Dear Editor,
I am shocked by the report in your newspaper about the government’s decision to withdraw all the advertising of the ministries from your publication. While I understand that any advertiser would want the greatest possible exposure and results from its advertisements, I find it hard to accept that an advertiser would “pull” all its ads from a single, major daily publication solely on the basis of cost effectiveness.
I am in no position to address the issue of the circulation of the daily newspapers in Guyana, but I do know that Stabroek News is a widely read newspaper and as a journalist myself, notwithstanding the publication’s unfair treatment some years ago of a civil lawsuit brought against me, I continue to respect it as a very professional newspaper. Further, as a current newspaper publisher, I abhor the practice of advertisers attempting to influence editorial policy or punishing a publication by withdrawing its advertising support.
My commitment to freedom of the press is longstanding and unwavering. As a young journalist in Guyana more than 30 years ago at the then privately owned Guyana Graphic I marched through the streets of Georgetown as a member of the CCWU in support of press freedom. On one occasion when then Labour Minister Winslow Carrington gave us an audience at his Camp Street office, my youthful enthusiasm got the better of me to the extent that many considered my exchange with the minister rude, but the minister never sought to be vindictive.
Later, when then Prime Minister Forbes Burnham turned up at St. George’s Cathedral for a GDF anniversary church service in military attire I ignored a directive to refer to him as ‘Prime Minister Burnham in military uniform’ and after determining that the insignia on his lapels were that of the rank of General, proceeded to refer to him as General Burnham. The article was so published and two days later I was summoned to the Prime Minister’s residence. I put up a vigorous defence of my decision to so write the article and argued with the Prime Minister that he was interfering with freedom of the press. Burnham, surprisingly, did not seek to punish me although at that time the Guyana Graphic had become a state-owned newspaper and he easily could have fired me.
Later still, as a senior reporter on the state-owned evening Citizen newspaper I had many run-ins with then Information Minister Shirley Field-Ridley. Godfrey Wray, the editor of the Citizen and I decided that the success of an evening newspaper lay in a heavy human interest content rather than reportage of speeches by government ministers. So many of the headlines were based on human interest issues such as ‘The Gas Station Lime’, ‘The Bottle Fete Craze’ and the ‘Kitchen Garden Boom’. Apparently the government was not enamored by this and we incurred the wrath of the minister. She stopped by our Bel Air Park office one morning and furiously said to Godfrey and myself: “You fellas continue to enjoy yourselves while it lasts, I’m going to close down this newspaper.” I left before it was closed but I understand it was closed due to falling circulation.
More recently, while serving briefly as an advisor to then President Hoyte I published a newspaper ‘Weekend Herald’ out of the Office of the President. When there was a controversy over whether then Opposition Leader Cheddi Jagan had asked Trinidad to supply Indo-Trinidadian security if he were to win the elections, I published an article, based on an interview with then Trinidad Foreign Minister Ralph Maraj, refuting that Dr. Jagan had made any such request as claimed by the PNC. Mr. Hoyte thanked me for the article and for others which I had written criticising aspects of his administration. I respect the PPP/Civic administration as the legitimately elected Government of Guyana. I continue to work to promote Guyana and the well being of Guyanese. I enjoy a formally correct and cordial relationship with the President, Prime Minister and some other members of the administration. But I reserve the right to be critical when in my view, criticism is warranted. And this is one occasion. I therefore take this opportunity to encourage the Guyana government to revisit its decision to withdraw advertising from Stabroek News. It has been said that it is better to have newspapers without a government than to have a government without newspapers.
As we strive to build democracy and good governance in Guyana, actions such as this serve only to undermine our efforts. This issue is in your hands President Jagdeo…let your hands be fair hands.
Yours faithfully,
Wesley Kirton
