Global press freedom organisations have denounced plans for a state-controlled council to oversee the media in Bermuda — while local journalists are calling for a rethink of the idea.

Premier Ewart Brown tabled a bill in the House of Assembly on May 7 which purports to be for the creation of an "independent media council" but which would consist of a majority of members appointed on his recommendation.

The Royal Gazette sent copies of the proposed legislation — which could be debated and passed by MPs as soon as Friday — to overseas media bodies, as well as politicians, journalists and others on the Island.

Lucy Dalglish, executive director of the US-based Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, said: "Excuse me, but is this a joke? There are so many problems with this proposed legislation it makes my head swim.

"Forget about Bermuda having a free press. This is a censorship regime. Is that what citizens really want? A government-sponsored council that can restrict the information they receive?"

International Press Institute director David Dadge described the Media Council Act 2010 as "quite poor".

He said: "It seems to be largely an attempt at political control of what should be an independent media."

Government has described the proposed council — which would establish a code of practice for the media and a complaints procedure to deal with breaches of the code — as "self-regulating".

But Mr. Dadge explained that the majority of legitimate media councils around the world are voluntary, rather than statutory, and are totally independent from any political control.

"Normally the individuals come from civil society and they are not political appointees," he said. "It's not the individual who is running the Government who gets to choose the individuals. That would appear to be an inbuilt bias."

Lindsay Ross, consultant to the CPU (Commonwealth Press Union) Media Trust, said: "I have absolutely no doubts that the lay members would be political appointees who would be there to follow the Government line and, yes, this is censorship by stealth."

She added: "What I find disturbing is that the Government is intending to impose a council but is insisting that you [the Island's media] pay for it. This is unprecedented.

"One of the reasons that governments normally decide to impose councils is specifically because they claim that the media cannot afford to fund their own self-regulatory body."

William Gore, public affairs director of the UK's self-regulating Press Complaints Commission, said the Act sought to impose a council on Bermuda's media.

"Despite the fact that this is being imposed by the Government, the media is to pay for it," he said. "That seems extraordinary! I find that quite hard to fathom."

Mr. Gore said if appointments to the council were made by the "political establishment" it would be "anathema to the way that the very, very vast majority of press councils do things".

Section five of the Act states that the council will have 12 members: five elected by representatives of the local media, six "appointed by the Governor after consultation with the Premier, who shall first have consulted with the Opposition leader" and a chairman appointed by the Governor.

Toby Mendel, executive director of the Centre for Law and Democracy, a Canadian-based human rights organisation, said the composition of the council would make it Government-controlled. "That's a complete no-no," he said.

Mr. Mendel said that while a few countries — such as Denmark and Indonesia — have statutory media councils, the bill drafted for Bermuda was not legitimate under international law.

"The biggest issue is the control," he said. "There is nothing wrong with imposing an independent council which has very limited powers. It [the Government] should give the media a reasonable amount of time to self-regulate. Sometimes the media needs to be spurred into action."

Members of the media wrote collectively to Dr. Brown on December 12, 2008, stating that they had no objection to a media council, as announced in that year's Throne Speech.

But the five signatories — Bill Craig, then CEO of Bermuda Broadcasting Company; Thaao Dill, PLP senator and programme director of Inter-Island Communications; Chris Lodge, news director of DeFontes Broadcasting Company; Bermuda Sun editor Tony McWilliam and The Royal Gazette's editor Bill Zuill — said they did not believe that a legislated media council, as outlined in a Cabinet proposal, was "appropriate or necessary".

Dr. Brown did not answer a list of questions from The Royal Gazette about the media council last week. A Government spokesman, who would not be named, said: "The Premier will be issuing a statement to address the issues and questions you have raised in due course."

The spokesman, responding to a query about whether appointees to the council would be independent, said: "It would appear that under the aegis of the Governor, seven of the members are appointed.

"The same process is followed with the appointment of independent members of many boards exercising important functions, the best example of which is the Public Service Commission."

Governor Sir Richard Gozney also sought to allay concerns about a politically-biased council. He told this newspaper: "I read it [section five] to say that six members will be appointed by the Governor, after consultation with the Premier who shall first have consulted the Opposition leader. That is important and can significantly influence the composition.

"In some other such appointments over the last two-and-a-half years, I have seen that the influence of the leader of the Opposition has been telling."

He added: "I also read the draft Act as saying that the Governor does not have to consult anyone about his or her choice of the chairman. So were the bill passed, I would need to choose a strong and independent chairman and would be unfettered in doing so.

"Clearly the role of Government House would be to join others in playing our part in trying to ensure that the media council were, in your words, truly independent."

Deputy Opposition leader Trevor Moniz described the draft Act as a "terrible piece of legislation" while Michael Fahy, chairman of Bermuda Democratic Alliance, said his party had a number of concerns, including the composition of the council.

Local journalists and writers, including Mr. Zuill, Larry Burchall, Tom Vesey and Bryan Darby, said they disagreed with the idea of a statutory body with a majority of Government appointees and worried that it was an attempt to curb freedom of speech.

Environment Minister and radio station owner Glenn Blakeney said he would vote for it in the House because he agreed with the intent but was concerned that the media would have to fund it and that broadcasters were included.

VSB News consultant Mr. Lodge said TV and radio should not come under the council. "The broadcast media is already adequately covered by a statutory government body — the Broadcast Commissioners — to hear and investigate any complaint against radio and television infringements."

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* You can download and read the complete Media Council Act. by clicking here.