19 July 2007 | The Royal Gazette

Government has called on the Island's media to be more responsible in its reporting of current events and not to sensationalise them to the point of causing a "major riot in the summertime."

Government Senator Wayne Caines brought up the issue during yesterday’s motion to adjourn in the Senate.

Sen. Caines said the community was becoming more polarised lately, sometimes due to a steady diet of inaccurate information that's fed by certain media organisations, which some people then interpret as "the gospel."

And he feared the combination of high emotion during an election season - which he says "does not have to be dirty as some predict" - has the potential to fuel antisocial behaviour and possible race riots.

"We've seen a number of sensationalised headlines over the recent months and after canvassing and talking with constituents, I've noticed that we've become very polarised," Sen. Caines explained. MORE! »