Weathering the storm and Stabroek News' closure

What this source establishes

In a Democracy Guyana column, Michael Younge argues that the PPP/C did not cause the Stabroek News closure and that management decisions and political drift did. He quotes Editor-in-Chief Anand Persaud saying the government debt 'wasn't necessarily a factor in the newspaper making the decision to close', a statement that sits in tension with the paper's own editorial describing the arrears as an assault on press freedom. The column carries a disclaimer distancing Guyana National Newspapers Limited, publisher of the state-owned Guyana Chronicle. It is the counter-narrative to the press-freedom account given by the paper and its shareholders.

Key claims

• COUNTER-NARRATIVE PIECE: this column argues against the press-freedom framing of the closure. Its disclaimer states the views are the author's and do not necessarily reflect the position of Guyana National Newspapers Limited (publisher of the state-owned Guyana Chronicle).
• Editor-in-Chief Anand Persaud said the newspaper would honour all financial commitments to staff, including severance and pension payments, and that the newspaper came to an end 'because of a change in market conditions'.
• Persaud cited the closure of Newsday in Trinidad 'last month' as a comparable case.
• Persaud said: '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.'
• Persaud said of the government debt: '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'.
• Persaud said: 'What we want to do is to leave with dignity. We want to leave on our feet rather than leave on our knees.'
• The author asserts the newspaper began a period of decline in 2011 and that 'political dynamics started to play a more noticeable role in the newspaper's coverage'.
• The author blames Persaud and management, writing: 'I blame Persaud and all the management for not only neglecting, but also squeezing the lifeblood out of SN.'
• The author asserts: 'the PPP/C and its policies did not lead to the decline and closure of the so-called independent press, SN, in Guyana' and 'The SN was its own biggest enemy.'
• The author characterises the newspaper as having 'finally become a rag for the opposition parties, APNU, PNC and more recently, WIN, to use as they wish'.
• The author notes broader Caribbean newspaper sector pressures: advertisers shifting to global social media platforms, rising newsprint and manufacturing costs, and circulation drops of up to 40% when cover prices are raised.

Quotations

• “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”— Anand Persaud, Editor-in-Chief, Stabroek News
• “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”— Anand Persaud, Editor-in-Chief, Stabroek News
• “I blame Persaud and all the management for not only neglecting, but also squeezing the lifeblood out of SN. I SAID IT.”— Michael Younge, columnist
• “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.”— Michael Younge, columnist

This page is a research summary prepared for comment and review. It is not the article. Copyright in the original remains with Democracy Guyana; 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.