Latest update June 17th, 2026 12:40 AM
“TRANSPARENT MISTAKES”
I recently read a story about a man who used to buy a newspaper every day from the paper boy. The man would make the purchase, stand his ground, take a quick glance at the front page, and then hand the paper back to the seller.
This went on for years. One day, the paper boy’s curiosity got the better of him. He turned to the man and asked him why it was he purchased the paper, took a look at the front page and then returned the newspaper without turning a page. The man explained that he was interested only in the obituaries.
“But the obituaries are to be found on page 14,” replied the paper boy, “You never open the newspaper.”
“The son-of-a-bitch I am looking for will be on the front page,” replied the man.
That man was looking for a headline. When each day he did not see it, he simply had no other reason to read on.
A newspaper’s headlines reveal a great deal. I do not mean the sort of story that was revealed in the following headline:
A hole has appeared in the ladies’ changing rooms at the sports club. Police are looking into it.
A newspaper headline gives a clear idea about the focus that is likely to be emphasized. It may be catchy and intended to get the attention of the reader, but it invariably also signals the slant of the story it introduces.
This was certainly the case at the conclusion of the recent tax seminar.
These are the headlines of the various dailies in Guyana in respect to that seminar:
Kaieteur News: “We made a mistake. We thought it was covered in law” – Da Silva
Stabroek News: Go-Invest admits mistake in QAII deal
Guyana Times: Transparency critical to each privatisation deal – Brassington
Guyana Chronicle: Gov’t committed to transparency and accountability – Finance Minister.
If you examine these headlines closely, you will notice the similarity in stress between the Guyana Times and the Guyana Chronicle. The kinship, however, will not last very long.
Given recent trends, I am convinced that within the next two years the Guyana Chronicle will give way to the Guyana Times, which will become the country’s pro-Government voice. The Guyana Chronicle, Guyana’s oldest newspaper, will, I predict, go under within two years.
That will be a sad day for all Guyana, because, no matter what, a country needs a State-owned newspaper; not one that mainly parrots the Government line, but one that is balanced, giving accurate and fair coverage of all issues.
A State newspaper is also necessary since it has a unique contribution to make in reporting on issues which are normally not likely to make it in the private media.
Whatever one may feel about the Guyana Chronicle, it is still the property of the Guyanese people; it is still a brand that is recognisable and known, it is still a brand of significant value, and it should never be allowed to simply fold.
I am also predicting that, despite its just being formed and still trying to get its feet wet in the newspaper business, the Guyana Times will, within six months, be receiving significant public advertisements from the State.
In the case of the Kaieteur News and the Stabroek News, they both emphasised the confession made at that seminar that a mistake was made. A mistake was made; a mistake was admitted to. The Government was, in the process, embarrassed.
Laws had to be changed to rectify the mistake, laws that flout the general principle of reducing discretionary concessions.
The unanswered question, of course, is just who was responsible for the initial mistake and what action will be taken for the mistake made.
A company was promised concessions which were not sanctioned by the law. Considering the Government agencies that were involved in these arrangements, it certainly is not encouraging when such mistakes are made.
I do not know how we can put a positive spin on such mistakes, but perhaps we can simply say that it was a “Transparent Mistake”. There are, of course, those who would like the media in Guyana to report nothing but good things.
The lack of criticism is, however, more associated with the communist bloc in a past era. I hope we are not going down that road, because there is nothing as liberating as the truth.
One of the jokes presently making the rounds in Guyana is that death announcements will soon be banned, since this is bad news and what we need now is only positive news.
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