doctorate in Political Science, and chairman of the Committee for the Independence of Bermuda.

The media is a focal point in helping to shape concerns about issues and how the media presents an issue can go a long way towards shaping people's attitudes, he says.

Historically, one has to recognise that the media in Bermuda for a long period of time has portrayed events and the race issue in a manner that has often reflected the views of the dominant class -- predominantly white and rich.

"That means that any activity that conflicts with the norm, any activity that goes against the grain is seen as conflicting and negative.

"By presenting news in that perspective it has certain racial connotations -- the image is often one of the angry black man.'' The people who are most economically deprived, the people who had limited educational opportunities have more often than not been black males and their response to these conditions has often resulted in anti-social behaviour which gets prominence in the media so a negative image is presented of young black men, he said. "That has been the historical condition.'' He added: "We do not always want to see negative stereotypes, we want to see positive stereotypes, the Bermuda Times has helped that.'' To a very large extent, he said, the media does not ask the question why? They present facts. People always argue that facts speak for themselves, but facts never do, they need to be put into context.

"By not probing, the public preoccupies themselves with the surface and do not try and understand the problem. The media has an obligation to probe. With a lack of understanding, stereotypes are allowed to fester.

Brown: Media must report accurately From Page 4 "My view of the media is that it has a responsibility to report the news and to be as accurate as possible.

"I fully recognise that the media is not able to probe every single case or story to find out what the facts are to explain why something took place.

"I believe when there is a serious issue or problem, something that is ripping the community apart, then the media has a responsibility to provide an in-depth report.'' A newspaper is part of society and part of the divisions in the society and it is very difficult for a newspaper to overcome that, said Mr. Brown. The newspaper reflects those divisions, but still provides a focal point and perhaps gives prominence to certain themes and issues.

"We need to address racism. My views on addressing racism are only partly related to the media. I do not look to the media as a vehicle for eliminating racism, but as a way to increase sensitivity to social issues such as racism, and sexism.

"The media can help change attitudes. If the prison population is 90 percent black and the media report that as a fact and leave it alone it can send out the message that black males are more prone to criminal activity than any other segment of society and that belief disseminates into the community. The media could explain why this fact is the case.

"If the media could understand, that could help change attitudes. The media should lead, but not overtly. That becomes propaganda.'' He said Bermudians have a hard time realising that all papers have an ideological focus and they expect The Royal Gazette to be neutral. The Gazette gets criticised for a being a newspaper biased towards the UBP.

"The Editor of the Gazette has an image in the community where he is seen as someone who is an arch supporter of the establishment and opposed to the PLP.

"The subtext is that it is a racist position because of the party politics when most blacks support the PLP and most whites support the UBP. Attacks on the PLP would be seen as criticism of black people.''