Well, we're 10 days into September, which means we're 10 days into the life of attempt number 2 by PLP Senator Walton Brown at his "Bermuda Network News" website.
So far it's not a pretty picture.
September 1, the promised relaunch date, came and went with nothing. Then, late that day or on the 2nd a 'system undergoing maintenance message, site will return shortly' kind of message was displayed for 3 or 4 days.
Then, on the 4th or 5th day, it appeared.
So what's happenened since then? Nothing. 5 days and not an update.
But let's look at what is there, seeing as PLP Chairman David Burt who hides behind the 'PLP' username over at plp.bm likes to write about media bias.
1) All content appears to be generated by PLP Senator and cousin of the Premier Walton Brown himself. There are a few opinion pieces by him under the Opinion/Editorial section to which he is named as the author.
The 2 opinion pieces are on politics and race, yet nowhere is Mr. Brown's affiliation as a sitting Government Senator declared.
2) Then there's the opinion pieces dressed up as objective news in the News section published with no reporter in the byline but 'BNN Staff', particularly the Restaurant and African Accountants story.
Both are stories which lack even the most rudimentary compliance with good journalistic practice, and lack any sourcing for the provocative claims they make but are full of unsupported assertions. The latter was described to me by several people in the field as 'categorically false' and that no-one approached the accounting firms for comment contrary to the claims to that effect.
'BNN Staff' is almost certainly a pseudonym for 'Walton Brown'.
No reputable and respectable news organisation, other than the Economist which is unique in this respect, publishes stories anonymously and certainly not with a generic byline (a la PLP Chairman David Burt with his 'PLP' website pseudonym - understandably used because he doesn't want his name associated with the pack of lies and distortions he peddles on a daily basis over there.)
The absence of a byline rarely occurs in papers, but usually suggests that the editor wrote the piece. However a byline like 'BNN staff', when there is no sign that they actually have any is misleading and unethical.
3) The story entitled 'Restaurants taking tips from staff' presents a horrendous undeclared conflict of interest for Walton Brown who has financial interests in a restaurant group which owns the restaurants that are advertising on the site: Silk, Opus and Frescos.
4) The remainder of the advertising is equally as conflicted, with the head of the Government's medical business advertising with a banner at the top and the bottom, along with Walton Brown's own polling agency Research Innovations at the bottom left and a Government ad (of which he is a member) from the Ministry of Health promoting exercise.
So let's review the advertising, one ad from the Government he is a member of, one from his restaurant group, one from his cousin and the head of the Government and one from another of his companies.
Not quite a ringing endorsement and sustainable business model.
5) Nowhere is the ownership of the site declared, nor are there any phone numbers listed on the contact page or a staff directory for anyone to get a live human to address any concerns.
6) The Premier has a 'journal' which looks like a speech churning free Government PR section on a site his private businesses and Government is advertising on.
What a mess. It's not even a good attempt at a second rate news site. It's just embarrassingly amateurish and incredibly biased.
Vexed recently had a good post on alternative media in Bermuda.
Bermuda doesn't need alternative media for the sake of alternative media, or overtly politically aligned and run operations to provide some dueling talking heads model of journalism.
We need ethical competent media staffed by trained journalists not political operatives.
BNN definitely isn't it. I won't be adding it to my links and other than this post I won't be promoting such an irresponsible operation.
