The International Press Institute (IPI) has written to the Premier to complain about Government’s removal of advertising from the Royal Gazette as a means of punishing the paper.
The International Press Institute (IPI), the global network of editors, media executives and leading journalists in over 120 countries, would like to express its concern at the continued implementation of an advertising ban on The Royal Gazette, Bermuda’s only independent daily newspaper…
The use of official advertising to punish or reward media outlets is an indirect form of censorship that restricts press freedom and in many cases places the survival of a publication at risk. We call on the Government of Bermuda to end its ban and to create procedures that ensure that advertising is distributed in an open, fair and transparent manner.
The IPI joins a growing list that includes Association of Caribbean Media Workers, the Index on Censorship, the UK Press Gazette, Reporters Without Borders, IFEX, the International Freedom of Expression eXchange, the Inter American Press Association (IAPA), Sunshine Week/ American Society of Newspaper Editors, the World Association of Newspapers and the World Editors Forum, and Caribbean Net News, and The Guardian.
The Premier’s excuse that newspapers are not the best media outlet for Bermuda is wearing a little thin as news leaks out that the Premier’s close allies have invested several million dollars in setting up a competing paper. Gee, I wonder if it will attract any Government advertising or Official Gazette handouts?
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