CNMI fares poorly in US press survey on COVID-19 reporting

The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker has given failing marks for the Northern Mariana Islands in how it provides information on the status of COVID-19 in the CNMI, including its lack of daily updates.

According to the research, which surveyed all 56 states and territories, the CNMI government has the worst record and fails across three metrics: it has no regular COVID-19 press briefings where members of the general media can attend and ask live questions and follow-ups. Aside from this, there are reports of restricted access to COVID-19 information.

In comparison, and as a direct contrast, 11 appear to have regular press briefings, general press attendance, with live questions and follow-ups, and with no reports of restricted access. These include Arkansas, Colorado, Idaho, Iowa, Kentucky, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Wisconsin, Wyoming, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

While Guam has regular press briefings and general press attendance, the report says it has restrictions on live questions and follow-ups, as well as reports of restricted access.

When asked to comment on the report, press secretary Kevin Bautista said, “The process is never perfect, and we can never please everyone. But we know that we continue to respond to our media partners as best we can, give them all the accurate information, and we work together here in the CNMI to protect ourselves from this virus.”

Bautista insists that the administration has responded to inquiries from local CNMI media partners upon request, and in press conferences held after every public event with Gov. Ralph DLG Torres.

“[The administration] has granted [the media] access for all media availabilities such as the unveiling of our Medical Care and Treatment Site at Commonwealth Healthcare Corp. and donation drives, as well as press conferences that we hold after each public event with the governor during this COVID-19 operation,” he said.

The CNMI had its first digital press conference via Zoom in March, in line with social distancing, opening up a new avenue for the media to do interviews with local officials. These digital interviews substitute for the in-person interviews the local media had pre-COVID-19, which had changed, primarily due to the social distancing directive in place, and the government shutdown, in the CNMI.

Local reporters, however, prefer to have press conferences, on top of receiving press releases, in cases of significant events.

“Here in the CNMI, we are keeping everyone informed and have been transparent with our COVID-19 case reporting, our community-based testing strategy, our fiscal response summit where we put all fiscal options on the table in plain view, and our federal expenditure plans regarding the CARES Act,” said Bautista.

He said the administration, too, has openly shared its priorities when it comes to getting federal funding into the hands of residents, and have been innovative in creating websites and portals for direct deposit, .

“The governor has been focused on one mission, and that is to protect the people of the CNMI,” he said. “That work will not stop, and so far, because of the good work being done by our front-liners, we’re going to keep our curve flatter than Guam and the rest of the country. We have no time to play into national media talking points.”