Dear Source:
In order to stay ahead of current events and comments, I regularly read The Virgin Islands Daily News, The Avis, and St Thomas Source online. It was simply unfortunate that on the day that The Avis published the article which has created so much melee, was day that I just didn't happen to buy it and since The Avis isn't on-line (a major beef of residents and visitors alike) I remain ignorant of the actual content of the article.
However, having read the comments of the numerous open forum posters on St. Thomas Source who responded so quickly to this article, I came to the conclusion that this possibly was indeed a case of really ratty journalism and I felt that maybe Rena Broadhurst DID owe the public an apology for printing something with no merit and with no byline attached thereto. But, then again, I hadn't personally read the article so didn't feel competent to render a personal decision. But I've been thinking about that as the days have gone by.
We have only three basic media outlets in the USVI. The Daily News and Cable TV are both owned by Jeffrey Prosser. We have Radio One and Sam Topp's talk show and we have The Avis which is independently owned. Why would anyone of sensible mind seek to boycott sales of The Avis when it's the only alternative to The Daily News? Despite its problems, The Avis has always afforded me, as a mere consumer of news, a sometimes different slant on local news and a different perspective on same.
In a recent forum letter, Jason Budsan quietly and quite diplomatically noted that The VI Daily News to date has not addressed or reported upon the current melee involving the Public Services Comission and Innovative. This news has been front-page Avis and forefront talk shows for at least two weeks – and yet The Daliy News has reported not one word?
All you people who have shot from the hip and demanded a boycott of The Avis might take a bit of a breath and seriously consider what would happen if The Daily News was the ONLY hard-copy newspaper available to both you and to visitors. Given that and knowing that Jeffrey Prosser's empire right now basically controls the USVI media, why on earth would you want to boycott an independent publisher who may or may not have screwed up just once but whose publication regularly publishes the local news as it is but who is a viable option in this small territory?
Options are what we need. Criticisms are fine (send an Avis Letter To The Editor) but stop with the boycott nonsense, please!
Anna Clarke
St Thomas
Editor's note: We welcome and encourage readers to keep the dialogue going by responding to Source commentary. Letters should be e-mailed with name and place of residence to source@viaccess.net.
