Regional newspapers, the Trinidad Express and Barbados Nation have urged the David Granger administration to reconsider its actions towards Stabroek News regarding the withdrawal of government ads from the newspaper which it has called an attack on press freedom.
“Before this situation escalates into an international issue, this newspaper urges the Granger administration to reconsider its actions and to demonstrate its commitment to press freedom through its own act of fairness towards the Stabroek News, a newspaper widely respected for its record of independent journalism,” the Trinidad and Barbados-based newspapers wrote in editorials. The two newspapers are part of the One Caribbean Media (OCM) group.
Further, Chief Executive Officer of One Caribbean Media Ltd, Dawn Thomas, has described the advertising boycott by the government on the Stabroek News as an attack on the free press. Taking note of the situation, Thomas, a former co-chair of the International Press Institute, expressed concern and disappointment, a report in the Trinidad Express said.
“I am extremely disappointed that the government of Guyana could be attempting to silence the independent voice of the Stabroek newspaper by denying the paper any government advertising,” Thomas was quoted as saying.
“This move on the part of the government is irresponsible, intimidatory and a direct attack on the free press in Guyana. The news team at the Stabroek newspaper is well known for their fierce commitment to independent, accurate and credible reporting and I will like to strongly urge the government to immediately desist from this grossly unfair and oppressive attack on the free press,” she added.
On November 1st, a report in this newspaper said that the press freedom attack by the government on Stabroek News via the Department of Public Information (DPI) will enter its fourth month with the newspaper not having received a single advertisement from the agency in October. Stabroek News Editor-in-Chief (EiC) Anand Persaud has said that the total cutoff of ads from DPI in October substantiated the newspaper’s position that SN was being punished for its forthright reportage on the government in the aftermath of the December 21, 2018 motion of no-confidence against it in Parliament.
In their joint editorials yesterday, the Express and Nation observed that Stabroek News has become the latest Caribbean casualty of an “apparent state-orchestrated advertising boycott designed to bring the media to heel.” The newspapers noted that for over three months, Stabroek News has received virtually zero advertising from government agencies in sharp contrast to other newspapers.
“Its attempts to get an explanation elicited no response until two Fridays ago when the newspaper’s suspicion that it was the target of a government boycott was borne out by comments from President David Granger,” the editorials stated.
The Express and National highlighted that during an interview on Kaieteur radio, Granger defended the use of state advertising for political purposes, saying “we believe that advertisements should be directed to the media houses based on their willingness to disseminate news fairly.”
The editorials said that Persaud “rightly questioned the inherent subjectivity of fairness, asking who would be the arbiter of fairness.”
Metric
The editorials observed that Stabroek News is clear in its position that the president’s new metric of fairness is a smokescreen for a government retaliation against its independent journalism.
“Since the government lost a no-confidence vote in December, Stabroek News has been uncompromising in its position that the Granger government was in breach of the Constitution by failing to call an election within the stipulated period. Instead of going to the polls, the government dragged out the electoral calendar with a series of legal manoeuvres destined for defeat,” the two newspapers articulated.
They noted that Guyana is now due to go to the polls on March 2 next year in what is expected to be a tight race.
The Express and Nation said that as they well know, “intimidation of the free press is a favoured tool of politicians, especially those with the power to deploy state patronage for political advantage.” They noted that this experience is not new to Stabroek News which, in 2006, suffered a similar experience at the hands of the government of Bharrat Jagdeo. “Unfortunately for it, the Granger government seems to have learned little from the outcome of that misguided attempt,” the regional newspapers observed.
Jagdeo, last month, said that his PPP/C administration “was wrong” to withdraw state advertising from Stabroek News in 2006. That advertising boycott lasted for 17 months.
The Express and Nation contended that it is not too late for Granger to defuse this situation.
“Even as he insists on linking the distribution of state advertising to his subjective notion of “fairness”, he has also been saying that he does not support the withholding of advertisements and that all media houses must have access to state ads which are a state resource. Clearly, he cannot believe both things at the same time,” the editorials said.
“Challenged to explain the fact that the newspaper received not a single government ad in October, [Granger] attempted to pass off the boycott as the result of a commercial impasse between Stabroek News and the government’s department of public information. This had to do with the newspaper insisting in June that the government settle its advertising debt of over Guy$22 million before being allowed any further credit. That matter was resolved at the end of July, following which the first sign of the boycott emerged,” the Express and Nation newspapers observed even as they called on the Granger administration to reconsider its actions towards Stabroek News.
After Stabroek News (SN) went public on September 29 about the cut in ads, the DPI hurriedly issued a statement on September 30 blaming SN for the development after the newspaper had temporarily halted placements so that a $22.1 million debt could be settled by the agency. The DPI said that the reduction of state advertisements to the newspaper was a result of its decision to suspend bookings in May until significant arrears were cleared.
Persaud, in response, had said that DPI’s contention was not credible as the newspaper has the right to protect itself from unsustainable debt and the more natural course of action for DPI would have been to assiduously bring the debt down so that ads could continue being placed with Stabroek News. Persaud said the action by the newspaper did result in a steady reduction of the debt and this should have been seen by DPI as a positive development and an opening to resume advertising.
However, figures for October compiled by the SN advertising department show that DPI placed no ads with Stabroek News, while placing a whopping 5,663 column inches with the state-owned Guyana Chronicle and 4,102 column inches with the Kaieteur News. The Guyana Times received 27 column inches.
On November 1, Granger, during an interview on Kaieteur Radio, said that all media houses should have access to state advertisements but suggested that these advertisement should be channeled to media houses based on the type of coverage they provide. “There must be fairness. We believe that advertisements should be directed to the media houses based on their willingness to disseminate news fairly,” the Head of State said.
His statements that the distribution of state advertisements to the media should be based on the type of coverage provided has drawn criticism from the Guyana Press Association, which said that his remarks appear to link the allocation of paid state advertising with favourable coverage of his administration.
