Shocking, blatant one sided slanted reporting.

And David Legge is now the white knight with shining armour and the Cayman Islands is full of corruption and he [Legge] is penalized because he wrote an editorial exposing it. The government via Cayman’s premier accused him of a ‘treasonous attack” and by saying that “he [the premier] put a target on my back, to my mind and my wife’s as well” claimed our Saviour.

The following is taken from the Washington Post article published on 14th and it is typical of the one sided slanted reporting from all the rest of the World’s media. And if I ever hear another sentence saying David Legge worked for “The Washington Post” I will vomit.

“Publishers flee after fallout for depicting Cayman Islands ‘steeped’ in corruption”

“WASHINGTON — To many observers, the FIFA corruption case has been a result of journalistic enterprise, whether through the dogged investigative ethos of British journalist Andrew Jennings that first brought the accusations to light, or the satirical television work of John Oliver that later spread those accusations to a wider audience.

“But as the dust begins to settle, the FIFA scandal is creating repercussions for journalists too.

“Just ask David and Vicki Legge, publishers of the Cayman Islands’ only daily newspaper, who say they have had to leave Grand Cayman and seek refuge in Florida after an editorial in response to the FIFA scandal angered Premier Alden McLaughlin.

‘”He put a target on my back, to my mind,” David Legge said in a phone call from Florida. “And my wife’s as well.”

“Legge, a former employee of THE WASHINGTON POST [rushing to the bathroom] who moved to the Caymans 25 years ago and bought the Cayman Compass in 2013, said the problem was caused by an editorial he published in the aftermath of the corruption scandal. That editorial, titled “Corruption: An insidious, creeping crime,” described the Cayman Islands as “culturally steeped” in corruption and called on the government to investigate allegations of corrupt practices thoroughly.

“It was a provocatively timed article. Jeffrey Webb, a popular Caymanian who had worked his way up to become a top executive in the Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football, was among the most senior FIFA officials arrested in Zurich. He is accused of racketeering and bribery offenses.

‘”Jeff Webb is a native son of the Cayman Islands, and he’s done much good for the Cayman Islands,” Legge said, before comparing the impact of his arrest to the impact of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in the United States. “He’s truly one of the most beloved, and certainly famous, people in the Cayman Islands.”’

And so this one sided verbiage continues with not an ounce given to the speech given by premier for the REAL reason of his attack that had absolutely nothing to do with Webb or FIFA but was because of what Legge’s Editorial Board said about Caymanians in general.

Yes, foolishly the premier let wisdom pass him by and he allowed a motion to be passed formalizing government plans to stop spending money for advertisements and announcements in the Cayman Compass. I said it would come to hit him hard and it was a HUGE mistake and it was.

Even when the foreign press has mentioned the CNS article that gave some of the real reasons they quickly moved on not giving them mostly the time of day, nor that Legge was a disgrace but saying “In an opinion article posted to the Cayman News Service Web site, a COMPETITOR of the Cayman Compass, editor Nicky Watson called suggestions of treason “FANTASTICALLY SILLY”. All the details blasting Legge not mentioned.

Legge’s other nonsense “Legge sees McLaughlin’s comments as politically motivated — designed to appeal to Caymanian voters who support Webb and dislike the foreigners who live on the island, such as Legge and his wife.” Well my wife is Caymanian and she has liked the Legge’s but she sure doesn’t now.

Even the Cayman Islands Chamber’s release saying the advertising motion must be quickly rescinded has been quickly given bold headlines and used to bolster our ‘lighter shade of pale’ knight’s case.

For reference this is part of what premier Alden McLaughlin said:
“This country was built on hard work and honesty and this is our foundation. Our forebears will attest that nothing came easy to them. They worked for what they had and helped build these islands, along with those who came to help, into what we are today. And for Mr Legge and his editorial board to insinuate that the very core of Cayman is based on corruption, and that corruption is interwoven into our culture, is an allegation that as Premier I will not allow to go unchallenged.

“I would never be one to say that things in our islands are perfect; we have our issues like everywhere else. Nowhere is perfect and without its problems. But let’s examine what Mr Legge and his editorial board said on Wednesday when he deliberately painted the entire Cayman Islands, and everyone living here, as being a place and a people that are entirely corrupt.

“The editorial stated “…perhaps, when it comes to identifying corruption, people in Cayman truly don’t know it when they see it — because they have been culturally steeped in it.” Note – he says ‘they have been culturally steeped in it”. I guess that is intended to convey that those at the Compass are immune to the corruption virus.

“The editorial further infers that with virtually every single everyday transaction, and some less commonplace ones – from vehicle inspections, to work permit approvals, exemption from development regulations, voting, to millions of dollars in bribes for sporting events – that “lurking behind the scenes are shadows of impropriety, influence, and inscrutability”. I note however, that the Compass is happy to accept advertising dollars from all the supposedly corrupt entities or persons who inhabit these Islands and presumably the salaries paid to Compass employees are also derived from inscrutable and possible corrupt sources.

“The editorial goes on to say that corruption “is so commonplace, we tend to ‘normalize it,’ refusing even to recognize it, or neglecting to see how aberrant it really is.” And to add further insult to great injury the editorial also opines that “In Cayman, we’re more likely to attribute such behavior to “cultural differences.”

“The sad irony is that the Cayman Compass’s attempt to equate corruption with being Caymanian is not only disgraceful and insulting to the good people of this country, but it makes light of what is a very serious issue.”

AND

“Mr Legge must know that his editorial board’s reckless abandonment of the truth can set us back and make our job and the job of every financial services provider and investor in these Islands even harder.

“But the sad fact is that he does know what the reality is – he knows. And so because he knows, the Compass editorial is not only reckless, it must be interpreted as a treasonous attack on the Cayman Islands and on all the people of Cayman. It is a direct attack on everyone who lives here, who works here, who invests here, who has a business here, who serves on public boards, who works in the public sector, who works in financial services, who works in tourism. And it is a full frontal assault on the many businesses which pay hundreds of thousands of dollars to the Cayman Compass every year in advertising fees.

“In these difficult days and in the weeks to come, when the world’s attention is trained on us it is important for all of in Cayman, but especially those in leadership and in the press to maintain our dignity and to protect what we have worked so hard to build up – not by ignoring a problem or covering up, but by standing firm in what we know to be true and resisting the cheap thrill of sensationalism.”
To read the whole statement and FOREIGN PRESS PLEASE NOTE ESPECIALLY THE ONE WHERE MR DAVID LEGGE WORKED go to: http://www.ieyenews.com/wordpress/cayman-islands-premier-slams-compass-editorial/

There was no mention of Jeffery Webb or FIFA. It started with:

“We live in a free society, with a free, unregulated press which is at liberty to espouse and propagate its own viewpoints, promote its own agendas and say virtually whatever it thinks and feels. Indeed the bill of rights contained in the Cayman Islands constitution has enshrined the right of freedom of expression.

“And it goes without saying that the Government of the day is to expect scrutiny, criticism and challenge from the press. In fact it is the media’s job to take us on. But the editorial in question was not about the government. And it was not about me. It was about the people of Cayman. It called us by name. For months now this community has endured smear campaigns, insulting editorials, racist cartoons and insult after insult by our very own daily local newspaper. Just what the publisher hopes to achieve or build, only he can reveal, but it is becoming increasingly obvious that he is on a crusade and that his battle, much like that of Don Quixote, is with an enemy of his own creation.”

Those are the true and unbiased facts and iNews was the first media house here to state the motion to pull the Compass’ advertising was wrong and would be interpreted as a penalty on a free press and free speech.

We don’t leave out important parts we say it how it is – both sides.

iNews Cayman has never ever posted shocking, blatant one sided slanted reporting.

SHAME on the Foreign Press.