The Association of Caribbean Media Workers (ACM) is a network of journalists, media workers and media associations spanning the Caribbean Basin. It was established in Barbados in 2001. Its membership includes media professionals and their representative associations from countries of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and the French and Dutch-speaking Caribbean. The Media Institute of the Caribbean The Media Institute of the Caribbean is a non-profit organisation, resource and training facility for the Caribbean that provides media resources and training for journalists, communicators and leaders, to contribute to the regional democratic process by supporting an innovative and independent Media Industry; evaluates current Caribbean policies, strategies and initiatives, and suggests alternatives to regional media challenges, while working within the Caribbean region with journalists; adapts to the evolving industry to strengthen investigative techniques and leadership skills of its members; facilitates media incubators, innovators and entrepreneurs; and Produces and promotes stories on the region for global audiences. Caribbean Broadcast Union (CBU) is a not-for-profit association of public service and commercial broadcasters in the Caribbean, the majority of whose members are mainly state media entities. It facilitates discussion and analysis that assist in policy formulation on major integration issues. Media Development Funding These countries have not received extensive or sustainable support for media development as in the case of Jamaica for CARIMAC at the University of the West Indies, Mona Campus, Kingston, Jamaica (which serves the Caribbean region) and Northern Caribbean University (NCU) in Manchester, Jamaica. This may also be because the size of the media fraternities is very small and there is a lack of physical infrastructure. The entity in the region which has been doing most of the journalistic training with active journalists and has about 300 journalists trained in intensive short courses or boot camps, is the Media Institute of the Caribbean (MIC). Most of MIC’s training has been done virtually due to restrictive budgets. Journalists typically do not specialise as newsrooms are small and resources are very restricted. Based on several interviews and interaction by the Media Institute of the Caribbean between 2012 and 2023, the feedback of over two hundred journalists indicates that there is self-censorship in the region. There is a lack of investigative reporting and follow up because of these two issues in particular which affect output. Newsrooms are hard-pressed to implement safety for journalists and do not have the revenue to allow for in-depth research and fact finding necessary for investigative reporting. There is only one investigative reporting media outfit, Caribbean Investigative Journalism Network 11 (www.cijn.org). The countries in this study have news outlets which have carried stories from this source which allows for the increased audience and better exposure of the stories.
Misinformation and Disinformation
11 The Caribbean Investigative Journalism Network ( www.cijn.org ) is a non-profit entity and the Caribbean region’s only independent investigative journalism media platform.
16 A Media Analysis of the Coverage of Youth Involvement in Crime and Violence and Trafficking in Persons (June 2021 to June 2023) in the Eastern Caribbean
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