As the PNM internal election campaign gains momentum, it seems it was only a matter of time before members of the media would become collateral damage– or targets of the vitriol of the battle. To this end, Dr Keith Rowley's attack on Express columnist Lennox Grant, a former editor in chief of this newspaper, was completely out of character for someone who has had a lot to say about the way in which the Government has engaged the media.
Quite frankly, Dr Rowley made a major misstep in his personal attack on Mr Grant. He got the basics wrong by stating that Mr Grant "was a politician who once ran against the PNM and lost his deposit. He never mentions that. He writes as a scribe who speaks from a distant, impartial position but I know he ran against the PNM. He had political aspirations and lost." Mr Grant has never run for elected office, so the fact that Dr Rowley could make such an erroneous statement is disturbing.
Who is doing his research and preparation for his public speeches? One would hardly think that he is speaking off the cuff when he mounts a platform. Last year the T&T Guardian reported, on March 27, that Dr Rowley said, in response to Prime Minister Persad-Bissessar's comment about rogue elements in the media: "'When a government had lost its way and all its attempts to deceive had failed, it turns around and begins to attack the media,' he added.
http://www.guardian.co.tt/digital/new-members