Above: Incoming MATT President Ira Mathur.

On behalf of all members of MATT and the incoming executive, Asha Javeed: Vice President; Nicole Romany: Secretary; Laura Dowrich: Assistant Secretary; Kalain Hosein – Treasurer; Floor Members: Mark Lyndersay, and James Saunders – we thank the outgoing executive led by Dr. Sheila Rampersad – Lasana Liburd, Francesca Hawkins, Darlisa Ghouralal, Vindhar Suraj, Akash Samaroo and Jenson La Vende for their unstinting service to MATT.

Thanks to you and all our predecessors, MATT, formed 35 years ago by a small group of journalists, remains a powerful voice of the fourth estate.

Two of the founding members’ Andy Johnson and Wesley Gibbings, are here. They have steered us well. I also want to acknowledge our colleagues Lennox Grant and Dale Enoch for agreeing to be the wise heads presiding over this meeting.

Special thanks too to our slate proposers, including Wesley Gibbings, Dominique Heffesdon, Phillip Matheson and Nicole Drayton.

This new MATT executive is committed to maintaining the solid 4th estate built by our predecessors as watchdogs to hold those power accountable and determined to catapult MATT into the age of technology to include formerly excluded freelance colleagues or those working in silos to a fraternity that supports training, standards, cohesion, cross-fertilisation, and excellence.

We assure you that we will be vigilant on legislation that potentially criminalises journalists and strips us of protection. We take note of the long outstanding formal incorporation of MATT as a non-profit organisation and pledge to remedy this.

We will also keep a close eye on serious legal matters regarding assault and battery against several journalists and work with the TTPBA to strengthen the complaints council.

We will continue the work of pushing back against obstruction of coverage of news and current affairs. You have raised concerns over the limits on the number of media allowed in the parliament to cover the budget. We are looking into the matter while respecting the need for strict protocols during this pandemic.

In this last month, I’ve spoken to many journalists. I was saddened but not surprised to hear that many among us on the front line had been physically ill and struggling emotionally during this pandemic. Ours is probably the only profession where daily, sometimes hourly, we put ourselves out there, with our voices and words.

We are more exposed than any other profession to ridicule and criticism. Everything we do is scrutinised, down to our appearance criticised, every human error dissected. Our hours are long. Our work is unpredictable. The pandemic has exaggerated the toll on us.

Our fraternity is struggling – yet we continue to do the work of the fourth estate – no one is here for the money. We are here to serve the public. This spurred me to build this team. We’ve all heard the announcement before a flight. Put your oxygen mask on first before you help others. We have done the groundwork. We will announce a health plan for all media workers and associate members across all platforms.

In no way are we doing the work of a union. Nor do we want to. But like other professional Associations, we want to look after our people.

Other plans for MATT include:

  • Ongoing training in all areas of media, from news and current affairs to blogs and technology.
  • A lecture series across disciplines, law, energy medical, business, sport, politics, social, technical
  • Create Awards in excellence across media to reward both content and technical work.
  • Creating a safe space where journalists can share ideas, issues and socialise together.
  • Creating a MATT rewards card for members
  • Creating a complete MATT registry

Media workers are a hugely influential but fragmented community. We want to merge these silos and teach and support one another as a single community.
This is an open call to our fraternity that numbers in the hundreds to join MATT.

We call on those who have felt on the sidelines, sports journalists, bloggers, photographers, independent media operators, technical support media workers, to be part of a new MATT that pledges to support all. A bigger membership will allow us to implement the health plan and create the rewards card.

There is a wealth of talent amongst our members. Just tell us where you want to be involved. We will create subcommittees in Media Vigilance, Law, Training, Health & Wellness, Complaints and Membership Outreach. Be engaged.

At the least, come to meetings, give us your ideas, get a colleague to join. Apathy and disenchantment are the enemy and can weaken and destroy us.

We will partner with professional and training organisations, including the Law, Medical, Psychologist and PR Associations, UWI, the ACM, TTPBA for institutional support. We also ask Government, Opposition, Business, Labour and Civil Society to engage with us in a mutually respectful manner, with the underlying awareness of the vital role of a free press in a democratic society.

As the incoming president of the Media Association of T&T am committed to shepherding a new generation towards a solid and inclusive institution

Ira Mathur
President
Media Association of T&T
October 2nd, 2021