Premier says some news media misrepresent his gov’t
Premier Dr Natalio Wheatley has responded to recent local media coverage, stating that he often laments when news organisations misrepresent his statements.
The Premier made the comments during the April 30 airing of the Virgin Islands Voice programme, where he addressed a BVI News headline that he said misquoted him.
The headline in question, ‘Premier sees silver lining in cruise passenger decline,’ was not a direct quote, but rather a summarised phrase reflecting the content of the news story.
Nevertheless, the Premier took the opportunity to clarify his remarks about cruise arrivals.
“I sometimes lament some of the news organisations that unfortunately seek to misrepresent things that we say. I will take this opportunity to clear up something that someone brought to my attention. There’s a story saying that I saw a decline in cruise arrivals as a silver lining. I said no such thing,” Premier Wheatley stated.
“What I did say was that we want a tourism product that is balanced and the increase in overnight arrivals is welcome because we do want more of those and we perhaps want to just maintain where we are as it pertains to cruise passengers. We did have a slight decline in cruise passengers for 2025 but it was so slight that it was basically the same,” he added.
The Premier’s remarks come amid earlier comments advising the public to approach content from certain online platforms with caution. He suggested that some media outlets, including their comment sections, are being used to spread division within the community.
Although he did not name specific media organisations, the Premier has previously expressed concern about the tone and content on certain platforms.
Elected officials in the Virgin Islands have, at times, expressed a lack of trust in some online news sources. While some leaders state they avoid consuming content from these outlets, they frequently use public forums to clarify reports and respond to commentary published on such platforms.
Online news reports are also regularly cited by legislators during debates and discussions in the House of Assembly.
Copyright 2025 BVI News, Media Expressions Limited. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or distributed.
The Yellow site has been misrepresenting every government except the VIP for which one of its wigged affiliates is a member. The wigged one was allegedly rewarded with a contract to be adviser to you Premier Wheatley and his site attacks opponents of you and your party daily.
Natalio please get from here with your nonsense.
The Premier is not wrong. Certain media outlets have made it their business to adopt a pro-UK narrative—regardless of context or fact—and predictably cast every accomplishment of his administration in a negative light
So if the yellow site appears to lean in the opposite direction—more sympathetic to the VIP or the Premier—I have no problem with it. That’s the nature of a free press . Bias is not new tink FOX and MSNBC in the US; what matters is whether the public can discern substance from spin and most can.
Ironically, even the so-called “yellow site,” has published its fair share of negative coverage on members of the VIP that are not in their grace
so there is some consistency there.
Nah…I believe that there are some that attempt to fully report but because of a lack of freedom of information still don’t go far enough. S!0wW@nde just mad because with very little info people can still see through his slip
Don’t choose to be head chef.
Misquotes aside, Winston Churchill claimed that a dose of criticism is good for you.
“Criticism may not be agreeable, but it is necessary. It fulfils the same function as pain in the human body; it calls attention to the development of an unhealthy state of things. If it is heeded in time, danger may be averted; if it is suppressed, a fatal distemper may develop.”
I suggest that some media outlets, including their comment sections, are not necessarily spreading division within the community but bringing to light that which needs to be brought to light.
Seems as usual, the yt male and now Church Hiil is the standard from which to judge good criticism. Indeed, a know crook, war monger and more.
He wants to call Sindee and the Devil’s daughter name but like he fraid it seems.
And if he calls Sindee name he will be opening a can of worms or putting his hand in Pandora’s box. He don’t want to open Pandora’s box when it comes to Ms.Sindee. Pandora’s box has the good and bad side and anyone who stick their hand in Pandora’s box always ends up touching the bad side aka trouble aka problem.
Well he should be very much afraid to mention her or anyone name that he is having personal or inner static with. I and a wholeeeeeee lot of citizens is done with this man after he issue the order to have K and P locked up. To me, that is a dangerous person.
IT COMES WITH THE TERRITORY. YOU CAN’T EXPECT EVERYONE/MEDIA OUTLETS TO SUGARCOAT EVERYTHING JUST CAUSE.
Oh dear P487 trying to fix what is said about his bad leadership.
What he needs to fix are his bad choices and bad ways.
Look again Now. The donendeal airport done again.
All that money on wasted meetings, pointless reports.
He wants it so it going to happen. That is what we need to fix.
Stop using VI money on family and friends. Fix that
This airport Billion dollar giveaway going to cost us $2 BILLION and the little people and their children going to be the ones paying to fill you pockets.
The job of the GIS is to report government news and information. You cannot get an F in school and expect an A.
In a true democracy, the role of the press or media is to report the information and issues of awareness around the world and locally whether that information is in the favor of government, company or individual or not. The true news media should be unbiased. When they are not, consider them tabloids such as the enquirer that we use to buy every week as kids back in the 80s.
I encourage this young man to grow some balls and stop whining. You have a country to stablize and run and do not have the backbone to do it, but you have the energy to be looking into petty nonsense that neither helps him, the people or propel the territory forward. Stop strutting the stuff that means nothing and do your job. Once you do that right, nobody will have anything negative to say about it. Do nonsense, you will be called out and that seem to hurt you.
Premier is correct. Do not just believe what you read.
When judging P487 ask your own questions.
Where Is our incinerator.
Where are our annual financial report.
Where are the staff for the audit office.
Where are our staff for the DPP.
Why do we not get to see the reports on the done deal airport.
Where arenthe workers on the road at Hodges. Not a worker seen for 7 days. Is it finished? Cos it is bad real bad.
Why is it so hard to drive on the dirt track called the ridge road.
Why we end up with the Welcome centre in Trellis that is not fit for purpose?
Why we spen $250000 on a concert?
Why is agriculture department performing so badly?
Where is the fisheries complex?
Where are the freezers from the complex.
Where is Spooners old people home?
Where is the bus service?
Why do we not have an admin complex?
Why you not condem &drew.
Why you have ?&drew as a poster boy?
Where is our water?
Why do we live in sewage
Why do we have Prospect Reef as it is?
Other people have more.
This is what we need to fix.
The negative press is not what need fixing. It will fix itself once you start doing positive things.
Fix what you are doing and help the country.
Ask us what we want and you will find we do not want to hand airport money for handing to friends and we do not want concerts and until things are fixed and leaders andnpolitiians turn away from their old ways we do not want Independence. Just ask the people.
Half of this list was promised by NDP . Did you ask them what happened??
Who cares? If they promised something that Sl**man doesn’t want to do, then he needs to say, “No, we are not going to put sewers in East End; we prefer having raw sewage running in the streets.” Or, “24/7 clean running water is no longer our priority.” Unless he says he’s dropping projects, then he needs to make them happen, whenever they were started.
I think you will find I been asking about all these thngs a long time NDP VIP it does not matter. Our leaders and their set way of thinking and providing for family and friends.
Yes I asksing and so should you be asking. IF VIP say we don’t now need or deserve any of these things tell us. And tell us what you doing with that money instead. Where did all that money go.
Ye I asking. You should all be asking. That list just off the top of my head. How many other things said and promised for and money now gone.
You should ask with me. Where did it go. Whey you not asking that? You start asksing questions of them not me.
I ask about the airplane, the hospital debacle, the bridge debacle the airport crimes, the greenhouse robbery, the barges the fishfarm folk, the West End Invisible Ferry Dock, the hotels blocking access to their beaches, the seaplane airfield, the online tax payment system, the unworkable work permit system, the dmv honk you horn here is your certificate, give us money no need to take off tint system, no maintenance of anything system, 1 hour to get off a ferry system, dock at the pier park disaster, sunken boats, derelisct cars, new derelict car dump show area, dolphin donegonnery, open electrical boxes everywhere, brokeen lights through town, no rent crafts alive, no public library, no AS school, floods and floods, illegal developments, minimum wage less than recommended and then not at all and now a new minimum minimum wage, heritage sights in disrepair…… There is so much more can go on thie list of things that need to be fixed.
What does the Premier want to fix. Stopping people saying what needs to be done and crticising him for not getting it done.
So here you are the P487 awards.
Top BVI traveller if the last several years
Least personal money spent on travel.
Most consultants ever needed for a Premier.
Best concert put on by a Premier
Only Premier to promise a report on a Concerts Finances
Best resistance to a COI report.
Best impression of someone that is fulfulling the requirements of the COI but not actually doing so.
Most money mislaid by a Premier or individual ($20million).
I am sure their are more acheivements that people could helpus with.
Most important is we keep askng and holding them to account.
The reason P487 gets a bad press is because of what we see and what he can show.you have to remember only 487 people in the VI voted for him. Only one site will give a good report of VIP at the same time give the impression the Governor gets into fist fights and we know why. Once the owner of that rag goes for a job in the HOA we will see how dangerous having media houses in the hands of politicians can be. I ask questons in that place too but not so many get published.
Keep asking questions!
???
Don’t put NDP IN this lying scheme that you got going on. Stop the blatant lying. PLEASE PRINT OUT YOUR RECEIPTS. AGAIN,STOP LYING PROVE IT OR SIMPLY SHUT THE F UP.
But instead of fixing the issues they fixed the pockets of family and friends including some who never fish or farm in their lifetime.
Cut the BS, step up like a true leader would do and name the said news media that you are referring to that is misrepresenting your Government. I bet you wouldn’t do that. See? as a private Citizen, this test you have failed. What you fail to understand is everyone on this Island is not stupid or lack simple common sense, some does, some don’t. Stop throwing the hissy fit tantrums.
The Government misdirecting itself. I can’t wait for Election Day so the people could vote the entire HOA out.
Given current and continuing developments, it appears that the Prime minister has not been able to match the colonialist, in policy or holding on to the territory his ancestors spent 190 years developing from a “bird sanctuary.
They have made more inroads into neocolonial take over under his watch than any other government in history.
And, from all observations, it is under his watch that the colonialist will march in and take over every branch of government.
Hence, a great diaster looms.
If he so much as go public and drop Sindee name about misrepresenting his Government, he will be committing political suicide. Just like the Rasta man, he went public and roll Sindee under the bus every which way but loose.Now he can’t hold a weekly consistent radio show. is that not radio suicide?
Continue bringing on the stupid. You play stupid games, you get stupid prizes and stupid rewards. Your advisers did not receive the memo as yet to advise you on that?
the premier is a talker not a doer
This boi will Always be a boy Ill tell my mother. You are nothing but a child wanna do big man thing. UK please come to our rescue