Media Relations in the Caribbean – Psych!
4March 29, 2007 by Colin
Wow. They really keep the local staff at arm’s length at Esso Jamaica:
“A spokesperson at Esso said she was unable to comment at this time as the managing director was off the island. She said the managing director would return next week.” (Jamaica Gleaner)
This was their response to a series of questions posed by the Gleaner in follow-up to a standoff between Esso and their Jamaican dealers last year.
That has to be the most pathetic brush off ever. Jamaica is connected to the rest of the world. What, did the managing director sail off into the distance on a dinghy without a satellite phone? Where in the world could the person go? Guyana?
The managing director is, after all, a country director for Esso. They are always in contact.
That reporter got pwnd. Bad.
[tags] Esso, Jamaica, spokesperson [/tags]
This is going back many years, but I remember watching the televised news in Kingston, Jamaica, where it was announced that the prime minister was unable to attend a high-profile function because a bridge that needed to be crossed en route “had washed out.” (I believe it was on the front-page of the Jamaica Gleaner the next day, too.) At a dinner party that night, our hosts and other guests laughed and said this happened quite frequently. (“No problem.”)
As people from other parts of the Caribbean often tell me, “Jamaica is different.”
Oh, I know. I’ve been to Jamaica about a half dozen times. Still, it’s not that hard to reach someone on the phone from Kingston – unless they don’t want to be found.
(Gently) Then if you are familiar with Jamaica’s culture (and I’m not talking the tourist beach towel circuit), is there a small possibility that you’ve judged the lack of acceptability of this “off island” excuse through the lens of your North American sensibility? Reading the article, I see the line you highlighted appears at the very end. There is no additional commentary or sense of a judgmental tone.
Who knows. Maybe “off island” is island patois for “no comment.”
Actually, if you look at previous uses of the “off the island” references in the Gleaner (http://tinyurl.com/2peq4t), you can see that the reporter often qualifies the comment with something like “reportedly.”
The case with Esso is obviously a political football, and the politicians cited all threw the questions at someone else.
Esso was the last stop in the story. I don’t know whether the reporter spoke to a receptionist at 5 pm, or an actual spokesperson, but they didn’t give a “no comment.”
They said the reporter would have to wait until the managing director had returned next week.
There’s an implied commitment to reply to the questions – but at an undefined point in the future.
Therefore, a brush off.
In fact, considering the sensitivity of gas pricing in Jamaica, I could argue further that Esso handled this very sensitive question quite poorly.