Meeting the Challenge of aDiscerning Public
Our lead story in this issue that GeorgeTown MLAs Linford Pierson and Kurt Tibbetts have ended their politicalalliance may come as a bold approach to reporting "the news,as it happens...when it happens," the mission that this newspaperhas adopted.
To us, and we trust to you, our dear readers, it is but the exerciseof what we consider our responsibility to place issues such asthis in a proper public forum for enlightened discussion, andremove them from the speculation and personal and cowardly attacksthat are so common to the 'marl road'.
It is, we have been told, an approach to covering the news thatis a welcome and refreshing alternative. Although at times ourtask is challenging, we continue to be encouraged by a wide crosssection of readers, here in Cayman and across the world throughour Internet edition.
In our early days, when we began as an Internet news organ, wefaced the ire of many because it was felt that the world wouldbecome aware of all that is happening here in the Cayman Islandsthrough the World Wide Web with its audience of over 300 million.
As a matter of fact, for a brief while, we were banned from receivingcertain press releases because it was felt that there are certainmatters that should not be reported for the world to know.
The right to information belongs to the people, because this helpsto produce good order, instead of malicious and unfounded gossip,which only feeds further distrust of and disrespect for authority.
This kind of behaviour can only serve to produce fear, therebyalienating people form productive participation in building afragile society such as ours, given the recent scrutiny from theworld community regarding the Cayman Islands' success story.
In advanced democracies everywhere, freedom of information isgenerally regarded as paramount to the partnership between thepeople and their leaders, here at home it must not be different.
Our approach to highlighting issues developing in this currentelection season may no doubt, upset some. On the other hand, thepublic's inquiring minds do want to know the facts, presentedin a balanced format for them to make their own informed judgmentsand choices.
This is a duty we gladly perform.
It is hoped that all the candidates in this year's election, theirsupporters and committee members will take the moral high groundand appreciate that we have no agenda, except to report fairlyand accurately, without fear or favour.