Stabroek News shuts down after four decades

What this source establishes

Kaieteur News reports the Stabroek News closure announcement and reaction to it. It carries two political allegations from the de Caires siblings verbatim: that state-owned company advertising was withheld shortly before their father's death as 'a rather crude attempt to muzzle the free press', and that the Department of Public Information had accrued a debt exceeding G$80m in unpaid advertisements. It also carries their statement that the company 'repeatedly sought (and been refused) a radio licence' while its main local competitors 'enjoyed significant privileges'. The report includes the Guyana Press Association's statement and the government's response from Minister Kwame McCoy.

Key claims

• Stabroek News announced on Friday that after almost 40 years in publication it will cease printing on March 14, 2026 (as stated in this Kaieteur report; other sources give March 15).
• Note on filename: the URL slug reads 'curtains-fall-on-stabroek-news-after-40-year-run' but the headline served on the page is 'Stabroek News shuts down after four decades'.
• Chairman of Guyana Publications Inc (GPI) Brendan de Caires said the company will shortly begin the process of voluntary liquidation.
• De Caires said print advertising globally has declined by 75 per cent, from approximately US$110 billion in 2004 to US$26 billion in 2024.
• De Caires said: 'Despite cutting costs, the company has lost money for six out of the last ten years'.
• Stabroek News was founded in 1986 by attorney David de Caires with his wife Doreen, and became a daily in 1994.
• Isabelle and Brendan de Caires said that shortly before their father's death the newspaper endured a period when advertisements from state-owned companies were withheld — 'A rather crude attempt to muzzle the free press.'
• The siblings said: 'In the past year, the state-run Department of Public Information has accrued a debt to this newspaper in excess of G$ 80,000,000 in unpaid advertisements. The debt persists despite repeated private and public entreaties to clear it. This tactic could equally be construed as an attempt to starve this company of its operating funds.'
• The siblings said: 'We have repeatedly sought (and been refused) a radio licence. Although we operated a TV subsidiary for a few decades, our main local competitors enjoyed significant privileges. The playing field was not level. The anticipated progression from newspaper to multi-media broadcaster has been impossible.'
• The Guyana Press Association said the closure 'marks a significant loss to the nation's media landscape and to the democratic fabric of our society' and represents 'not only the silencing of a critical voice, but also a reminder of the challenges faced by independent media in sustaining operations amidst economic and political pressures'.
• Veteran journalist Gordon Moseley described the announcement as a dark day for independent media; journalist Kurt Campbell, former journalist Leonard Gildarie and journalist Alva Solomon also commented.
• Minister within the Office of the Prime Minister with responsibility for Public Affairs, Kwame McCoy, called the closure 'regrettable' and 'an indication of how porous is the global media landscape', urging media businesses to evolve their strategy for competitive market forces.

Quotations

• “A rather crude attempt to muzzle the free press. In the past year, the state-run Department of Public Information has accrued a debt to this newspaper in excess of G$ 80,000,000 in unpaid advertisements. The debt persists despite repeated private and public entreaties to clear it. This tactic could equally be construed as an attempt to starve this company of its operating funds.”— Isabelle and Brendan de Caires, shareholders and children of the founder
• “We have repeatedly sought (and been refused) a radio licence. Although we operated a TV subsidiary for a few decades, our main local competitors enjoyed significant privileges. The playing field was not level. The anticipated progression from newspaper to multi-media broadcaster has been impossible.”— Isabelle and Brendan de Caires
• “So, in a sense, we exit as we entered. Unbowed. Heads held high. Beholden to none.”— Isabelle and Brendan de Caires
• “Its closure represents not only the silencing of a critical voice, but also a reminder of the challenges faced by independent media in sustaining operations amidst economic and political pressures”— Guyana Press Association
• “It is truly an indication of how porous is the global media landscape and a stark reminder to those in the media business that they must constantly take into consideration evolving their strategy to deal with competitive market forces”— Kwame McCoy, Minister within the Office of the Prime Minister with responsibility for Public Affairs

This page is a research summary prepared for comment and review. It is not the article. Copyright in the original remains with Kaieteur News; the full text is held only in the private research corpus from which this archive was compiled. Follow the link above to read it at the source.