VINO fires back @ local tabloid BVI Beacon’s malicious article!
Our esteemed Chairman of the Board of Directors Mr. Julian Willock, along with Advance Marketing and Professional Services Marketing Manager John E. Leonard, received an email earlier this week from the tabloid reporter Mr. Jason Smith, requesting an interview on the Dr. Hubert O'Neal default judgment matter.
As is the policy of our firm, any matter of a legal nature is turned over to our legal counsel, so in complying with this, we did just that.
What is tabloid’s agenda/motive?
It is our understanding that while our legal representative wanted to speak at length about the judgment the reporter Mr. Smith seems to want to attack Virgin Islands News Online (VINO) with the clear intention at getting the attention of our very busy esteemed Chairman.
Further, the tabloid’s malicious intent was to give the impression in keeping with the paper's political line [paper publisher is Russell Harrigan who is a declared National Democratic Party Official and former Chairman of the party] that VINO does not have any staff, as none of our journalists or even our marketing executive exist.
Well, we are sure by now following the 2011 General Elections, we have heard this narrative before both in the House of Assembly and in this one tabloid.
While Master Taylor-Alexander was bound to make a recommendation of payment because her hands were tied by the default judgment in the Dr. O'Neal matter, there is no victory here for Dr. O'Neal. The matter now, as is expected, is being appealed.
The tabloid BVI Beacon continues to engage in yellow journalism and we have grown used to the many nasty, erroneous and deliberate attacks. Many of our readers have called and emailed us and stopped many of our reporters to ask if there are hidden motives and agenda since one tabloid paper continues to spread vicious propaganda when in fact VINO remains the number one media house in the Virgin Islands, with the most advertisers, the most staff and the most readers?
Is Jason Smith a racist?
Many have even suggested that some of the Caucasian reporters, including Jason Smith, are racist! However, it is not Advance Marketing and Professional Services’ - the parent company of VINO - place to go around labelling anyone, as we will leave that to others who are better equipped to make those types of serious declarations.
One will have to come to their own conclusion on these matters, knowing that some three other media houses were taken to court including the very same tabloid who has chosen to settle matters such as alleged defamation out of court.
VINO remains no 1 for professional journalism-a fact!
Virgin Islands News Online has already cemented its reputation for fair, accurate, objective and balanced reporting, and we are not associated, controlled or dictated to by any political party or even anyone on our Board of Directors. The tabloid BVI Beacon can never say that with a straight face!
So their usual childish, and preemptive attacks have not moved us, in fact they have strengthened our resolve to stay focused, report only the news, and maintain our professional disposition; a position many others can only envy.
We take this time to say a heartfelt thanks and deep appreciation for the many calls of strong support we have received since the tabloid article made it to newsstands, from both our many advertisers, readers both locally, regionally and internationally as well as others in the media fraternity. We are extremely humbled.
We pledge to continue to bring you, our more than 20 thousand readers a day, the news first, accurate and without malice, as well as never using our news site to go after anyone to satisfy a personal agenda or even attempt to attack our competitors.
In the end, those tactics will only undermine the reputation and credibility of those like the tabloid BVI Beacon and others who specialise in them!
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46 Responses to “VINO fires back @ local tabloid BVI Beacon’s malicious article!”
Freedom of the press and freedom of speech! We can't have this current administration take away our right to voice our opinion which is what they're trying to do.
If we as a people allow them to do that then they will continue to keep us "in the dark" with a lot of their decision making!
Online business like VINO keep us aware of what's going on in the territory as it looks out for us as a people. A nation can suffer or even perish from "lack of information".
J..on and the tabloid is really looking fame, but doing NDP dirty work
Who is that jerk J..on trying to write donkey droppings about the best online news site?
And let the Whites Racist crowd go soak its collective head in a cold bowl of White Privilege and faux outrage over another talented local paper