http://www.stabroeknews.com/?p=965#more-965

Govt resumes advertising with Stabroek News
April 9, 2008
The state through the Government Information Agency (GINA) has resumed advertising with Stabroek News, placing its first order in 17 months yesterday morning.

Stabroek News’ Advertising Manager Patricia Cumbermack said GINA Media Coordinator Karen Persaud telephoned her yesterday morning to make arrangements to start purchasing advertising space in this newspaper once again. No reason for the decision was given to Cumbermack.
The first order was for an eight inches by three columns advertisement for the Com-munity Services Enhance-ment Project which is administered by the Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development.

Asked for a comment, Editor-in-Chief David de Caires said that a very senior government official had rung him on Friday and indicated that Stabroek News would begin receiving ads from ministries and other agencies starting this week.

“No reason was given for the change in policy,” he said. Nevertheless, he welcomed the change in the government’s position.

Government, through GINA, first withdrew ads from 29 ministries and state agencies in November 2006 citing economic considerations. It placed ads with the country’s two other dailies, the state-owned Guyana Chronicle and the privately owned Kaieteur News as well as the weekly Mirror, which is aligned to the ruling party.

Following this move other government and state-owned entities, which previously advertised independently of GINA also withdrew ads, including the Guyana Defence Force, the Guyana Police Force, the Guyana Revenue Authority, the Office of the Auditor General, the Guyana Sugar Corporation, the Guyana Power and Light and the regional administrations.

Stabroek News objected to this move, contending that the withdrawal of the ads was because of the newspaper’s editorial stance on issues of governance. This newspaper sought to have the ads re-instated but to no avail.

The withdrawal of the ads was widely condemned locally by a number of entities and individuals including the Guyana Press Association, opposition political parties, the Guyana Trades Union Congress, the Guyana Human Rights Association, the Private Sector Commission and the Guyana Manufactur-ing and Services Association.

The Association of Carib-bean Media Workers (ACM) and regional media houses, as well as international media organisations, including the Inter-American Press Asso-ciation, the Commonwealth Press Union, the International Press Institute, and Reporters Without Borders had asked the government to restore the ads to this newspaper.

The cut-off also saw Stabroek News’ employees picketing a meeting of the Commonwealth Finance Ministers in Georgetown last year. Last month, the Inter-American Press Association wrote to Caricom Secretary General Edwin Carrington asking for the cut-off to be placed on the agenda of the meeting of Caricom Heads in Trinidad last Saturday.

Efforts by a regional mediating team to end the boycott via an offer to craft a mechanism for the distribution of state advertising also failed.

ah wonder what caused this?

The PPP Govt cave into pressure.

yuh think? No... how could they?

quote:

Originally posted by Gupta:
The PPP Govt cave into pressure.

You're tripping. Your Karma should have suggested that someone took a bribe..

The Govt finally came to their senses that if they want the majority of Guyanese to be informed the have to advertize in the Stabroek News and Kaieteur News. These newspapers sells more than ten times the amount of newspapers than their propagander newspaper, the Chronicle.

quote:

Originally posted by Gupta:
The PPP Govt cave into pressure.

You're funny.

quote:

Originally posted by kwaku:
ah wonder what caused this?

SN circulation went up.

I am now convinced that Bharat Jagdeo is a man of compromise. Lets give him some credit.

I like the SN's new website - especially the feature which allows readers to post comments on articles.

Would like to see a online polls etc.

Wonder if the Chronicle will implement such a feature.

Perhaps in the next millennium.

Wonder how much revenue the Chronicle brings in to the Treasury?

We should congratulate stabroek for having perseverance to force the govt to do the right thing. I am willing to bet that if stabroek did not stay on top of this issue the jagdeo administration would not have recanted.

This is not the first Admin SN had to fight. There was a time when SN used to be printed in T&T because of lack of newsprint. They've come a long way, the struggle for free press wasn't easy.

Why the government rescinded its ill-advised ads withdrawal?

Well, we can guess it might have had something to do with the recent visit by the US Under Secretary of State for Hemispheric Affairs and or the recent regional security meeting.

Regardless though of what may have been the straw that broke the camel's back, the most important element is that the camel's back was finally broken.

Now, let the government do its job via GINA, NCN radio and TV, and the Guyana Chronicle competing against the independent media on trying to convince viewers, readers and listeners.

Oh, and let the govermment also take up the AFC's Freedom Of Information bill so it can become law and the independent media can trhen access information government otherwise hides from us.

quote:

Originally posted by Communicator:
Why the government rescinded its ill-advised ads withdrawal?

Well, we can guess it might have had something to do with the recent visit by the US Under Secretary of State for Hemispheric Affairs and or the recent regional security meeting.

Regardless though of what may have been the straw that broke the camel's back, the most important element is that the camel's back was finally broken.

Now, let the government do its job via GINA, NCN radio and TV, and the Guyana Chronicle competing against the independent media on trying to convince viewers, readers and listeners.

Oh, and let the govermment also take up the AFC's Freedom Of Information bill so it can become law and the independent media can trhen access information government otherwise hides from us.

100% AGREEMENT! After 15 F%#*ING YEARS this is still outstanding. SHAME!
There is ABSOLUTELY NO EXCUSE.

quote:

Originally posted by Billy Ram Balgobin:
I am now convinced that Bharat Jagdeo is a man of compromise. Lets give him some credit.

Credit for what? Being a bully for 17 months and acting like an arrogant assh0le just because the Stabroek News threw some deserved criticisms the Govt's way.

Kudos to the SN for staying on top of this and not allowing press freedoms to be stifled.

quote:

Originally posted by Benford:
We should congratulate stabroek for having perseverance to force the govt to do the right thing. I am willing to bet that if stabroek did not stay on top of this issue the jagdeo administration would not have recanted.

Doesnt that say alot for the Govt responsiveness to pressure, if it was the case? You should be complimenting them. The PNC would have sent in House of Israel of the GDF to fix them up. At least free press has it's place and pull, unlike with the PNC.

quote:

Originally posted by baseman:

quote:

Originally posted by Benford:
We should congratulate stabroek for having perseverance to force the govt to do the right thing. I am willing to bet that if stabroek did not stay on top of this issue the jagdeo administration would not have recanted.

Doesnt that say alot for the Govt responsiveness to pressure, if it was the case? You should be complimenting them. The PNC would have sent in House of Israel of the GDF to fix them up. At least free press has it's place and pull, unlike with the PNC.

Then it is an admission that they were being vindictive in the first place. Govt should not be abusing its powers especially using tax payers dollars. They surely went to great lengths explaining why they pulled the ads 18 months ago. Now they quiet quiet when it comes to reinstating the ads, looks to me like Stabroek was put on 18 months jail term and is now released on parole.

quote:

Originally posted by Benford:

quote:

Originally posted by baseman:

quote:

Originally posted by Benford:
We should congratulate stabroek for having perseverance to force the govt to do the right thing. I am willing to bet that if stabroek did not stay on top of this issue the jagdeo administration would not have recanted.

Doesnt that say alot for the Govt responsiveness to pressure, if it was the case? You should be complimenting them. The PNC would have sent in House of Israel of the GDF to fix them up. At least free press has it's place and pull, unlike with the PNC.

Then it is an admission that they were being vindictive in the first place. Govt should not be abusing its powers especially using tax payers dollars. They surely went to great lengths explaining why they pulled the ads 18 months ago. Now they quiet quiet when it comes to reinstating the ads, looks to me like Stabroek was put on 18 months jail term and is now released on parole.

Well, what else can be expected. And after 28 yrs of opression, murder and plunder, they PNC and you Afros are still "infallible". The first step to salvation is an admission of fault. Shame on you.

Baseman,you just cannot help yourself "you Afros".You have a serious axe to grind,I wonder what Afros did to you personally?

quote:

Originally posted by Ireton:
Baseman,you just cannot help yourself "you Afros".You have a serious axe to grind,I wonder what Afros did to you personally?

Nothing personal, no different that Caribj clasifying all Indians as clannish and racist, or Benford clasifying all indians as weak, cowards and should be robbed of food, no different than Eric, Boueass, Nuff, Benford, et al classifiying all Indian businessmes as crooks and drug dealers, no different than many of you classifying any Indian who critizes the PNC as a PPP stooge, etc, etc, etc. It's just the rules of the game.

So when folks like me critize both the PPP and the PNC,what does that make us?

quote:

Originally posted by Ireton:
Baseman,you just cannot help yourself "you Afros".You have a serious axe to grind,I wonder what Afros did to you personally?

I have a feeling that something happened to him one night as he was walking home in a drunken stupor that is so common among indians.

quote:

Originally posted by baseman:
they PNC and you Afros are still "infallible". The first step to salvation is an admission of fault. Shame on you.

The Afros have admitted guilt many times.

We await Indos to also admit guilt.