I find it interesting that The Daily observer is now headed by BUBA BALDEH
.What is more striking than the individual is that he is the deputy national
mobiliser of the APRC.With all due respect to Mr Baldeh ,no sane person will
believe that the Observer will be reporting balancely.Mr Baldeh's party is
known for its facist attitude towards the press since coming to power in
1994,they hve harassed,tortured and intimidated members of the press,and
continue to do so.One could argue that the apointment of Buba is the APRC
saying ,if intimidation doesnot work,we should start controlling them.I only
hope that employees at the DAILY OBSERVER will not hesitate to resign ,when
confronted with any form of censureship from the management.
PEACE
PASAMBA
>From: Hamadi Banna <[log in to unmask]>
>Reply-To: The Gambia and related-issues mailing list
><[log in to unmask]>
>To: [log in to unmask]
>Subject: Buba Baldeh at Daily Observer
>Date: Tue, 28 Nov 2000 11:51:59 -0500
>
>Courtesy of the Daily Observer
>
>___________________________________________
>
>Tuesday, November 28, 2000
>
>BUBA BALDEH IS NEW OBSERVER MD
>- VOWS TO UPHOLD EDITORIAL INDEPENDENCE
>
>The former PPP minister for Youths, Sports and Culture, now deputy national
>mobiliser of the APRC, Buba Baldeh, has been appointed managing director of
>the Observer Company with effect from November 24.
>
>Mr Baldeh, who called at the Daily Observer officers yesterday afternoon to
>announce his new appointment, replaces Sarriang Ceesay. Mr Ceesay has been
>on vacation in the United States for the past two months. Unconfirmed
>sources said Mr Ceesay, who is expected in Banjul early next week, may land
>a job in the Gambia civil service.
>
>Sarriang Ceesay was the director general of Customs and Excise and later
>ran
>a private consultancy before heading the Observer Company in May 1999
>following the acquisition of the company by tycoon, Amadou Samba. In an
>interview shortly after he visited various departments of the company
>yesterday afternoon, Mr Baldeh affirmed his allegiance to Amadou Samba and
>said he will "live up to expectations".
>
>Mr Baldeh denied his appointment was a calculated move to blunt the
>objective edge of the newspaper by some interested groups in the APRC
>party.
>"I am not aware of any APRC clique in the first instance and the paper does
>not belong to the APRC.
>
>This paper belongs to Mr Amadou Samba, who is my employer and therefore, I
>can only say my allegiance is to the company, to the paper and to the
>proprietor." The proprietor of Observer Company, Amadou Samba, is viewed in
>many quarters as a close associate of President Yahya Jammeh.
>
>Editorial independence
>Mr Baldeh promised that he will not interfere with the editorial
>independence of the Daily Observer. "That is absolutely vital if we are to
>march forward. My new appointment is a big challenge, but I promise to live
>up to expectations.
>
>Certainly, I have no journalistic experience as such, but in my capacity as
>managing director, I do not have to be a journalist as such. I have been an
>administrator all my life. I have headed several government and other
>institutions in this country. My job here as managing director is, far
>different from that of editor-in-chief or other journalists. My business
>will purely be that of management and facilitating and creating the right
>environment for all the various departments in this company function to the
>satisfaction of all Gambians, and certainly, the proprietor." Mr Baldeh
>recalled that when Amadou Samba bought the Observer in 1999, "there were a
>lot speculations.
>
>Mr Samba is a friend to the APRC, et cetera, et cetera. But this
>speculation
>will be laid to rest very soon. Daily Observer will continue with its
>balance reporting without fear or favour. My connections with the APRC,
>which is as a result of my own political convictions, has got nothing to do
>with the independence of the Observer, particularly the editorial section
>of
>the paper. It is a newspaper and therefore all the stories will be carried
>in it like any newspaper in this country. The foundation of good work that
>has been done by my predecessor, Sarriang Ceesay, will be built upon.
>
>I am a supporter of President Yahya Jammeh but I have no intention, let me
>repeat this, I have no intention whatsoever, of interfering in the
>editorial
>set-up of this company. In the event that there are complaints from the
>public or from anybody over articles, over stories, I am sure those
>complaints will be looked into.
>
>I can say that the policy that has been here since Mr Samba took over, that
>policy has to stay." Mr Baldeh added, "Despite the speculations and
>criticisms, the Observer still has the largest circulation. It is the
>biggest newspaper company. It's well organised and both the permanent staff
>and those on freelance are doing an excellent job."
>
>Priorities
>Commenting on his new priorities, Mr Baldeh said he would maintain the
>credibility of the paper and that he would embark on an aggressive
>marketing
>campaign so that the paper can generate revenue. He promised to promote the
>staff based on merits, especially those staff who are hard-working.
>
>
>
>
>_____________________________________________________________________________________
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