ONE of the editors at the Starvroek News this week giving a pep talk to one of the reporters:
“Banna reporter, here the deal. For a long time Starvroek News suffer from low readership, read mainly by business/middle class types. Here wha happen :we into sensationalising and creating a frenzy and milking items to the very last drop to sell more papers. We are the bastion of free speech but our new marketing thrust is putting us on the cutting edge of creatively achieving a new market thrust. Okay, so we critics say we pandering to base instincts. We trying to increase readership. Take crime and violence. Every lil ting with shooting, mayhem, rape and violence we gon play up. And drugs. Yuh en see wha we do with the Khan case ? Simel trying to save he backside and lawyer’s license forcing he to drop names..Hehehehe..Milk the Khan ting til it dry and we still squeezing it . We give new meaning to the word follow up story. Yuh got a job to do. Get on line to the police every day fuh crime news. Here wha happen: if a woman get beat up or rape find out whey the panties dey. Play up the juicy, salacious details in big headlines. We gon look like we campaigning against violence on women but the papers gon sell,banna ! Wait ! I nearly forget. De child wid two heads. We milk that fuh bout three stories. Phone and find out wha happen to she. It is called follow up story. Don’t mind about feelings of family. I hear a fisherman up near Bartica catch a big snake with funny head making sounds. Try find he and play it up with headline saying ‘Two headed talking snake.’ We got to provide news. We are the bastion of free speech in Guyana.
Barbados and deportations ! Oh Lord ! And Bajan Prime Minister Thompson coming down this week .Lord have mercy, Helleleujeah ! Stories fuh so ! A Guyanese government Minister opening a development project tomorrow to benefit the Guyanese people , you ask ? Forget that ! Only if Human Rights body make a statement on it and we can carry dey response.Whey de Chinese food I order from down road on Robb Street. Banna, why yuh looking at me so ? …here, tek a genip ….”