Meet the Candidates

As we prepare for the upcoming elections of the Guyana Press Association, after consultations I am pleased to announce that a team has been put together to contest
the elections and I call on all of our media colleagues to offer all of us your full support.

The team has been drawn from across the local media fraternity and represents the diversity of the local press corps.

The members are persons who have proven that they are up to the task and are genuinely committed to the development of the local media.

Again I encourage you to support :

Gordon Moseley of Capitol News for President

Kwesi Isles of Guyana Times for Vice President

Tusika Martin of Kaieteur News for Secretary

Nazima Ragubir of Prime News for Treasurer

Neil Marks of Kaieteur News for Assistant Secretary /Treasurer.

In addition, Jannelle Persaud of NCN, Miranda LaRose of Stabroek News (freelance), Enrico Woolford of Capitol News and Shabna Ullah of Stabroek News will vie for the committee member’s positions.

I shall also propose for the GPA to create a position for Immediate Past President.

In addition, a team of advisors will be put together to assist the new executive.

There will be special committees and members to those committees will also be drawn from across the media landscape.

Again, we thank you for your support.

And the award goes to…

No one?

I have been in the media for 10 years now and I cannot remember a single award ceremony hosted by the Guyana Press Association for our hardworking journalists, cameramen, pressmen, video editors and producers.

I think its about time for that to change.
I want to restart the Guyana Press Association Awards, which will honor those who would have made significant contributions to the local media landscape and to those who through a story would have initiated some change or the other in our society.

The award will also honor those who work behind the scenes but play an important role. A special award committee would be established that will accept nominations and choose winners in the various categories.

It’s about time for us to begin recognizing the important role our colleagues play.

On the Technical side

I believe that a whole lot more should be on the table for the technical media workers and I have been pushing for same as Vice President of the GPA.

I have seen some successes in that area. Training programmes were planned and executed. I also saw failures, Persons were invited and were no shows and some media houses just threw out the idea of workshops for technical producers.

But that does not mean that I intend to give up.

I can assure you that once elected, I will continue to push for more training and initiate more training for the pressmen, layout artists, video editors, sound engineers and other technical personnel, But I do hope that our colleagues in those fields would take up the opportunities presented to them.

At times, many of us find ourselves guilty of not doing enough for our brothers and sisters who work the night shift, away from the spotlight and away from the front pages. I understand that; and I understand too that we ought to change that attitude.

Here’s what I intend to do on the technical training side.

-Work along with Caribbean Media houses and host special training programmes and exchanges for cameramen and video editors as well as sound engineers. The Association would seek sponsorship from the corporate community to offset the expenses of the training sessions where necessary.

-Similar programmes would be put in place for pressmen and layout artists. Because of the changing technological landscape and the importance of the internet to these fields, I suggest that the training sessions would take place online and would take the form of correspondence between the trainees and the lecturers.

-Internet training sessions will be launched. This programme will see selected persons in the technical field sharing their experiences and knowledge through emails on the media email list. A special effort will be made to have all technical persons enrolled for the special sessions on the mailing list.

Already some senior technical producers have indicated their willingness to participate.

These are just a few of my plans. If you have any suggestions, please feel free to share them.

Thank you.

The Road Ahead

I understand fully well that the road ahead may be full of potholes. I understand that the driver has to take control and not only avoid many of those potholes but understand how best to deal with the problems that may result if the car ends up in one of those holes.

This is where partnership comes in and thats why I do not intend to be the only one in the car. I am in the process of assembling a strong, dynamic and experienced team that would be able to not only guide the decision making process, but be supportive and committed to reaching the detination in the best possible way.

The fight I have been talking about is not a fight that involves the matching of gloves, but a fight in our minds, to separate right from wrong, truth from fiction and a fight to not just earn respect, but to hold on to it.

For far too long, many of us have been looking on from the ringside. This is the time to involved.

There will be pitstops and pitfalls, but that’s apart of life and thats a challenge we must all take on, not just for ourselves but for our brothers and sisters.

For the editor of a local newspaper and for a cameraman at a local tv station, for the announcer on the radio and the webmaster on the news sites.

From the flowing ink of our pens to the deafening sound of our headsets.

And I remember the words of a good friend who once said “we may may all be good drivers, but that does not make us good mechanics, everyone has a part to play”. The engine is warming up my friend, get on board.

Fasten your seat belt, and help me guide this baby home.

Gordon Moseley for President of the Guyana Press Association

These are serious times my friends. Serious Times call for Serious Leadership.

I remember how excited I was to become a member of the press when I was just 15 years old and held a video camera in my hands for the first time.

I remember being given that camera and being told to follow my dream.

I have followed that dream and 12 years later I am realizing that dream.

The media in Guyana today is at the crossroads. Many of us are not respected, Many of us do not fight for that respect. We don’t earn it. We have been declared “lazy”, we have been declared “incompetent” and we have been banned!

TIMES UP! Its time for Seriousness. I am Gordon Moseley and I want to be your President.

Walk with me; Dream with me; Time to work together.