The immortal truth

Din Duggan, Contributor

HAVING DRAWN a complete blank as to what topic to address today, I pose the following questions to my distin-guished readers:

1. What issues are of most concern to you?

2. Is the Government adequately confronting these issues?

3. How do you suggest these issues be addressed?

4. Which is the better patty, Tastee or Juici?

This columnist requests timely and comprehensive answers to these questions.

At this time, you would be justified in demanding, in a fit of anger, a refund of the hard-earned $35 you paid for this newspaper. After all, it is incumbent upon me, the columnist, to present answers and ideas rather than questions to you, the reader.

I am similarly frustrated by the impotence of the media, the fourth estate of civil society and supposed harbingers of truth, in confronting issues of public corruption. Instead of boldly uncovering great frauds and conspiracies, the Jamaican media is oftentimes guilty of carrying a story to the point at which it may run afoul of sensitivities and then climaxing by posing questions rather than presenting answers.

The price of truth

Chauncey Bailey did not simply pose questions. He investigated and actively sought truth. Over the course of a 37-year career, Bailey developed a reputa-tion as a hard-nosed, passio-nate and driven journalist. He worked for a variety of media outlets across the United States, eventually becoming the editor-in-chief of the Oakland Post, Northern California's largest African-American weekly newspaper. While there, Bailey worked on what would become the defining story of his career - an investigation into a black Muslim bakery in Oakland with ties to drug trafficking, fraud and forgery. Chauncey Bailey was unable to complete his story, however. His journalism career, along with his life, ended abruptly on August 2, 2007 - cut short by a gunman connected to the group he was investigating.

Truth is not cheap. Since 1992, 836 journalists worldwide have been killed in pursuit of it - none of them in Jamaica. It may just be that our journalists, like our not-so-national airline, possess a remarkable propensity for safety. More likely, though, is that they simply have not logged enough hours in the turbulent terrain of investigative journalism. They can hardly be blamed. I imagine that our courageous journalists are not so much afraid for their lives as they are for their livelihoods.

Libel laws stifling

The current libel laws are vestiges of a time when British nobility were protected from criticism. Unlike in the United States where, in order to recover damages for defamation, public persons must prove that statements published about them were knowingly false or malicious, Jamaican law places the burden on the defendant, in this case the media, to prove that published statements are substantially true. If unable, they face large defamation liabilities that could cripple the viability of their organisations.

These laws serve as retardants of free expression - a necessary condi-tion for a sustainable democracy. Our politicians have long promised reform. To date, they have simply done what they do best - talk. We can hardly expect better. Many of these politicians have reason to be threatened by any change in the status quo. They, and their cronies, are the new nobility, conveniently protected by this treacherous remnant of our colonial past.

Chauncey Bailey paid the ultimate price. They killed him, but they could not kill the truth he sought. A coalition of more than two dozen journalists came together to complete the work that Chauncey began. The Chauncey Bailey Project, as they called them-selves, worked tirelessly to close the final chapter in Chauncey's story. As a result of their efforts, those responsible for his death were brought to justice, supporting the age-old adage that what is hidden in the dark will always come to light.

There is much dark to be illuminated in Jamaica - how does a public servant afford numerous lavish homes and apartments? Who is really responsible for the murder of the head of a major state agency? What shady figures are financing the political process? But as long as these stories are being killed not by gunmen but by the woeful inaction of politicians, we will never be able to unleash a dauntless crop of journalists on missions to unearth deeply buried truths. We will instead be left to ask questions that we know will never be answered.

Seriously, though, which is better, Tastee or Juici?

Din Duggan is an attorney and entrepreneur who now works as a consultant with a global legal search firm. Contact him at facebook.com/dinduggan, twitter.com/YoungDuggan, or dinduggan@gmail.com.