Dear Editor,
And now the end is near; and so I face the final curtain from Frank Sinatra’s, “My Way.”
By the time this letter, if published, is seen by readers, the staff and Mr. Anand Persaud, Editor-in-Chief of Stabroek News will be facing the final curtain. Whether he ‘bit off more than he could chew’, the truth about that would be known to posterity.
Any reference to Stabroek News (S/N) personally or otherwise must be contextualized. It follows therefore, that the emergence of Stabroek News must be framed in a historical context.
Before going further, certain historical facts must be drilled down, lest they be overlooked by omission or commission by ‘older heads’ or perhaps, never known by younger ones.
Mainstream media in colonial British Guiana birthed an intriguing yet interesting history. A perusal of the archival records of The Argosy, Chronicle and Guiana Graphic, the discontinuation of the daily Argosy to just a Sunday edition, and from the Daily Argosy to the Evening Post will show that every one of these newspapers had a profound editorial bias.
Any suggestion that S/N is hostile to the PPP/C administration should be followed by a visit to the Walter Rodney National Archives where ample evidence is available about the role of those newspapers in the 1960’s. There is one that will find the real meaning of unbalanced reporting and real hostility.
In the post-independence period, newspapers came under intense pressure from the Burnham administration who bought The Evening Post and promptly shut it down. The Sunday Argosy transitioned to the Chronicle becoming along with The Graphic, the mouthpieces of government.
Following their acquisition by government, the Chronicle and Graphic merged resulting in the creation of what we know today as the Guyana Chronicle. Thus, it came to pass that by 1974, Burnham was in full control of the print media, save and except the Mirror newspaper, The Catholic Standard and the WPA’s ‘Dayclean.’
The Mirror newspaper, emerged in 1962. It was publicly owned by shareholders of the New Guyana Company Ltd. printed and published as a daily newspaper, The Mirror suffered various restrictions imposed by the Burnham dictatorship including withholding of licences to import newsprint from Canada and Trinidad and Tobago.
S/N emerged in 1986. It soon became enormously popular, becoming the newspaper of choice for the legal, political, business, labour, and religious circles and for the ‘man on the street.’ Political conditions at the time were favourable to S/N; the death of President Burnham, Hoyte’s shift to economic liberalization, widespread protests at home and abroad against rigging of the elections in 1985, pressures by the US as well as the beginnings of electoral reform.
It is incredible how the reach and influence of S/N grew over the years. Some would even argue that S/N became part of our national psyche. The steady flow of published letters and messages of regret and sadness is a clear manifestation of the rise of the Jungian ‘collective unconsciousness’ that morphed into ‘collective consciousness’ awakened by an unexpected occurrence and yanked as it were, from the collective consciousness of the populace.
While many good and evil things are spread in a matter of seconds on social media, S/N battened-down facilitating thousands of Guyanese to express their views and to communicate their messages like never before.
Some disliked some of the articles, letters, features and stories carried by S/N because they did not correspond to their respective agendas. The criticisms notwithstanding,
S/N held to Voltaire’s “I may disagree with what you have to say, but I shall defend to the death your right to say it.” In this way, S/N carved out for itself a niche in the marketplace of ideas.
I first met David De Cairies way back in the early 1980’s following my appointment to the Bollers Elections Commission (1984-1991). He surprised one day when he came to join a meeting with stakeholders at Freedom House convened by Dr. Jagan. He came to make a case against boycotting the 1986 local government elections at a time when electoral reforms were initiated by Hoyte.
Dr. Jagan, then opposition leader, was in regular contact with Miles Fitzpatrick, Ian McDonald and David DeCairies. Exchanges amongst them centered around the struggle for democracy, press freedom and the fight for free and fair elections. In pursuit of the latter, notwithstanding their differences on electoral tactics, DeCairies arranged a meeting in Kingston between Dr. Jagan and Oliver Clarke, Managing Director and chairman of the Jamaica Gleaner newspaper. Dr. Jagan also had successful meetings with Ken Gordon, Managing Director of Trinidad Express Newspaper.
S/N has always been a strong advocate for free and fair elections, the restoration and maintenance of democracy in Guyana. DeCairies was in the forefront of that battle. And the young and inquisitive journalist Anand Persaud, after every meeting of the Bollers Elections Commission was always outside Freedom House waiting for an update from me.
My farewell to S/N comes at a time when Guyana is opening up increasingly to new and influential players on the national and global market place of ideas. My farewell message to S/N is thus; the bud disappears when the blossom breaks through; the fruit replaces the blossom and from the seeds of the fruit comes the tree.
Fukuyama’s end of history is a fallacy.