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Stabroek News – a light goes out
(Kaieteur News) – On March 15, 2026, a light that has blazed across Guyana will go out. It is set to be the last day of publication for Stabroek News. The technological age strikes at the media sector in Guyana, and SN is one formidable presence felled by its march. The gravitational pull of digitalisation captures readership, drains away some advertising revenues.
Some other advertising receivables were not being honoured in a timely manner, nor with any degree of consistency. When the jaws of those pincers closed in, it was just a matter of time before the beacon of light that SN projected was snuffed out, extinguished after some 40 years of serving this nation.
The sweep of the digital age is a formidable reality that has hit hard at bigger media houses than SN, many with great foreign pedigree. But before the digital age registered its compelling presence, there was that always menacing, treacherous, local presence. A dark and powerful presence that fears light with a passion, feels threatened by anything that has to do with light, even a small ray, a more than passing flicker. Light is of truth embedded and truth signified, and when those essentials are cherished, come to mean something, a devotion to facts and accuracy automatically feature in whatever is produced.
The editors and reporters and other contributors at SN stood in lockstep to produce a quality paper on a consistent basis. A paper that was respected, and which will be spoken of with fond feelings long after its last edition rolls off the presses. We at this paper, learned a thing or two about the art of journalism, the role of the Fourth Estate, and then some more, from SN. Though there was fierce competition in the small media space of Guyana, there is joy in recognising a champion presence, a courageous contributor to democracy, a free press, and free speech in Guyana. Nation and citizens are better for it, and its steadfast dedication to the demands of an increasingly tough profession.
Those Guyanese who long for the best in integrity and accountability in government, and the truths when such is not the case, weigh their loss with the departure of SN. They wonder if news in Guyana would be presented in the form of official half-truths, exaggerations, propaganda, and the general deviousness that led to SN leaving the scene. When the objective is to force national thinking and national conversations into a narrow space, where hard questions are dodged, secrets are proxies for transparency, and abuse is normalised.
Over the years, a handful of the staff recruited by this paper had their start in the galleys of SN. In fact, the present editor-in-chief of KN has his roots, and cut his eyeteeth at SN. It is another legacy of SN, one not generally known, in the four decades of its now iconic existence. As a newspaper, we have learned much from SN about this profession that has so many expectations, of which so many demands are made. The example of SN has been a quiet inspiration to many in the newsroom of KN, and for that there can only be gratitude. For sure, there was a time when SN and KN might have been bitter rivals, but there has never been any doubt about their dedication to good governance, honest leadership, and what is best for all Guyanese.
How is the void created by SN leaving the national media space at the end of the next few weeks filled in the post-March 15 era? There is only one answer to that question: the void isn’t filled, and no entity should attempt to do so. Managing the void left in the most professional and ethical manner, and through a commitment to the highest journalistic standards, would be best. It would be the greatest tribute that could be given to a publication that has served the people of Guyana well, by holding one government after another to the highest standards of accountability. When a paper inspires the outpouring of praise and respect seen in the last few days, it confirms the grandness and profoundness of the footprint that it has left in Guyana. SN will be missed.
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