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Executive Editor of iWitness News, Kenton X. Chance, has accused some Vincentian businesses of supporting theft, and has asked them to consider if they want to consider doing this now that they know about the situation.

Chance presented his case in a Facebook Live video on the iWitness News Facebook page on Saturday, Old Year’s Day.

He said he had thought about writing about the situation for some time and decided that the end of the year was as good a time as any and a video an appropriate medium, considering its reach.

In the video targeting the business community directly, he asked how would a responsible Vincentian business react if they were asked to sponsor a produce fair in which the items offered for sale were stolen in small quantities from several farms.

“Most business people would say, ‘Absolutely not!’” Chance said, adding that responsible businesses do not support theft.

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Kenton CHance
Journalist Kenton X. Chance snaps a selfie in rain gear in Layou on Sept. 29, 2016, where he reported on the death of teen killed during the passage of Tropical Storm Matthew the previous night. Chance said on Saturday that it is unfair for media houses to use without permission or compensation content produced by others.

“For years on end, media entities in St. Vincent and the Grenadines have been doing just that and business communities have been supporting them,” Chance said.

He went on to say that there are many radio stations in St. Vincent and the Grenadines but asked how many of them have newsrooms or hire journalists to provide content for their newscasts.

“In addition to that, there have been news websites popping up all over St. Vincent and the Grenadines, but some of these people who run these news websites… none of our colleagues who are in the field, trying to get the stories every day, can ever say that they have met any of these people who run these new sites,” he said.

He said there are businesses in St. Vincent and the Grenadines that are known to be responsible by reputation that are sponsoring these websites where the bulk of the content is stolen.

Chance said the question that he would like to ask the business community is what their response would be now that they know about the modus operandi of these media entities.

“Will you continue to advertise on these websites? Will you continue to support the theft of information that is produced either locally or across the region by advertising on these websites?

“Will you continue to sponsor these radio stations — because a lot them, their news [cast] begins by saying that it is proudly sponsored by this company or that company. Where does that information that you are sponsoring come from? It is theft!” he said.

Chance, who founded iWitness News in 2009, said that it is very expensive to run a news website in the manner in which iWitness News operates: going out and producing original content.

He said that iWitness News will, in 2017, clamp down on any media house that uses the website’s content without permission.

8 replies on “Journalist accuses Vincentian businesses of sponsoring theft  ”

  1. Need facts Kenton! You have a camera; use it. Please show how this scheme is accomplished and where the stuff is coming from. It is important to give examples based on facts that will and can keep you from libel. You can also inform folks about things they should not buy because they were stolen.

  2. Patrick Ferrari says:

    Kenton, you have a problem. A real one. It is theft alright; plain and simple but in St. Vincent and the Grenadines right and wrong is a different ball game. If you (think) you are going to clamp down on any media house that steals from you, then
    you are in for the long haul.

    First hurdle: it depends on the media house.

    A poor man steals two tomatoes and makes a jail. A man steals a camera from the wife of Glen Beache – and you know who her sister is – he makes a jail. Tamara Marks, Registrar, now ex-, to the High Court, wife of bigman Ronnie Marks, ex-ULP senator, makes a thief and only God and a few, real few, of the higher echelons, knows how much – but it is a whole side – yet, she is living the life of Riley in she land, Lucia. No jail. Nowhere. How come. Me nah kno. Suffice to say a Registrar is a body who will be privy to lots of information, some of it damaging to those who cannot afford damage. Especially of that kind.

    Kenton, what they steal from you not physical. Never mind that you spend much physical hours, with costly physical equipment, with a talent and education that cost one helluva lot of physical dollars to stuff in your head, at the end of it, what you collect is not physical.

    I am afraid because of that, the lack of physicalness, your argument and claim, as solid as it is, is going to morph, conveniently, into the moral.

    Dread, we are untethered from moral. A long time ago. From the top down. Refer to paragraph three. Let me add this: in the sixteen years of this administration, aside from a little “misspoke” here or there, and less here than there, it is only the rain what get blame for “wrong” doing. As far as I can recall.

    I wish you luck, muh man.

    1. Brown Boy USA says:

      But Patrick, you are part of the problem because you choose not be part of the solution. If you let your voice be heard and not sit and say it the order of the day, then nothing will get change. If Martin Luther and civil rights movement in the US didn’t organize and march for equality and justice and just sit around and blame the system and say good luck, then many of us from the islands might never have gotten the opportunity to be living here in the US. The point is, when you see things are going wrong in our country we aren’t not stand idle by, we need to stand up, speak out and take action. Not for party or political curry favor, but for our country, our people and then better thereof. So join Kenton in his fight instead of telling him goodluck. This country belongs to us not any political party.

  3. If you successfully sue one or two, the rest will fall in line.

    A better strategy would be to sell some of your content to these media houses. If they refuse
    and continue as before, let the courts decide.

  4. Brown Boy USA says:

    Somebody has to stand up. I’m glad you are taking a stands Kenton instead of standing by and say nothing. Too much theft is going in the country. Right is right and wrong is plain wrong. We seem to have no regard for each other. That is so unfortunate because we are a small nation and need to work together for better of the country.

  5. One thing should be made clear. It is OK to parrot what another news outlet has reported first, but the second outlet should attribute the original news outlet with finding that information. In that case it can go both ways. If the news turns out to be “fake” news such as is put out every day by CNN, BBC, FOX, NBC, NPR, NYT, etc… then the fault will go to the original source. Such as Weapons of Mass Destruction, and CNN reporting that Hillary Clinton has over 80% of the vote. A good example of the opposite is C.ben David. He does not even live in SVG but his information is far better than most that do! It is SOMETIMES not necessary to do the difficult, time-consuming work that Kenton does. However, if it is done, the reporter should be mentioned and get the full credit.

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