WASHINGTON, DC – Jamaica Chamber of Commerce President Milton Samuda will keynote the National Association of Caribbean-American Journalists Association’s Luncheon on December 17 at the Mayfair Hotel in Kingston, Jamaica.
A managing partner at the Samuda & Johnson law firm and board director of RJR Communications Group, Samuda is expected to address the core essence of the conference’s theme: “Common Cause, Common Solution: Shaping Investigative Journalism in the Caribbean for the 21st Century.”
Milton Samuda
An out spoken critic of the limited roles of access and transparency in government, Samuda has criticized the Jamaican government’ slow move toward media reform including the issue of libel and other governmental practices that prohibit good journalism on the island and the wider Caribbean.
“I see journalists as part of the guarantors of government transparency. History indicates that if a society has good journalism, it has good government,”Samuda said. ” We need to ensure that the legislative process supports independent journalism, provide access to information and protect journalists.”
He added that he has witnessed journalists in peril, especially in recent weeks and the society has to understand its role in helping to secure press freedom.
“The society has to galvanize around the protection of journalists,” he said. “In a real way, journalists are there to protect the rights of the people. And society needs to understand that.”
Samuda’s appearance at the John Russworm’s Excellence Award Luncheon is a part of a three-day conference that includes journalists from the Caribbean and the United States.
“I’m excited about this conference in Jamaica. Our venue gives us the opportunity to tackle issues of ethics and excellence in journalism, topics currently in public discourse on the island,” said NACAJ President, Ann-Marie Adams. “Many in the Caribbean Diaspora desire the benefits of good journalism, not only in our communities in the U.S. but in our homeland. We deserve a free and fair press.”
Workshops include strategies and legal advice for navigating access to public meetings,documents and data in the Caribbean and the US; ways to produce high-quality investigative stories, and watch dogging government at all levels in the Caribbean and the Diaspora.
About 30local and international journalists are expected to attend the professional workshops, plenary session and Russwurm Excellence Award luncheon.
The conference is supported in part by the Press Association of Jamaica, The Jamaica Sunday Herald, the Mayfair Hotel, Investigative Reporters and Editors,Poynter, The Hartford Guardian, the Jamaica Observer, the Jamaica Gleaner and the World Bank.
Founded in June 2007, the National Association of Caribbean-American Journalists is anon-profit organization based in the U.S.A. for Caribbean-American journalists,journalism professors, public relations professionals and students. NACAJ provides ongoing professional educational and networking opportunities for members and advocates visibility for regional and diasporic issues.
For more information, visit www.nacaj.org, or call 202-415-6155.
