PM Charges JIS to be Source for Facts

Prime Minister, the Most Hon. Andrew Holness, has charged the Jamaica Information Service (JIS) to continue to be the source of factual information that is in the public interest.

He said the agency must ensure that, where there is a deliberate attempt to mislead the public by spreading false information, the facts are presented.

The Prime Minister was addressing the JIS’s strategic planning session for 2024 to 2028 at the Liguanea Club in New Kingston on October 5.

He further encouraged the agency to innovate and take advantage of new media to reach more people at the parish and community levels.

“You need to ensure that you have news that is relevant for all age groups, all socio-economic strata of the society, that you are across all media – on television, radio, social media – and that the spectrum of topics that you cover are sufficiently broad,” he noted.

“You must ensure that you have a local presence, a national presence, ” he added, stressing that the news and reports presented must be factual, integrous, unbiased and non-partisan.

The Prime Minister said that the funds allocated for the opening of a JIS regional office in St. Thomas, which will serve the eastern section of the island, will better enable the agency to widen its geographical footprint.

A sum of $50.9 million has been provided in the Third Supplementary Estimates, recently tabled in Parliament by Minister of Finance and the Public Service, Dr. the Hon. Nigel Clarke, to support the establishment of the office.

The Prime Minister said the role of the JIS is even more critical now, when unverified and unvetted information exists in the public domain that could pose a threat to democracy.

“A small country like Jamaica can’t take it for granted that this open media space, this open flow of information does not have an impact on our institutions and the way in which our people think and behave – their outlook, their mood, their aspirations, and how it changes our value system. As a Government we must be concerned about that.

“One way to treat with the issue is to make sure that the public agency for information is effective in combatting the unregulated flow of information,” the Prime Minister said.

Permanent Secretary in the Office of the Prime Minister, Ambassador Dr. Rocky Meade, in his remarks noted that the annual strategic planning session will better enable the agency to “identify and operationalise strategic objectives that will assist with the delivery of critical messages to Jamaicans”.

Chief Executive Officer, JIS, Enthrose Campbell, said that the agency remains committed to finding creative and innovative ways to reach people.

“Our job is more than just informing the people; we ought to engage the people and we have to find new ways to do that,” she said.