David A. Granger –
(Founder and first Editor)
President of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana
Guyanese news magazines, historically, have had very short and fitful lives. Their survival, often, has been a race between newsworthiness and creditworthiness. Editors, reporters and writers who are reckless with the truth, contemptuous of the professional ethics of journalism and irresponsible in expressing their opinions will be exposed. A news medium that is palpably prejudiced cannot survive in modern society.
Guyanese news magazines, historically, have had very short and fitful lives. Their survival, often, has been a race between newsworthiness and creditworthiness. Editors, reporters and writers who are reckless with the truth, contemptuous of the professional ethics of journalism and irresponsible in expressing their opinions will be exposed. A news medium that is palpably prejudiced cannot survive in modern society.
The Guyana Review has been an exception. It started as a monthly publication and became the longest lasting periodical of its genre. It celebrates its 25th anniversary in 2018.
The curse of all previous news magazines has been biased opinion and disregard for facts. These led, invariably, to low readership confidence and limited sales and advertising revenues.
The Guyana Review, despite the pitfalls of competition in a community dominated by popular dailies which publish attractive, weekend, pull-out ‘magazines’ and relatively few advertisers, found a niche in society. It survived because of its perceptive commentaries, consistently high ethical standards and objective coverage of a wide range of national, political, environmental, social and cultural issues.
The Guyana Review emerged at a time in history when a plethora of private-owned media houses competed for public attention and corporate advertising. This competition inundated the public space with a vast assortment of local and international news stories which created in turn a need for more contemplative and analytical examination.
The Guyana Review filled this need and earned respect for its objectivity, responsibility and credibility. It has, over the past 25 years, provided an outlet for analytical writers and columnists, demonstrated editorial independence, refused to succumb to the lure of partisanship and earned a reputation as a useful journal of reference for academics and students undertaking research.
The ‘Review’, published since 2007 as a periodic supplement in the Stabroek News, has found acceptance inside and outside of Guyana, by average citizens and decision-makers. It is a landmark publication in the history of Guyana’s print media. If society did not need the Guyana Review, it would disappear.
