By Francis Quamina Farrier

SHE is back home in Guyana, and the only thing that was missing as her feet stepped on Guyana’s soil once again after 17 long years, was a fanfare by the Guyana Police Force Band, followed by Eddy Grant serenading her with his appropriate composition, “Georgetown Girl.” The return of Dr. Wanda Chesney to her native land after an absence of 17 years was no doubt a bit emotional for her and her loved ones, including former coworkers at the TV Evening News team where she worked for many years. As one of her former colleagues at the TV Evening News, I can say without fear of any contradiction that Wanda Chesney was loved and respected by all her coworkers, not only because of the way she performed her duties professionally but also by the way in which she interacted with her colleagues of all levels at the Evening News. She displayed respect, and it was returned to her
many times over.

Dr Wanda Chesney’s recent return to her native Guyana was an exceptional joy, especially for her former media colleagues at the now defunct Tony Vieira Television Evening News, nightly broadcasts, as well as her Adventist sisters and brothers in Georgetown who knew her well. To have a media worker like Dr Wanda Chesney’ is to have the best in the media as a coworker and team member, working with pride to inform the nation of what has happened, what did not happen, which should have happened, what is happening, and why it is happening; all these elements, based on investigation from the most reliable and trusted sources. The good journalist is well aware that there are individuals within the society who would want to use bribes and other unethical means to corrupt the sanctity of the media. Principled media operatives stay far away from such persons. The good media operatives usually stand tall and strong and, after a while, build up a reputation of true professional ethics. After that, they do not have to face the evil people who, many with deep pockets, feel that they can buy their corrupt plans from weak media operatives.

As a journalist of high moral standards, Dr. Wanda Chesney is fearless and also fair in all her reports. She performs her job without fear or favour; a true professional and someone who is not readily or in any way easily misinformed. She researches her stories and reports thoroughly before publication.

In Guyana, as in many other countries, some try to influence reporters and other members of the media; they soon find out that there are those who are truly professional, and no matter what ‘goodies’ might be dangled before them, for the tempter, it is all an exercise in futility.
A total waste of their corrupt minds. One can recall many of the journalistic exploits of Dr Wanda Chesney when she was attached to the TV Evening News. In a way, it could be said that Wanda Chesney was probably already working on her PhD while she was a reporter at the Evening News. Reports of the highest standards were what she presented to the public when she was a reporter before she received her doctorate.

There was also no assignment which was so demanding that she ever backed away from. In fact, the more challenging it was, the quicker she would be ready to be transported to the scene, whether safe or even dangerous. That was her Modus Operandi, the very hallmark of her reports over the decades. As far as I know, Dr. Chesney never produced a news item with a biased slant. Straight-up, unadulterated facts are what she presented to the TV News Television viewer.

Many of her reports on the local TV Evening News were sometimes somewhat disturbing to some members of the public, but not because Dr. Chesney’s presentation was biased, but because they were factual. Some incidents which journalists have to report are not always pleasant. In fact, most are unpleasant for the reader or viewer. There were some of her TV News which could only be classified as “graphic.” An example is having the cameraman record human faeces pouring out of one of the pipes at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation. Such a situation was obviously harmful to the patients in the adjacent wards and also to the visiting public as well as the neighbouring business places and residences. Within days after that accurate report was broadcast on the Evening News, the problem was addressed with the necessary repairs to the faulty system. I can recall the publisher of The Evening News, Tony Vieira, congratulating Wanda Chesney for producing that news item which resulted in improving the conditions at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation. That Wanda Chesney report improved the quality of life for the patients at the hospital, the doctors, nurses, ward maids and other ancillary staff members at that large Medical institution in Georgetown.

Many of the stories which Wanda Chesney presented on The Evening News during her tenure there, had a positive effect on the Guyanese people. And if those stories did not change the wider world, they certainly changed Guyana for the better.

FQF – Dr. Wanda Chesney is visited by former TV EVENING NEWS colleague, Francis Quamina Farrier, in Trinidad.