THE Guyana Chronicle for years has been no stranger when it comes to charges of biased reporting, but of late, some of the criticisms seem rooted more in perception transferred from a bygone era.
It is true that no so long ago, the state of the State’s newspaper was not one worthy of remembering as it was a tool to castigate members of the political opposition and others who oppose the government. In fact, some editors went as far as to say that there is nothing like balance and objective reporting in the State media, meaning that the newspaper’s role is to follow the dictates of the government.
It was no surprise then that the Guyana Chronicle degenerated into a propaganda broadsheet by carrying wholesale the deeply jaundiced views of political operatives and officials without even having the decency of affording the other party a right to respond to their criticisms. Many, including supporters of the former government since then had made a decision not to buy or read the State’s newspaper because only information on the government can be found therein.
While the Guyana Chronicle has some where to go in becoming a truly national newspaper, it has at least made a turnaround from the state it was in about three years ago, with some noteworthy steps to professionalise the way the newspaper reports the news. But the perception of heavy government bias still remains, even though the Chronicle for the past two years has performed outstandingly in a number of journalism competitions that demand professional work.
In 2015, the Guyana Chronicle swept the Pan American Health Organisation/World Health Organisation (PAHO/WHO) in the print category and did a repeat the following year, winning the overall prize in the keenly contested competitions involving the so-called ‘independent’ media houses. The submissions for these awards had nothing to do with politics. They examined a wide range of areas in the health sector, proffered solutions and were published year-round. It showed that the Chronicle has created an environment for professional work to develop and flourish.
These aside, coverage on a people perspective (reporting not centred on views of politicians) in agriculture, sport, local government, the environment, arts and culture, women and business have increased considerably. But the perception of heavy bias still exists. Even though only last week, this newspaper literally ‘cleaned up’ the Guyana Press Association (GPA) Media Awards, writing on these very issues which give balance in terms of variety in coverage and voice to the people on issues that affect them.
This level of professionalism and achievements the Chronicle has never witnessed in the past two decades and probably way beyond that period, and undoubtedly it is a living testimony that dispels the perception of chronic bias. It is important that these gains are preserved and expanded and deeply partisan reporting on politics remains a thing of the past. This is essential in changing the perception of this newspaper, which two years embarked on a mission to be a newspaper of public record, covering a wide range of issues, from the near and far corners of Guyana.
The Guyana Chronicle is a State newspaper; it represents the interest of the people and, as such, cannot shut out the voices of reasoned or constructive criticisms. The positive strides that have been made by this newspaper in shaking off an old unsavory image must at least be appreciated, and all, regardless of where you sit on the political divide, should play a role in making it an admirable product. Such a move will be of great help in helping to erase the negative perception and will also be of great benefit to whichever government holds power.