By ANDRE BAGOO Saturday, September 4 2010

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CLASS IN SESSION: Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar (centre) with members of the coalition government at yesterday's workshop at the Coco Reef Res...

MEMBERS of the media were yesterday thrown out in the rain from the Coco Reef Resort and Spa in Tobago on the very day the Cabinet buckled down to a workshop, ironically dealing with media relations.

Members of the media who waited in the lobby of the resort for several hours, were told by hotel staff that there had been complaints by hotel guests, some of whom had cameras and were yesterday spotted taking photos of Government ministers.

The media was asked to leave and did so during the tail-end of a stormy downpour which yesterday morning cast a grey pall over the sea-front hotel. The action came hours into the second workshop for the four-day exercise, hosted yesterday by American Dr Daniel Shapiro.

Journalists were escorted out by hotel staff a few moments after communications staff from the Office of the Prime Minister liaised with hotel staff.

Press Secretary Garvin Nicholas later reportedly told some members of the media that the workshop was in full swing and the Government did not want any distractions. Members of the media escorted outside were given no explanation from the Government staff present.

At about the same time as the media was being escorted out, communications officer for the Office of the Prime Minister Paige DeLeon, who watched the hotel staff escort the media staff, issued a press release.

“The Government’s intense workshop continued Thursday (sic) with highly interactive sessions on consensus building, negotiations and conflict management,” she said. “The presenter was Dr Daniel Shapiro, an internationally recognised expert on the subject.”

“Dr Shapiro engaged participants in full house negotiations and related activities during his rigorous presentation, which challenged participants to analyse complex scenarios and come with solutions to problems presented.”

She said that the workshop continued on Friday afternoon with a session on “Governance and the Media” led by journalist Tony Fraser. Fraser appeared to not be present when members of the media had been thrown out earlier. The release made no mention of the incident.

The workshop began on Thursday afternoon, with a concentrated session facilitated by Dr Aubrey Armstrong, a well-known regional management consultant. “The retreat session continues until Sunday afternoon,” according to the release from the Office of the Prime Minister.