Ten years with Newsday

TEN YEARS ago today, Newsday made its appearance on the news stands of the country. Its launching represented an act of faith by its publishers who felt there was room in our developing society for another daily newspaper, one that would have its own progressive tabloid personality and a policy of presenting and commenting on the news fairly, impartially and, above all, with uncompromising independence. Looking back over an eventful decade, we are proud to say that we have kept the faith, and we take the remarkable success we have achieved over this period as an indication of the faith our readers and the country as a whole have placed in us.

The fact that, in a relatively brief period of time, we have become one of TT’s leading newspapers, securing a prominent and respected place in a very competive arena, a major force in the country’s national life, one read each day by a broad cross-section of our society, provides a realistic measure of the impact we have had on the country and its people. Our growth and popular acceptance have been deeply gratifying and we are thankful for the support we have enjoyed from our growing number of readers, from our many advertisers and from the dedicated and loyal members of our staff. Our journey so far has been an engrossing and often turbulent one, but given the tensions of our society and the nature of our politics we never expected that it would be anything otherwise. But holding true to our convictions, to our unwavering independence, to our commitment and role as “The People’s Paper,” we have been able to weather the storms and confound our critics.

We have emerged unscathed from attempts by former PM Basdeo Panday and the UNC to boycott our paper, we have survived the wrath of one of his minions who stamped on a copy of Newsday on a political platform, we have taken in stride the barbs and brickbats coming from other political sources, we have steadfastly resisted efforts to have us increase the $1 price of our paper and, most crucially, we have continued to produce, against persistent pressure, a daily paper that is fiercely independent and committed to serving the needs of all sectors of our national society. By now, all those who wield power in our country know that attempts to bully or intimidate us will not succeed. Like every other publication, however, we are not immune to making mistakes. But whenever we do we are always ready to set the record straight and to apologise where we feel this is required. Our approach to matters of controversy has always been based on what we consider to be in the best interest of our people and our country, commenting on the issues involved and never dealing with personalities.

We are particularly proud of the vigilant role we have played in protecting and championing the democratic principles we live by and the constitutional and inalienable rights and freedoms our citizens enjoy, including freedom of the press. Relatively speaking, we are still a “young” newspaper but we intend to continue to “tell it as it is” and to play a constructive part in the future development of our country. Today, we publish a 48-page full colour story about our success. This would not have been possible without our dedicated staff and the valued support of our readers and advertisers. We thank them as we look confidently to the future of our paper and our country.