By Nova Alexander From Sportanddev

One of the things we love about sport is the freedom to enjoy and play what we want, when we want, with whom we want. Such freedom’s are never questioned until they come under threat. Until a government or governing body impinges on our right to play.

There are many parallels between Caribbean sport and Caribbean media and press freedom. Both are in most cases struggling to find adequate finance to be effective and provide the services we expect.

Both are often at the will of powerful individuals, who confuse their ownership with the right to be extensively heard and unduly influence opinion in their own favour. And, both sport and the media are used extensively by local politicians to help, in some cases, justify poor administrative choices and in others mollify a dissatisfied public with trinkets and special events that suggest change is indeed coming.

On World Press Freedom Day, Tuesday, May 3, spare a thought for those poorly paid Caribbean folks that are members of the Fourth Estate, charged with defending our freedoms and providing us with much needed information. Here in Saint Lucia, media practitioners are increasingly concerned about their positions, questioning both the motives and the means, managers and owners fearful of political consequences, used amid an air of hostility and vile rhetoric. These are indeed troubling times and we should remain vigilant and united against all that threaten the sanctity of the only profession given super powers under the law.

[This article has been edited by the Operating Team]

For more on this story go to: http://www.sportanddev.org/?14026/1/Caribbean-sport-and-press-freedom