The quote, “Use a picture. It’s worth a thousand words,” is attributed to Arthur Brisbane, by two publications, The Post-Standard, a newspaper published in Syracuse, New York, and Printer’s Ink, the first American trade magazine dedicated to advertising. Brisbane, a famous American newspaper editor and author, was speaking at a banquet hosted by the Syracuse Advertising Men’s Club in March, 1911. A modified version of the quote, “One Look is Worth A Thousand Words,” appeared in the 15 August, 1913 edition of the Piqua Leader-Dispatch newspaper, headlining an advertisement for the Piqua Auto Supply House of Piqua, Ohio. Inevitably, the maxim wound its way into modern culture, captured in the opening line of the song “If “ (1971) by the pop group Bread, “If a picture paints a thousand words…”
In today’s world, where virtually anyone who possesses an iPhone sees him/herself as a photographer, and in the flood of exchanged images, very rarely do we pause for a few moments to review or capture the essence of every photograph. Likewise with printed matter, we tend to cast cursory glances over the accompanying photographs unless they are of keen interest to our pursuits or activities.
One photograph worthy of closer examination appeared in last Saturday’s issue of this newspaper in the Sports section under the caption, ‘Govt throws support behind Golden Jaguars trip to Trinidad & Tobago’. An initial glance of the photograph revealed a group of national men footballers dressed in red polo shirts adorned with the Guyana Football Federation (GFF) crest standing on the steps of the Arthur Chung Conference Centre (ACCC) behind five smartly attired government officials.
The five government officials were Prime Minister Brigadier (Ret’d) Mark Phillips; Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport, Charles Ramson Jr; Director of Sport Steve Ninvalle; Chairman of the National Sports Commission Kashif Muhammad; and Assistant Director of Sport Franklin Wilson (who had unsuccessfully challenged for the GFF presidency at last year’s elections). The football squad seemed unsure as to whether they should smile or assume serious countenances. Conspicuous by their absences were GFF President Wayne Forde and other members of the GFF Executive, who are normally in attendance at such photo opportunities. National Men’s Senior Coach Jamaal Shabazz, a Trinidadian, who was instrumental in arranging the series was already in Trinidad finalising the tour.
The accompanying story revealed that the government was covering all the expenses for a squad of 24 national footballers leaving the next day for two games against the Trinidad and Tobago national team scheduled for May 13 and May 15. It noted that the friendly matches were to serve as warm-up games for the Concacaf Qualifiers for the 2026 FIFA World Cup which will kick off on 6th June, with Guyana playing away in Panama. Guyana has been drawn in Group D along with Panama, Nicaragua, Montserrat and Belize for the Second Round of Qualifiers
“The investment we are making now in the national football team, we have never made this level of investment before, and that’s a reality,” Minister Ramson said to the media at the ACCC. Mr Ramson, whilst stating that the government was a staunch supporter of the national team, added, “We are also making that commitment in a very sensible way too, which is about making sure, that if we want to give ourselves a distinct opportunity to succeed at the World Cup level, then they have to play better teams and that’s something we have been organising.” The Sports Minister also said that his ministry was working diligently to address the issues at the National Track and Field Centre (NTFC) at Edinburgh, West Coast Demerara, where, currently, the playing surface does not meet the minimum standard for international matches.
The ministry appeared eager to spread the word of this government-sponsored trip for the national men’s football team. This publication was informed of the 13:30 hrs press conference, which was held during the recess of the National Assembly, at 11:34 hrs via an email, which also offered transportation to the venue. It is possibly purely coincidental that this announcement came two days after this column (SN Editorial, ‘World Cup disappointment’ 8 May) criticized the GFF’s and government’s preparations for the national team. According to reliable sources, the T&T trip was already on the cards – Coach Shabazz had left to make arrangements – and was not a spur to action response.
However, since this government has a penchant for viewing criticism, even when constructive, as coming from the opposition camp, the photograph was clearly being used to send a definitive message. A close study of the subjects (excluding the national team members), revealed stoic expressions and the clasped hands held at the waist seemed better suited for a show of strength than the sending off of a squad of national footballers for two international friendlies. The carefully choreographed veneration of the government’s involvement in the effort for the Guyana team to qualify for the 2026 World Cup may have misfired as it simply appeared transactional. This is further evidenced by the officialdom overkill in the photograph.
Meanwhile, the absence of GFF officials at last Friday’s press conference speaks volumes. Are any GFF officials accompanying the team on this trip? If not, then who is going with the team? This was not addressed at the press conference, nor has the GFF public relations machinery offered any further information. This picture indeed paints a thousand words which might be different for observers who are left to draw their own conclusions.
