The closure of Stabroek News

What this source establishes

Stabroek News's own editorial on its closure, and the paper's account of why it folded. It reproduces Chairman Brendan de Caires's framing of the choice as mergers, digitisation or managed decline, and the board's decision to liquidate while still solvent rather than risk forced closure. The editorial states that the government had withheld G$84.4m as at the end of January 2026 for state advertisements placed the previous year, which it says 'has to be seen — in the context of the newspaper's work — as an assault on press freedom'. Sixty employees were affected.

Key claims

• Chairman of Guyana Publications Inc Brendan de Caires said: 'Falling circulation and dwindling revenues impose a choice between corporate mergers, rapid digitization, or managed decline. For the last five years, the Board of Directors of our company has weighed its options, including going digital against the near certainty of print media's failure. In the end, we have made the decision to choose liquidation while we remain solvent and the company can pay its debts rather than risk a forced closure in the next few years'.
• The de Caires family founded the newspaper in November of 1986.
• The company ran a creche for 20 years, an initiative of former Managing Director Doreen de Caires, at significant cost to the bottom line and without ever benefiting from any tax relief.
• Nearly half of the company's employees had been with it for a decade, many for several decades; the newspaper functioned without a break through the Covid years and not a single employee was let go despite mounting losses.
• The 60 persons employed by the parent company will be entitled to severance pay under the Termination of Employment and Severance Pay Act of 1997, and will benefit from a contributory pension scheme in force for 18 years and from NIS pension at 60.
• The editorial states: 'It is all the more outrageous that the government has withheld as at the end of January, 2026, the sum of $84.4m for the placement of state advertisements in Stabroek News last year.'
• The editorial states: 'The failure to pay a sum of this scale would undermine any company and has to be seen – in the context of the newspaper's work – as an assault on press freedom. It also unmasks all of the glib talk that has come from the government on efficiency in services. It is clear that when this government wants to target people or companies it finds a way.'
• The editorial says the company's focus will be on producing a daily paper until March 15th.
• The editorial notes the paper had subscribers, advertisers and vendors supporting it for more than 39 years.
• The editorial also criticises a government childcare facility commissioned before 'last year's elections' and left empty for five months, and says a visit by the newspaper established it is improperly sited.

Quotations

• “Falling circulation and dwindling revenues impose a choice between corporate mergers, rapid digitization, or managed decline... In the end, we have made the decision to choose liquidation while we remain solvent and the company can pay its debts rather than risk a forced closure in the next few years”— Brendan de Caires, Chairman, Guyana Publications Inc
• “It is all the more outrageous that the government has withheld as at the end of January, 2026, the sum of $84.4m for the placement of state advertisements in Stabroek News last year.”— Stabroek News editorial
• “The failure to pay a sum of this scale would undermine any company and has to be seen”— in the context of the newspaper's work – as an assault on press freedom... It is clear that when this government wants to target people or companies it finds a way. — Stabroek News editorial
• “Concern for the welfare of the staff has been the paramount factor in the Board's final deliberations”— Isabelle and Brendan de Caires, family statement

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