By Shauna Jemmott and Shirley Thomas

With more than half a century’s experience in the world of Journalism, veteran court journalist, 81-year-old George Barclay has experienced the vast the technological, ethical and behavioural changes within Guyana’s media industry, all the while accumulating a wealth of experience and developing a deep love for his profession to the point where he and one of his greatest loves – writing – seem inseparable.
After more than half a century in the Journalism profession and writing under the administration of every Executive President Guyana has had so far, his work has been given due national recognition having been named among the 69 persons conferred with national awards by President David Granger for their outstanding service and sterling contributions to national development.  And while it was something he expected, George told the Pepperpot that he takes it humbly as it was his love of writing which brought him to this point. As he reflects on his most memorable assignments, his treasured moments and the experiences of the media of today and yesterday, the deep love that Mr. Barclay holds for his profession, and by extension, the country he serves as a result of it, proves that he is more than deserving of the prestigious honour of a national award.
George’s career in Journalism dates back to the 1950s as a cub reporter at the Guiana Graphic, headed by then Editor, M. Alfred Thorne. The newspaper was at that time located on Regent Street, Georgetown. He served initially for four years then joined the B.G. Consolidated Goldfields Ltd. at Tumatumari,   as an Assistant Secretary to the General Manager, C.J. Park of Britain.
With a natural passion for writing, about five years later, the young stalwart resumed working with the Guiana Graphic, covering all aspects of news.   He was at the Guiana Graphic when it was taken over by the government and renamed the ‘Chronicle’.
With a desire to move on academically, George enrolled at the University of Guyana to read for a Diploma in Public Communication (DPC), since the University was not at that time offering tuition in Communication Studies at the Degree level. He graduated two years later, in 1981, which served as a fillip to his continued upward mobility at the Guyana and the company to which it seems he has pledged unwavering support, the Guyana National Newspapers Ltd.

In that same year, he was called to assignment along with two other Guyanese journalists and sent off to Iraq as a guest of late President Saddam Hussein. While in Iraq he received a call and was asked to “join the party in the United Kingdom”, where the Buckingham Palace was celebrating the Royal wedding of Princess Diana and Prince Charles on Wednesday, July 29, 1981, at St Paul’s Cathedral, London, United Kingdom.
In time, George was named the Chronicle’s Chief Court Reporter which gave him the opportunity of putting to practice almost on daily basis, his rare and almost endangered skill of Pitman Shorthand speed writing, certainly giving him the edge over other court reporters. In the ensuing years, he continued to cover, without fail, all the top cases in the Courts of Guyana.
Other awards he has to his credit include the GNNL Long Service Award in 1984, for Long and Dedicated Service to the organization and for Participation in a Latin American Seminar in Cuba in July 1985.
Having served the company with distinction, Barclay was nominated as Workers’ Representative at the system of Workers Participation in Management and became a Member of the Board of Directors, a position he held until the time of his retirement at the age of 60.
Following his retirement, he was hired by management on a freelance basis to cover certain court cases at the Supreme and Appellate Courts and continues to discharge such duties with flair and fervor. He also currently has a weekly column Court Case Files in the Sunday Chronicle.

A trip down memory lane
Reminiscing on the days of his prime, George recalls that back in those days reporters were better sellers of the newspapers since there was always a scoop, even though the media many times covered the same events and press conferences.“Something I don’t see now is this scoop thing,” he observed of present-day newspapers. “Everybody goes to a news conference and returns with similar stories. With that happening, sales are cut from a particular newspaper since readers can now choose to buy just one paper and get all the same news that would be in the others. Although it’s a press conference you would search for an angle which the speaker didn’t speak about,” he said and added that when covering stories, once he recognised his angle, he would the speaker aside after the press conference to get exclusive comments on the issue, giving him his scoop.
He recalls too, that the ‘beat’ system which currently occurs within the media was not seriously considered as reporters were required to have knowledge of covering every field. “You don’t consider yourself a court reporter or port reporter, you had to do everything. You were like an all-rounder,” he said.
George worked his way up to the position of Chief Reporter and acted sometimes as News Editor, after attending several seminars here and overseas and adding more certificates to his collection. He was also credited for typing more than 100 words per minute.
George said he had taken classes in shorthand typing with Locke’s Commercial at Central High School in Georgetown. He also attests that it was his skill in shorthand that led to him mastering court reporting. He still beats some modern day reporters at reporting on court issues because reporters now have subjected themselves to using recorders, which are prohibited in court. “You can carry a recorder but you can’t use them in court. [But] they can’t prevent you from using your shorthand,” he said.
George added that in the past, reporters were also respected more in court and were provided special seating accommodations in every courtroom. Now, only the Chief Magistrate’s Court and the Appeal Court have such accommodations. He said he lodged a complaint about the situation with the newly appointed Chancellor of the Judiciary, Justice Yonette Cummings-Edwards and she said she would resolve the issue and ensure such accommodations are provided.
George Barclay has worked with almost every editor the Guyana Chronicle has ever had, from A.H. Thorne and now current Editor-in-Chief Nigel Williams. He named some of those he enjoyed working with as Monty Smith, Harry Heywood, Adam Harris and Sharief Khan.When asked what keeps him going in his profession, even at the age of 81, Mr. Barclay responded, “It’s God, I believe in Him and He keeps me going, feeling alright.”