The Media Association of T&T (MATT) has appointed a new executive, led by its equally new president multimedia journalist Ira Mathur.
During its annual general meeting (AGM) on Saturday, the slate of journalists ran unopposed.
The new executive comprises Mathur as president, vice president Asha Javeed, secretary Nicole Romany, assistant secretary Laura Dowrich, treasurer Kalain Hosein, floor members Mark Lyndersay and James Saunders.
One of Mathur's first acts as president, was to pass a resolution to waive the payment of application fees for people joining MATT, or renewing their membership for a three month period beginning Saturday to January 1, 2022.
Mathur said “This new MATT executive is committed to maintaining a solid fourth estate built by our predecessors as watchdogs to hold those in power accountable.
“We are determined to catapult MATT into the age of technology to include the formally excluded freelancer colleagues or those working in silos.
"We assure you that we will be vigilant on legislation that potentially criminalises journalists and strips us of protection.
"We will also keep a close eye on serious legal matters regarding assault and battery against several journalists and work with the TTPBA to strengthen the complaints council."
She also highlighted the challenges faced by journalists, in which their profession was probably the only one where daily, sometimes hourly, they put themselves out there with their voices, words and their opinions.
Mathur disclosed that journalists were more exposed than any other profession to ridicule and criticism even amongst themselves; everything they did was scrutinised even down to their appearance.
She replied that their hours were long, their work was unpredictable and the pandemic had exaggerated the toll on them. Yet they continued to do the work of the fourth estate.
