| YOUTH INVOLVEMENT IN CRIME
Traditional media in St. Vincent rarely publish details of children as part of their self-regulation in the absence of any legislation. Standard media ethics dictate that the identity of persons less than 18 are not to be identified in any way in reportage. Care is to be taken to not publish the child’s name, parent or relatives’ names, address, photos video or audio which can allow the public to decipher who they are or where they are from. These professional media principles are substantially adhered to in Barbados, Grenada, and St. Vincent & the Grenadines. Libel and defamation laws exist in Barbados, Grenada, and St. Vincent & the Grenadines. Small media houses cannot afford to fight lawsuits and depending on the level of awards, they can be driven out of business. Additionally, they cannot pay for security for journalists (and relocation) if necessary. This results in a degree of self-censorship where stories with potential libel/defamation or security issues may be avoided. While this is not legislation in its purest sense it is indicative of the direction of official policy. A media source in Grenada revealed that public servants (including cleaners) have been made to sign Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDAs) to prevent leaks. This was discovered while trying to source information and clarification for stories. Media Environment: These are small island states in the Eastern Caribbean with a shared colonial and Commonwealth history and a combined population of just over half a million people. Between the countries there are approximately 177 media workers, 43 radio stations (7 x state owned, 3 with state investment), 9 television stations (2 x state owned, 2 with state investment), 6 newspapers and 13 online/digital news outlets. Interestingly, Grenada has the proportionately largest media industry despite having less than half the population of Barbados and a lower GDP. Please see Table 1 below.
BARBADOS
GRENADA
ST. VINCENT AND THE GRENADINES
Area
430km^2 287,371 $13,826
348.5km^2
389km^2
Population
112,253 $9,051
110,947 $7,297
GDP per capita
Approximate Number of Media Workers
80
65
40
Media Houses Print
2 2
3 5
2
Television
1
Radio Online
20
21
2 3
7
3
Is there State-owned media (Yes/No)
Yes
Yes
Yes
Social Media Data: Internet Users Facebook Users Instagram Users
235.4K
66.9K 62.9K 45.8K
88.1K 62.2K 47.2K
144K
171.6K
Table 8 - Snapshot of country and media demographics.
28 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
Made with FlippingBook interactive PDF creator