Journalists in Bermuda must check their facts and make every effort to provide a better picture of news, Bermuda College retiring President Michael Orenduff said yesterday. Speaking to Hamilton Rotarians, Dr. Orenduff said he respected professional journalism and the role of the Island?s news editors in determining what news to cover.

But he said at times journalists did not present a clear picture of reality because they failed to fully investigate facts before publishing an article.

And what are situations where a member of the public has an ?axe to grind? are often turned into news stories, he continued. An example he used was the call by Opposition Senator Leonard Santucci for a probe into Bermuda College human resources practices over the employment and promotion of Bermudians at the institution.

?If you read the paper you get an altogether different picture of what goes on at the college than what does,? said Dr. Orenduff.

He said if journalists had checked the facts before running the article they would discover black males in a number of high level administrative positions.

?The list goes on and on, and all of those men were appointed not because they were black men but because they were qualified.?

Dr. Orenduff urged the public to let the Press know when its coverage is not as balanced.

?You are the watchdog of the Press, I urge you to exercise that ability,? he said.

?If you think something is unfair, write, call and tell them, cancel your subscription, reduce your advertising.?

He told the audience: ?The Press is critical to Bermuda?s psyche, to the future well-being of this Island, and to our image overseas.?

Dr. Orenduff said he had a high regard for , which he said did an excellent job of covering news in a small community.

?Media has a difficult job, you must report the negative things which happen to keep us all on our toes so that it isn?t pushed under the rug,? he said.

But he added that a lack of competition created a tendency for journalists to write from a personal perspective. Referring to the sacking of mathematics lecturer Dr. Shaun O?Connell, which was covered in the Bermuda Sun and Dr. Orenduff said: ?We have labour relations officers and the courts to help us with those situations.?

Dr. Orenduff?s comments appeared to be well-received by Rotarians in the audience. One who asked: ?How do we deal with a Press that is so dishonest as to present what they purport to be news when it is really editorial comment??

Dr. Orenduff responded that he felt the Press tried its best to cover news as accurately as possible, but biases and opinions had a way of creeping in to distort coverage. He said asking the public directly for their opinions of Bermuda College was a better way to gauge public opinion.

?In an independent poll we asked 450 residents what they thought of Bermuda College, has it gotten worse, improved, or stayed the same ? and all said they felt it had improved. They did not believe it had gotten worse.?

@EDITRULE:

Following his speech, Dr. Orenduff spoke to about Press coverage of the sacking of college lecturer Shaun O?Connell.

Last year reported that Dr. O?Connell, who had worked at the college for 29 years, is understood to have been sacked after being accused of making racially offensive comments in a private conversation to two fellow lecturers at the college last November. ?Dr. O?Connell and the people who support him believe the college was in error, the college believes we were not,? he said.

?We can?t debate that on the pages of the newspaper, it seems as if it would be more professional of the Press in general to explain that in the articles rather than saying this person alleges that and this person alleges that.? When asked if he was saying the reporting on Dr. O?Connell?s firing was inaccurate, he said: ?There wasn?t any news to be reported at this point, if there was to be a hearing that would be news. But to bring it up and report it happened again without any additional facts does not strike me as news.? Dr. Orenduff agreed the Press had a duty to probe Dr. O?Connell?s situation. But he added: ?Once something has been reported there is a tendency to harp on it, things can take on a life of their own.?