Stabroek News to close after 40 years of independent publishing

David de Caires

Stabroek News, one of the country’s leading independent newspapers, will cease operations, its owners said, citing financial pressures and changing media consumption habits.

In a statement, shareholders and board members described the decision as “extraordinarily difficult and painful,” reflecting decades of challenges in sustaining independent journalism in the country.

The paper traces its roots to the 1960s, when a group of Georgetown intellectuals formed the New World Group and published New World Fortnightly, a journal examining Caribbean economies and societies. That publication ended prematurely after a costly print run of its Independence Issue, leaving lasting lessons for the founders, including a wariness of intellectual hubris and a commitment to open discourse.

Stabroek News was founded a generation later by David de Caires, with two former New World colleagues serving as founding directors. At the time, Guyana’s media landscape was dominated by the state-owned Chronicle newspaper and state radio stations, with independent voices scarce.

The newspaper faced repeated challenges, including withheld advertising from state-owned companies—a tactic seen by management as an attempt to constrain funding. According to the statement, the state-run Department of Public Information currently owes Stabroek News more than G$ 80 million in unpaid advertisements.

Attempts to expand into broadcasting were also frustrated. The company sought a radio license without success, and although it operated a TV subsidiary for decades, competitors enjoyed privileges that limited growth.
“Publishing has always been precarious in Guyana and the Caribbean due to small readerships and market constraints,” the statement said. “While the company has never been driven by profit, it must function as a business.”

The rise of digital media further challenged the newspaper’s traditional model of balanced reporting, which management said is less compatible with online algorithms that favor sensational content.

Despite these obstacles, the statement celebrated the newspaper’s achievements: “For 40 years, Stabroek News beat the odds – economic, political, and cultural – publishing an independent daily in conditions hostile to both daily publishing and independence.”

The effort was initially led by editor David de Caires and general manager Doreen de Caires, who dedicated their careers to maintaining the newspaper’s editorial independence.