NEWSDAY’S Editor in Chief Jones P. Madeira was on Wednesday night celebrated for his outstanding and pioneering contribution to the media industry.

Madeira has worked locally as well as throughout the Caribbean as a print journalist, broadcaster, news editor and manager.

“Jones P” as he has become popularly known, was awarded at the 13th Annual Dinner and Awards for Media Excellence hosted by the Trinidad and Tobago Publishers and Broadcasters Association (TTPBA). The event was held at Jaffa’s at the Oval in St Clair.

Madeira was also honoured for his contribution in other areas of communication, including promoting regional news production and content as well as in training and mentoring many who came into the business.

TTPBA president Daren Lee Sing lamented the realities of life in the media during a recession saying that it was difficult because advertising was the first thing to be affected during a downturn.

“Now, I would like you to imagine waking up everyday and not being able to shake a migraine that confronted you from the evening before, and perhaps for the last six months before that – that is: ‘What’s my masthead like today? Will it be a better seller than X or G or N’s? Will I make budget? If I don’t, what are the next steps? What are my ratings if any? And how can they improve? Will I have to send home folks who have become family to me? Will I make payroll?’ The realities of life in media during a recession, places the world on your shoulders.

“But yet, if we are smart enough, there is a silver lining that can see us navigate through these doldrums, and that is doing it together as one association. That is what TTPBA represents and why it is crucial to be onboard and rowing in the same direction at this very time.” Lee Sing called for a few moments of silence to honour media pioneers who died during the past year. Among them were business magnate Anthony Norman Sabga; television personality Holly Betaudier and Mervyn Telfer.

Economist Dr. Terrence Farrell referred to the myriad of things that go wrong in the country and all the failures which are accepted in various sectors, asking why these things are allowed to continue, whether it was that the population liked it so.

He said sometimes people are placed in positions for which they have neither the knowledge nor capability, whether that position is a ministerial one or the chairmanship of a State enterprise. Farrell said sometimes these people do not know that they do not know.

Others, he said, accept the position because of the status it offers while knowing in their hearts they will not be able to accomplish much and set about enjoying the perks.

“So it is not surprising that Trinidadians and Tobagonians do not trust their institutions - the President, Government, Parliament, Judiciary and the media.” While noting that the media is mainly the place where other institutions and their leadership are held to account, he questioned who holds up the mirror to the media itself.

VERNE BURNETT Friday, May 5 2017