PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, Aug. 25 – Energy reporter, Curtis Williams, has been elected president of the Media Association of Trinidad and Tobago (MATT) and promised to pursue deeper relations with the Caribbean media umbrella body, the Association of Caribbean Media Workers (ACM).
Williams was elected at one of the organisation’s largest annual meetings hosted at two locations in the north and south of Trinidad via teleconferencing facilities.
Responding to an appeal by ACM president, Wesley Gibbings, for MATT to become more involved in the ACM, Williams said he looked forward to working more with the Port of Spain based regional press freedom organisation.
The elections followed the mass resignation in July of the organisation’s executive committee then headed by veteran journalist, Suzanne Sheppard, an editor at the T&T Guardian newspaper which was at the time embroiled in a conflict between senior staff and management over allegations of government pressure .
Neither Sheppard nor former vice president, Judy Raymond, attended Saturday’s special meeting to elect new officers. They were at the centre of a confrontation which saw the walkout of the newspaper’s public affairs editor, Sheila Rampersad, and investigative reporters Denyse Renne and Anika Gumbs-Sandiford.
At an earlier meeting, Raymond had refused to answer questions on the issue fielded by MATT members, and referred to an article she had written, and which she said answered all the questions.
Head of a caretaker committee which convened the special meeting, Sunity Maharaj, said it was important for the new executive to now conduct an investigation into the T&T Guardian affair and its impact on MATT.
Other officers in MATT are Dominica-born journalist, Khamal Georges – vice president ; Akash Samaroos – secretary; editor-in-chief of the Trinidad Express, Omatie Lyder is assistant secretary; the treasurer is Carla Bridgelal and the new floor members are Jabari Fraser and Richard Charan. (CMC)