THROUGHTOUT the year, the Guyana National Newspapers Limited (GNNL), publishers of the Guyana Chronicle, has provided the nation with quality news content, but the company has taken on the role of Santa Claus and distributed prizes to persons who entered and won the company’s Christmas promotion.

This year, nine persons walked away with “big” prizes, which added a “merry” to their Christmas this year. Those persons were drawn from 852 entries, the most the company has ever received since it started the promotion six years ago.

“I want to thank you all for reading our newspaper because that was the only way you would have gotten the coupons,” said General Manager (ag) of GNNL, Donna Todd, during her remarks at the simple distribution ceremony at GNNL, on Monday.

She said the number of entries represented a fraction of the readership but gives an idea of how many persons read the newspaper.

The content of the paper has increased over the past four years and there are now things in the paper which every member of the family could enjoy.

“You can enjoy the content…the newspaper is packed with a lot of things that could enhance your lives…the topics are good for all of us to read,” said Todd, adding that the company has also remained professional in its release of content by staying away from sensationalism.

The general manager (ag) explained that because the publication is aligned with the State, the aim is to have informative pieces that are not sensationalised. For years the company and its product were in the “bad books,” but the company’s management, over the past few years, has been working to rebrand the newspaper in order to boost readership, said Todd.
The aim of management is to ensure that the reading public trusts and appreciates what is published by the company. Most of the content, particularly what is published in the Sunday Pepper Pot, is written by young writers, who remain objective and creative in their reporting.

“We have been doing a lot and we will continue to do a lot because we want to encourage you and your families to read the newspaper because when you do that you keep our employees employed,” said the general manager (ag), noting that the annual promotion is one such initiative.

Todd, however, said the promotion would not have been possible without the donations of prizes from various individual organisations.

GNNL’s Marketing Coordinator, Akash Persaud, said the prizes were donated by Riaz Computer Centre, Camex Restaurants Inc, Java Coffee Bar, Roraima Group of Companies and D Singh’s trading. A cake hamper from the Guyana Chronicle was also up for grabs.
Among the other prizes up for grabs were a printer, food vouchers, hampers and a trip for two to Arrow Point Nature Resort.

The trip to Arrow Point was won by Bhesham Persaud, who got married recently. Persaud, who was evidently elated, said this is the first time he won something and he was very appreciative of it because he will able to enjoy it with his wife.
In addition to showing his gratitude for the prize, Persaud congratulated the GNNL team for the work they have been doing over the years and encouraged them to keep producing quality content.

Television Personality, Edwin Seeraj, who won a hamper, also joined in congratulating the company on its work over the years. He said the Chronicle does not produce sensational news, but the content is great.

“You can find many things in the Chronicle…from things related to the government, sports and even advertisements,” said Seeraj, adding that the company has been doing good by giving back more than just content, especially at Christmas time.