The other Jamaican newspapers follow suit

I gather that the Daily Gleaner and the Sunday Herald have followed the Jamaica Observer in distancing itself from James W. Smith's letter regarding the cancellation of the acting appointments of Nicole Pusey-Foster and Lackston Robinson. I cannot believe that every major paper in Jamaica opted to accept the word of Amb. Donald Rainford without question or investigation. The abject cowardice of the media apparently knows no bounds.

In fairness to the Observer, I have heard from one of the editors who has taken the point that the Observer should not have issued a disclaimer in light of the clear evidence available that demonstrates approval for the acting appointments was given and then withdrawn.

Some have suggested that the Amb. Rainford should be taken as saying that the acting appointments were made by the Chief Personnel Officer without the express authorization of the new PSC. However, in the disclaimer by the Observer (which I assume was replicated by the other newspapers), it is clear that Amb. Rainford's position is that no recommendations for the acting appointments were ever made, much less approved or disapproved. This simply does not square with the evidence. When I appeared on Nationwide News Network last week, Emily and Naomi were trying to push the idea of the CPO going on a frolic of her own, as if to imply that she requires express authorization for every personnel decision she makes in the name of the PSC.

Given the posturing of the Attorney General, and her clear intent to micro-manage personnel decisions in the AG's Chambers, I am all the more astonished by the media's handling of this issue. It's a damn disgrace.