The Stabroek News will close on March 15.
THE Editor-in-Chief (EiC), Anand Persaud, stated that the newspaper would honour all of its financial commitments to staff, including their severance and pension payments. Persaud said that the newspaper came to an end “because of a change in market conditions.”
He noted that “newspapers all around the world are facing this crisis.” Persaud gave an example of the closure of Newsday in Trinidad last month.
“We considered all of the options, but at the end of the day, there was nothing that really stood out as providing long-term security. A lot of digital revenues are what you call ephemeral. It’s here today and gone tomorrow. And you can’t really be sure that it’s going to be there. So, we had to make a tough decision,” he said.
And before the public gets the wrong idea, Persaud made it clear that the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) government, owing millions to the newspaper, did not contribute significantly to the closure.
“Now, it wasn’t necessarily a factor in the newspaper making the decision to close. That is, even if DPI had paid us on time, we still would be non-distressed because of the change in the markets”, the EiC said.
The Stabroek News shareholders stated they played a valuable role between 1986 and now, signalling that that role needs to be played by others in the media because accountability to the public is very important.
The shareholders said that it was “a newspaper that was fearless” and “a non-advocacy newspaper.” This means it took no sides and was balanced. This means that it was not biased and always spoke the truth, giving the public the task of deciding whether to believe or not. Its stories or reportage of events were not coloured.
According to Persaud, “What we want to do is to leave with dignity. We want to leave on our feet rather than leave on our knees, beholden to anybody and to have to sort of like to be in that.”
Let’s discuss.
I want to be pellucid. The Stabroek News’ announcement on Friday morning that it would close down its operations in Guyana by March 15, 2026, is deeply regrettable, unfortunate and disappointing, but it was neither shocking nor surprising. I will get to the latter part of that argument in this piece.
The decision to cease its operations and undergo a voluntary liquidation of the 40-year-old news giant was sound and a step in the right direction.
What is even more honourable is that Stabroek News has chosen to ease the burden staff will endure when they are out of operations and find themselves unemployed come March.
Firstly, Stabroek News, in the 1980s and early 1990s, was a pillar of journalistic integrity and a fortress of ethics. It was one of Guyana’s powerful fourth estates, which many in the public loved and loathed at the same time. It was among the news entities which were considered giants within the local and regional news landscape.
It offered a fresh, objective and true take on news, often delivering the news with an unapologetic flair. It dominated the news cycle with its bold colour, opinion pieces, editorials and its focus on truth-finding.
There was an obsession with the blunt truth that made the S/N into one of the very few balanced, non-biased and frank newspapers within the Caribbean.
Secondly, when its founder and long-time EiC, David de Caries, died in 2008, this version of the S/N would follow soon after.
Different styles and formulas have been adopted to date, but none have got it right.
In 2011, the newspaper started its period of decline. After all, its tone was rapidly changing and political dynamics started to play a more noticeable role in the newspaper’s coverage of events and activities that would shape the face of Guyana moving forward.
The present EiC would not admit it, but he knows it’s true. Any objective reader of the SN would get the sense, one time or another, that the SN was not being truthful and, in fact, had some of the stories very wrong. They would not even try to conceal this by correcting it. It was pandering to its master’s wishes and doing everything to survive, even if it meant sacrificing its journalistic integrity at the altar of political expediency.
In other words, it joined the trend of news organisations compromising objective reporting, accuracy and ethical standards to serve political interests, advance a specific agenda, or cater to a polarised audience.
This phenomenon is a major factor in the decline of public trust in the SN, as it is seen to prioritise political narratives over, or to the exclusion of, impartial fact-finding.
Added to the decline were the market factors that govern the media and news business in Guyana and farther afield.
Thirdly, one must question how SN could not adapt to the changing and dynamic news landscape of journalism, news and business over all the decades of SN’s existence. What were the shareholders, directors and managers doing? Sleeping?
I do not accept or believe Persaud’s statements, which made it sound like the current management of the SN did everything, but nothing seemed viable in the end to bring back financial stability to the company. Was downsizing not a viable option? Was cutting the fat, as every other media, facing the very same fate, not an option?
How could the independent SN not pull through while the government-run newspaper is still keeping abreast with technology, digitalising, making economies of scale and weathering the storm?
How could the De Caires’ newspaper not diversify its content to reach more readers?
Why did they not do more to save SN from decline? Were they not more concerned about learning from the lessons learnt by Kaieteur News, Guyana Times, Catholic Standard, and other publications of old?
Something is awfully wrong. The ‘maths ain’t mathsing’ for me. Something is wrong with the buttermilk. I think that there is more than Persaud and the shareholders are telling us. I have confidence that the truth will surface and come to the light. But when?
So, I am not surprised or baffled at the news, because of the path that I saw the newspaper was going down; it was just a matter of time before it ran out of gas. The newspaper had finally become a rag for the opposition parties, APNU, PNC and more recently, WIN, to use as they wish. Mostly anti-government sentiments and editorials expose the entity’s political slant against the government of the day.
The newspaper was not leaving on its feet as Persaud would like the public to believe, but as a sickly, battered and worn caricature of its original self. I blame Persaud and all the management for not only neglecting, but also squeezing the lifeblood out of SN. I SAID IT.
Fourth, the abrupt closure of long-standing independent institutions and a “perfect storm” of political and economic forces are hallmarks of the existential crisis currently plaguing the Caribbean newspaper sector.
As local and worldwide advertisers shift their resources to global social media platforms, traditional revenue streams have failed. Additionally, physical printing has become unsustainable due to sharp rises in newsprint, maintenance, and manufacturing costs.
Particularly vulnerable to market shocks are independent newspapers that lack the support of a major media conglomerate, and a dramatic shift in consumer behaviour towards free social media content has resulted in circulation drops of up to 40% when cover prices are raised to offset expenses.
Though I doubt it played a role in the closing, I cannot deny the rise of artificial intelligence and international digital platforms that exploit local material without paying for it, further undermining the sustainability of Caribbean newsrooms like SN.
Finally, I think SN missed a golden opportunity to weather the storm, ensuring its survival and endurance. I think that if the newspaper went back to De Caires’ way of storytelling, truth-based news coupled with the consistent use of technology, SN would overcome the difficult period, crisis, or challenging situation with minimal damage.
It was still possible to have resilience and strength in navigating financial or professional hardships, much like a ship safely navigating rough weather.
Here, it is important to note that the PPP/C and its policies did not lead to the decline and closure of the so-called independent press, SN, in Guyana. The PPP/C could have done things differently, but its actions still did not cause the SN’s demise.
The SN was its own biggest enemy. The decisions and inaction caused its decline and unprofitability. Its ‘civil society’ and ‘third force’ elements did nothing to save the SN, even though it rallied its causes harder than ever. Its managers are to be blamed. Its failure to keep abreast with the demands of a changing Guyana and the news landscape caused its decline. It self-imploded.
Frankly speaking!
DISCLAIMER: The views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Guyana National Newspapers Limited.