KINGSTON – The Press Association of Jamaica (PAJ) has called on Prime Minister Andrew Holness to address what it called the “loutish behaviour” of his State Minister Everald Warmington, who clashed with a reporter earlier this week.
“On numerous occasions in the past, he (Warmington) has verbally abused members of the press without any satisfactory response from the prime minister,” the PAJ said in a statement, following the latest incident in which the junior minister was reported to have exchanged words with Sashana Small, a reporter with Business Access TV.
PAJ president George Davis said that Warmington’s “loutish behaviour” is sufficient grounds for the media association to ask Prime Minister Holness to state “clearly and definitively” whether he supports this kind of conduct from a Member of Parliament he saw fit to appoint as a state minister.
The PAJ said that Small, was not calling Warmington to discuss personal business, adding “she called him in line with her job as a member of the fourth estate.
“Miss Small does admit she did start her recording before informing Mr Warmington. She says she didn’t get the chance to tell him he was ‘on the record’. It is however important to note that she never used the recording in any news broadcast,” the PAJ said.
The PAJ said that while it is not a must for elected or appointed officials to speak with the press, “We demand that when they do so they speak with respect and decency.” (CMC)
