United Workers’ Party (UWP) spokesman, Lenard Montoute, has taken aim at members of the local media, accusing them of abandoning objectivity in favour of what he described as “supper time performances” for the ruling Saint Lucia Labour Party (SLP).
Speaking on his weekly programme ‘Like It Is’, Montoute delivered a scathing critique of the local press, alleging that many journalists have compromised professional standards in their coverage of political issues.
“You call them professionals, but we understand that it is supper time for all of them. Not all, most of them,” Montoute said. “And so, they’re doing the supper time performance, singing a song for their supper. It is amazing. All of you come across as brown nosers, and you’re all so far up… I couldn’t even recognize that it was media people talking there.”
Montoute described what he views as an erosion of professional integrity within the media sector. “It’s a disgrace really, an embarrassment to your profession,” he said. “You all call yourselves media workers. If you all know the basics about media work and journalism and so on, you know first and foremost there should be impartiality. And if there isn’t, you should declare it. You should declare your bias. That’s what professionals do.”
The former Minister of Youth and Sports went on to single out media personalities by name, expressing disappointment in what he described as a culture of partisanship.
“Jason (Sifflet), honestly, you are beginning to become such an embarrassment that I don’t know if you’ll recognize yourself when you finish what you’re doing there,” he remarked. “And there are others I thought a little better of, but then at the end of the day, you’re all proving yourselves to be exactly what you all are. Sad to see.”
Despite his criticisms, Montoute acknowledged that not all journalists fall into this pattern. “I saw one who I’m not familiar with, seems to be a novice, who seemed to have understood something that will project the semblance of media work,” he said, suggesting that some newcomers show potential for balanced reporting.
He concluded by invoking the names of veteran media figures, implying that they would be disappointed by what he considers a decline in journalistic standards.
“I could imagine the likes of Timothy Poleon, Rick Wayne, Andre Paul, and those people must be cringing, seeing that kind of performance in the name of media work.”