IT is amazing how a newspaper can easily gulp down a piece of information that came its way through the grapevine or a deep throat source and pretend that that information is credible and deemed publishable. The gullible in society have a tendency to believe everything published in a newspaper, including ‘What the Stars say’. Many go so far to believe that if the story weren’t true, it would not have been published!
In the quest to be competitive, some Media Houses take advantage of this simplistic approach and this explains why from time to time newspapers have a tendency to publish everything under the sun so long as it can increase their circulation and profitability.  It is clear therefore, that nowadays it’s not about balanced and objective reporting; rather it’s all about increasing profits and circulation.
The name of the game has changed dramatically over the years. But dangers lurk on the horizon. These changes bring serious challenges.  Note for example the ‘News of the World’ scandal that broke in the United Kingdom not so long ago in connection with the phone hacking scandal which rocked British politics and disgusted the public. As scandals and credibility go, so does balanced and objective reporting. This twin foundation principle of Journalism have been made the “sacrificial lamb” in the race from the bottom for increased circulation and profitability.

A good example of this was demonstrated when the Stabroek News published three or four excerpts from a rather dubious “survey” done by two Swiss nationals representing a Body  called the “Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies” in Geneva, Switzerland.
The survey speaks quite favourably about Guyana’s track record on public safety compared to other Caricom countries. But Stabroek News made no reference to that.
In addition, the Authors of the survey highlighted the fact that no institutional nor youth gangs exist in Guyana. Mention is also made of the positive anti-drug strategies the Government is pursuing. But Stabroek News chose to ignore that.
Finally, the Authors of the survey provided a reasonable historical synoposis of the PNC’s association with gang violence. Once again, Stabroek News overlooked that.
The Stabroek news in its reportage on the survey chose only those negative aspects which put the Government in a bad light. That’s being political isn’t it?

The claim by many that an opposition media has emerged in Guyana should come as no surprise to Guyanese; in fact, this is a common phenomenon in many countries around the world. It is not uncommon for Media Houses to seek to influence the political process in a country. Take the case of the Murdoch’s “News of the World” scandal;  Zac Goldsmith, Member of Parliament of the governing Conservative Party had this to say:
“I think ‘News of the World’ Organisation is toxic on almost every level. I think it’s an organisation which corrupted our political system (and) made it impossible for people to have faith in our police”.
In the case of the latter, both the Kaieteur News and Stabroek News shadow the ‘News of the World’. They have both worked overtime to make it impossible for people to have faith in our police. That’s political isn’t it?
In Guyana’s case both Kaieteur News and Stabroek News have long established their political agendas, an assessment of the stories carried by these two newspapers would show that over the years they have published more stories critical of the Government than it has of the Opposition parties. It is as if the Opposition parties do not exist for the purpose of commentary and if they do, it is primarily to give them a slap on the wrist, promote them and give prominence to their statements and activities in a positive way.    That’s political isn’t it?
As for the City Council and its wretched policies towards the City of Georgetown, the Stabroek News and the Kaieteur News have little or nothing to say about the mess which the Municipality has visited on the City.  Remember it is the Opposition that is in control of the City Council.   That’s political isn’t it?
Therein lies the political agenda of the Kaieteur News and Stabroek News; they may be competing with each other for greater circulation and profitability but they have one thing in common; and that is to remove the PPP/C from Government. They are no different from the Sunday Argosy and the Evening Post of the 1960’s.
British politicians have said in the past that they “feared criticising Murdoch’s newspapers in case they were targeted”. Those in Guyana who have a penchant for talking about fears of being targeted should put this in their pipe and smoke it.