Premier blasts ‘misleading’ media headlines

Premier Dr Natalio Wheatley has accused some BVI media outlets of using misleading headlines, saying readers can come away with an inaccurate account even when the body of a report contains the facts.

The Premier raised the issue at a press conference while answering a question about the territory’s water supply. He said a report had misrepresented advice he gave during a ZBVI talk show about water storage at homes.

Premier Wheatley said he had been asked whether people should continue building houses with cisterns or other storage. He said he answered yes, citing planning requirements and the value of having stored water when the public supply is interrupted.

He objected to a news report from an unnamed news outlet that, in his account, presented his remarks as advice to people without water to simply buy black tanks.

“That was, in my view, manipulation of the public. It was inaccurate, and it was very misleading,” Dr Wheatley said. He called on media houses to take greater care with their reporting, particularly their headlines.

“You know, most times in the body of the story, you have accurate information, most times. But in the headlines, you have a lot of misleading headlines,” Premier Wheatley said. He urged readers to examine the full story and, where possible, listen to House of Assembly proceedings and press conferences for themselves.

Opposition Leader Marlon Penn previously criticised Dr Wheatley’s advice to residents to invest in water tanks and cisterns as a backup measure. Premier Wheatley had also complained earlier this year about headlines he described as clickbait and said people sometimes relied on headlines without reading further.

At the press conference, reporter Zan Lewis challenged the Premier’s criticism, saying headlines serve to draw readers into a story. Dr Wheatley replied that some people form conclusions from the headline alone. He said the media had an important role in informing the public but should report facts without bias.

Lewis then said officials also needed to respond when journalists contacted them for information or confirmation. Dr Wheatley called part of that response “deflection” but agreed that officials should follow up with the media and share information they could disclose.