COMMUNICATIONS EDUCATOR and veteran journalist, Claude Robinson, will present the inaugural public lecture organised by the Jamaica Press Institute - the newly established research and training arm of the Press Association of Jamaica (PAJ).

The staging of the public lecture on Friday, July 3, at the Jamaica Pegasus hotel in New Kingston, climaxes the yearlong celebration of the PAJ's 65th anniversary.

PAJ President Byron Buckley says the official launch of the Jamaica Press Institute is "in keeping with the mission to modernise the PAJ and make it more relevant as a civil society body". The ceremony, which begins at 6 p.m., will include the launch of the recently published Election Handbook for Caribbean Journalists, by Wesley Gibbings, president of the Association of Caribbean Media Workers.

Robinson, who recently retired as senior research fellow in media and public policy at the Mona School of Business, will address the topic 'The Role of Media in Jamaica's Development'.

As a scholar, Robinson's primary areas of research interest are public-service broadcasting in the era of market liberalisation; the impact of information and communication technologies (ICTs) on the broadcast media in the Caribbean; and journalism standards and practice in the Caribbean region. He has addressed several national and international conferences and has written extensively on these and related issues.

public policy discussion

Robinson

Robinson's international journa-lism experience include chief United Nations correspondent for Inter Press Service (1981-1990), and chief editor for IPS World Service (based in Mexico City) from 1998-2001.

Robinson writes a weekly column for the Jamaica Observer and is a regular contributor to public affairs and public-policy discussion on radio and television. He is a member of the Broadcasting Commission of Jamaica and chairman of its Legislative and Policy Committee.

Reservations to attend the public lecture can be made at telephone # 631-6390, or email to pressassociationjamaica@gmail.com.