Government continues to be misrepresented by the media, Premier Alex Scott declared on Friday.

"Our voice and words are sometimes misunderstood, misheard, I would add misdirected, because our words are in the hands of others," the Premier said during the Budget debate on the Department of Communication and Information (DCI) on Friday afternoon.

"We can't get our word out," he complained.

It was for that reason that Government set up the now-infamous focus groups to, Mr. Scott argued, gauge the public's true sentiments and gain a less superficial, more qualitative sense of how Government is performing than mere polls can give.

"We are listening, and we are hearing you," he promised the public at large.

However Editor-in-Chief Bill Zuill fired back yesterday, saying the media cannot merely repeat word for word every statement the Government makes.

"The media is independent, it is not a public relations wing of Government, or any other political party or institution," he said.

"Journalists have a responsibility to use their professional judgment to decide what is of most importance to their readers so their readers can make informed decisions. We would not be serving properly if we simply reproduced press releases and statements from Government verbatim.

"I don't think it is fair to say we don't represent Government fairly ? and I think I speak for all media when I said that. I think we make great efforts to be fair, accurate, and balanced.

"Inevitably there will be times when people ? not just members of Government ? feel their point of view could've been given more coverage or prominence.

"On the whole I think we do a fair and accurate job of covering the news, putting it in context, and bringing out what is important to our readers."

Aside from House proceedings, Government also has a direct route to the ear of the people through advertisements and television broadcasts which can be taken out at any time, Mr. Zuill said. "So the idea that they are somehow being hampered by an obstructive media just doesn't hold up."

Responding to the Premier in the House of Assembly on Friday, UBP Shadow Transport Minister and press officer Jamahl Simmons said Government's complaints about the media have been stated on a number of occasions.

Yet evidence in the Press suggested otherwise, he said, accusing the media of virtually reporting all Government statements "verbatim".

On Friday, Mr. Simmons declared that Government's use of focus groups was "unethical". "DCI works for the people, not the PLP. The Premier could be here today, gone tomorrow ? as we all know."

So Government using taxpayer-funded focus groups to discover how the party is doing is "unacceptable", he said.

Sources who were part of the focus groups have told that questions relating to the performance of both the PLP and the Premier himself were asked. The information sparked criticism from both the media and the Opposition, who declared firstly that the role of civil servants ? who are supposed to be apolitical ? was being blurred, and secondly that the taxpayers' money should not be used to fund questions on any political party.

DCI promptly denied that any questions pertaining to the party itself were asked.

Accusing Government of using Press officers at DCI as "human shields" for when the going got tough, Mr. Simmons questioned why the Premier himself did not defend the focus groups, instead leaving the fight up to DCI Director Beverle Lottimore.

"I did not require anyone to come forward, don't say I pushed anyone to the fore," Mr. Scott replied. "DCI was conducting the survey and the Director responded."

Mr. Simmons also demanded again to know if the public will be given the results of the focus groups. "We paid for it, we have a right. We need to know."

Mr. Scott did not respond to his request. He did, however, use the saga of the focus groups as a prime example of his view of Government's mistreatment at the hands of the media.

Citing a Press release defending the focus groups sent out by Ms Lottimore in response to an editorial written by Mr. Zuill which criticised the process, Mr. Scott said the most important sentence in the entire release was left out.

That sentence declared: "There was no question in those groups that asked an opinion of the Progressive Labour Party or the United Bermuda Party. 'The respondents in the groups spoke of the things that were important to them and neither of these two subjects was,' she (Ms Lottimore) said."

Mr. Zuill apologised for the omission, saying he thought it should have run, the Premier declared in the House of Assembly.

However yesterday Mr. Zuill said he felt that while the sentence was not quoted, Ms Lottimore's point was given sufficient coverage in the article in question.

When Ms Lottimore contacted him about a month after the article ran to complain, he said he did agree that, in hindsight, the sentence should have been quoted. "However I did not regard it as a disastrous omission, because the issue was sufficiently covered.

"If the Premier is unhappy with the way he has been covered, he knows he can always get directly in touch with me and we can iron out any problems he feels he has."

"I look forward to his call."

Mr. Scott offered no response to a written note from directly after his presentation on Friday requesting a copy of his Budget brief on DCI.

Ms Lottimore, who as DCI Director is responsible for all media requests to Cabinet for information, said such a request must be handled by Cabinet itself. was unable to contact Ken Dill in the Cabinet office after the debate concluded late Friday afternoon.