: FEBRUARY 22, 2009

PLACE: CRICKET LEGENDS OF BARBADOS, FONTABELLE, ST MICHAEL

TIME: 6 P.M. SHARP

STAY TUNED TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT THE LAUNCH AND THE LIME THAT WILL FOLLOW.

WILL YOU BE THERE?