The attitude to the local media by the Keith Mitchell-led New National Party (NNP) government dominated the World Press Freedom Review 2006 on the status of the media on the island.
The report examined the state of the media in Grenada and more than 180 countries around the world.
It highlighted the call made by Tourism and Civil Aviation Minister, Senator Brenda Hood to Grenadians to stop buying copies of the weekly GRENADA TODAY newspaper.
The World Press also touched on the detention of the paper editor for questioning on possible criminal libel in connection with a letter that was written about the activities of a female political activist for the ruling party.
Following is the full text of the report on the situation of the media in Grenada:
Grenada population just 90,000 is one of the most southerly islands of the Eastern Caribbean, and is located approximately 90 miles north of Trinidad.
The nation is served by five television stations, 11 radio stations, four newspapers, and five periodicals.
As in previous years, the issue of politically-motivated use of libel laws continued to be a source of concern.
On 14 March, George Worme, editor of the Grenada Today weekly newspaper, was briefly detained by police as part of investigations into a criminal libel matter in connection with an article published in the 17 February issue of his newspaper.
Worme's attorney, Anslem Clouden, said there was nothing libellous about the article and that the detention of Worme, a strong critic of the New National Party (NNP) headed by Prime Minister, Dr. Keith Mitchell, was an attempt to "muzzle free speech and expression".
The Media Workers' Association of Grenada (MWAG) also strongly criticised the arrest, issuing a statement stressing that anyone aggrieved by a newspaper article should take the matter to a civil court, adding that "the decision of the police to pursue the matter under criminal libel is unwarranted and seemed designed to pressure the media".
The following day, the government responded, calling on the MWAG to act more responsibly and withdraw the "unsubstantiated" accusation that the government and police were colluding in an attempt to suppress the media.
The statement said the government was "extremely concerned about statements being made by the Media Workers' Association of Grenada which directly question the independence of the Royal Grenada Police Force and by extension the rule of democracy and law in Grenada."
During the year, there was a further souring of relations as members of the government and other politicians made a number of verbal criticisms of the media and media workers.
On 22 May, the Tourism Minister, Brenda Hood, called on supporters of the ruling NNP to boycott the Grenada Today newspaper.
The call was made in the context of an editorial questioning the ethical standards of Cuban medical institutions following separate allegations of sexual misconduct involving a Cuban male nurse and a Cuban-trained Grenadian doctor.
At the same meeting, Prime Minister Mitchell launched a scathing attack on an unnamed local sports journalist, who he described as a "propagandist."
In December, Gloria Payne Banfield, leader of the opposition Grenada United Labour Party called on the media particularly the print media to create more balanced reporting rather than representing a point of view.
Later that month, Dr. Mitchell publicly criticised the print media, which he said was bent on printing negative coverage of the government.
As in previous years, concern was expressed about the lack of transparency in the process by which the government grants broadcast licences to radio and television stations.
Addressing a MWAG meeting in June, the organisation's president, Michael Bascombe, stated, "There has been a strong suspicion that political patronage rather than any media and broadcast standards is what guides those decisions."Indeed for the media in Grenada to remain free, we call on the government to set up an independent body to review and issue radio licenses, based on a broad policy that is published and understood by all the players."Anything short of that will leave licensed stations susceptible to the type of pressures that undermine the freedom of the media."
