Here at Barbados Free Press we always credit the source for any materials that we comment upon.
Not once have we quoted from the Nation News and failed to name the source.
But it appears the cowardly editors at the Nation News do not feel it necessary to extend the same courtesy to Barbados Free Press. Many times we have written articles only to have them publish similar articles days or even weeks later – but this time they have directly quoted from Barbados Free Press without attribution.
Those lazy, unethical pretend journalists.
Of course, this is the same so-called “newspaper” that refused for two weeks to publish the news that the contractor of the Barbados flyover project had publicly admitted to bribing politicians in many other Caribbean countries when building bridge projects! For two weeks the Nation News was shamed by Barbados Underground and Barbados Free Press as we taunted the editors at The Nation to cover the story. (See BFP’s article Triumph Of The Blogs’ Print Editions – Nation News Shamed Into Reporting Fraud Allegations Against Barbados Flyover Contractor)
This is the same newspaper that allowed its own reporters to be roughed up by police on two separate occasions while they covered serious motor vehicle accidents. This is the same newspaper that kissed the feet of the Police Superintendent who forced their own reporter to erase photos of the bus accident. (Read the unbelievable-but-true story here)
What did the Nation News do about this outrage against a freedom of the press? Nothing… they let the story fade into nothing…. just like they were told.
Bottom Line: you can’t rely upon the Nation News to provide Bajans with the simple, honest truth about anything… and this latest story is but one more example.
Bryan Walker wrote in the Nation article When Size Matters…
Protests on blogs
Also on the blogs, Barbadians have been voicing concern about the matter.
One woman wrote: “This is ridiculous! Are we going to allow this American biologist, Blair Hedges, to walk in here and claim he has ‘discovered’ the smallest snake in the world, when this snake has been slithering around in the undergrowth since my childhood days? . . . How dare this man come in here and name a snake after his wife?”
That was a direct quote from Margaret Knight writing on Barbados Free Press which you can see right here.
Not only that, Nation News writer Bryan Walker lifted a main theme of our article that Barbados is receiving excellent worldwide coverage due to the popularity of this snake story.
Too bad that the so-called journalists at The Nation News don’t have the courage to report on the Ronja Juman story, or camp out in front of Gline Clarke’s home and ask him how it is that a Minister of Government built a home on land that his government expropriated!
Cowards. Lazy useless thieving lapdog cowards.
14 Comments
August 8, 2008 at 7:08 pm
Nation News = PATHETIC
August 8, 2008 at 8:27 pm
Nation News did not acknowledge you as source
because that would be admitting that BFP carries some clout
…who do you think you are?
-Hertz? AP wire service? LOL
no no…. they deliberately left U out.
Dah would be shameful to credit wunnuh.
August 8, 2008 at 9:01 pm
Thieving is thieving no matter who does it, when, where or how. Shame on them.
August 8, 2008 at 10:44 pm
Haha, at first I thought BFP meant that they copied the “spirit” of the article. Come to find out that they simply hit copy and paste on a comment and posted it as if they got the quote as a result of their “journalism” hahahah
*head in palm*
August 8, 2008 at 11:42 pm
[...] just had a read over at Barbados Free Press and they are hopping mad! It seems that the Nation Newspaper has committed a blatant act of [...]
August 9, 2008 at 12:24 am
I see that the Associated Press have picked up the story and is running an article out of San Juan, Puerto. It’s now in cnn.com, Yahoo News, The Arizona Republic, Bay News out of Tampa Bay,Las Vegas Sun, The San Luis Obispo Tribune.
August 9, 2008 at 1:29 am
I am tired of telling you all, the Nation has an OFFICIAL policy not to recognise the blogs – It was a surprise they even used the word in the story, only Al Gilkes has dared to say their name…
Even mine which is not hidden, is not acknowledged – yet they steal stories from me ALL of the time!
Anyhow, I see the Nation “story” also has an ad for Scientology at the bottom of the page, this should be no surprise with all of the “psychic” ads placed in the print edition…
August 9, 2008 at 2:27 am
I found you from the Associated Press story with your name. I searched on yahoo and this blog is the first on the list. Congratulations to you. Shame on your Barbados Nation newspaper for stealing. Their dishonesty is being broadcast everywhere on Yahoo news.
David G. Archer
Minidoka County
Idaho, USA
August 9, 2008 at 3:00 am
BFP why did you expect the Nation to attribute the source of the story? Didn’t they post several articles from their columnists critical of the blogs in the past? They don’t feel they have any responsibility to attribute quotes from an anonymous blog. The story could have been written without the quote but the Nation is never one to investigate and I’ve said that their reporting always consists of regurgitating Press releases or articles stating “the Minister said this and the Minister said that”.
What is it about Margaret Knight and the Nation? They waited three months to publish her letter thanking the personnel at the QEH and now they quote her anonymously as “one woman”
August 9, 2008 at 12:07 pm
[...] Venezuela supposed claim to 2 blocks of Barbados offshore oil. The long and short story is that Barbados Free Press is fuming at the mouth. All because the Nation use stories ideas and pulled a direct quote [...]
August 10, 2008 at 8:06 am
Stupid and narcissistic BFP,
Always whining like a baby.
Margaret Knight, like many other people, could have easily submitted the same letter to several media organisations.
Just shut to hell up and stop whining.
You will NEVER have the clout and power of the Nation or the Advocate or any GENUINE news agency in Barbados.
Stick to posting gossip anonymously on the web.
August 10, 2008 at 10:14 am
Wuh-loss, BFP, yuh gone and upset Vivian Ann too bad though – she cussing and all now. She must be letting off steam because she knows how much she is hated by all the staff at the Nation, so she tekking it out on us bloggers. We got broad shoulders, V-A, so we could tek ‘um.
August 10, 2008 at 12:29 pm
“Here at Barbados Free Press we always credit the source for any materials that we comment upon.”
BFP, are you 110% sure about the above comment? Was there a time when it might have been an oversight?
Just asking!
*******************
BFP says,
The blog is wide open and has everything we ever wrote. When you find a mistake, let us know!
February 22, 2009 at 2:35 pm
[...] Good work, Albert! We love it when the Nation, CBC and the Barbados Advocate duplicate our articles and use the same sources. And not only does the Barbados media steal our story ideas, sometimes they even go so far as to scoop quotes from our story – actual phrases – without attribution. (For one of many examples see Nation News Steals Quote and Story Ideas From Barbados Free Press – Fails To Credit Source) [...]