Klaus
Schwab, the founder and President of the World
Economic Forum, has a serious dispute on his
hands with serious free speech consequences. It
grows
out of an article by Roman Rollnick that appeared
on the front page of The Earth Times on Sunday.
The article reported an uproar over the "caste
system" of news coverage of the Forum that
denies all but a handful of journalists from
the major media outlets access to the meetings
at the
Waldorf-Astoria. Charles D. McLean, the Forum's
media chief, explained that coverage was being
piped by video to a neighboring hotel and news
conferences were being held there because it
had not been possible to accommodate everyone
in the
Waldorf. Maybe there is no alternative to the
two-tier system. Perhaps a better way can be
found.
While
on the subject of semantics, "foremost" is
also subjective. But that dispute is not what is bothering
me. What I find hard to believe is that the World Economic
Forum has barred The Earth Times from being distributed
at the Waldorf-Astoria because it did not like the
article. This is a serious violation and I told our
editor-in-chief, Pranay Gupte, that I did not want
to complain about it until I was satisfied that The
Earth Times has actually been excluded after having
been distributed at the Waldorf for three days and
having paid a reputable vendor with ties to the Waldorf
to distribute the newspaper. The Waldorf has confirmed
that they were instructed by the World Economic Forum
to keep our newspaper out of the hotel. Repeated calls
and e-mails to Klaus Schwab and Charles McLean have
gone unanswered.
I have been involved as mediator in many
conflicts over the years. I strongly believe
that getting the facts straight is the most
important first step. Whether the Forum's
two-tier system of news distribution is fair
is beside the point. What is at stake is
the exclusion of The Earth Times from the
Waldorf because Klaus Schwab was dissatisfied
with our report of complaints about the two-tier
system of access. The Earth Times for tomorrow
goes to press at 7 PM. Copies of our newspaper
will be delivered to the Waldorf as they
have been since last Wednesday. We hope that
Klaus Schwab will allow our newspaper to
be distributed. If the Waldorf continues
to bar the paper we will do all in our power
to make it available to the people in attendance
at the Forum. We will also complain to the
New York Press Club about this violation
of freedom of speech.
This dispute arises in the midst of the
World Economic Forum's greatest triumph since
the Forum was founded in 1971. It comes as
Schwab is reflecting on whether to hold the
Forum in New York next year or return to
Davos. Both Mayor Bloomberg and Governor
Pataki have urged Schwab to hold the Forum
here next year. The police of this City under
the able leadership of Commissioner Raymond
W. Kelly have made it possible for the Forum
to hold a meeting in one hotel with 3,000
participants from 106 countries, including
30 heads of state, 100 Cabinet ministers
and 74 ambassadors listening to such outstanding
political and business leaders as King Abdullah
II of Jordan; Kofi A. Annan, Secretary General
of the United Nations; Gloria Macapagal Arroyo,
President of the Philippines; Michael Dell,
Chairman and CEO of Dell Computer, and Microsoft
Chairman Bill Gates. The cost to the City
has been tremendous. At the very least the
World Economic Forum should respect our First
Amendment traditions.
|
