GOVERNMENT NOT CONSIDERING LICENSING REGIME FOR JOURNALISTS:

  GOVERNMENT NOT CONSIDERING LICENSING
REGIME FOR JOURNALISTS:

Minister with Responsibility for Information, Daryl Vaz, has given the assurance that government has no plans to establish any licensing regime for journalists.

Minister Vaz was responding to a report which claimed that the government might be moving to establish a licensing regime for journalists. Both the Press Association of Jamaica (PAJ) and the Media Association Jamaica (MAJ) have expressed their strong opposition to such a move.

Minister Vaz noted that the government through the Broadcasting Commission has always had the responsibility for regulating the electronic media. However, this has traditionally been undertaken in an atmosphere of mutual understanding with both parties meeting to establish a framework for operations, Mr. Vaz emphasized.

Beyond this form of regulation, the Minister reiterated that there is no plan or intention on the part of the Government to license journalists.