CLASS analysis, whether in a rich, industrialised society or a small island state with a mere 300,000 persons, is a fundamental requirement in studying the sociology, politics and economics of a country.
To grasp how and why the Stabroek News (SN) started and why it died, class analysis is a sine qua non. To analyse the journey of SN will take several columns because it is a complex story. Before we proceed, a brief note on the statement issued by the De Caires family on the reason for the closure. I will return to the statement as an entire column.
Their reflection on the beginning and evolutionary life of SN is fictional, deceitful and downright misleading. The couple did not produce the incontrovertible facts that are embedded in the ontology of SN. To understand why SN was born and the purpose it intended to serve in the Guyanese society, it would be useful to read the book, “The birth of the Stabroek News.”
On page 131, it noted that co-founder, David DeCaires, asserted that he birthed SN to nurture an “open economy based on free enterprise.” No one starts a newspaper with the intention of nurturing a free enterprise system or any system at all. One starts a newspaper to enhance the value of journalism and to inform society about the contents of that society.
In that very book, there are descriptions of how the Mulatto/Creole class (MCC) was impressed upon to finance the newspaper. A vital sum came from the American government and from the beginning of SN right up to this day, the paper repaid its gratitude by remaining an unapologetic pro-Western, pro-imperialist newspaper.
Comprehending the depth of the ideological beliefs of the SN is a very disturbing undertaking. Just juxtapose the coverage of Israeli violence in Gaza with the Kaieteur News’. When you do the comparison, you cannot help but detest SN. I know, as someone who is emotionally grieving over the genocide in Gaza, I am glad SN has died.
After President Desmond Hoyte began the introduction of abertura and perestroika through de-Burnhamisation, David DeCaires and Miles Fitzpatrick saw an opportunity to resuscitate the special and monarchical presence of the light-coloured petty bourgeoisie. Both men were the crème de la crème of the MCC in British Guiana. In those days, DeCaires and Fitzpatrick were royal items.
This was the motive behind the formation of SN. Both founders yearned for the days when they and their fellow MCC aristocrats would be given space again to roam Guyana with an elitist aura. Both men made sure that they were treated with monarchical recognition and SN gave them that special touch.
De Caires and Fitzpatrick used the SN to laud it over Guyana. I never knew about Portuguese elitism only from what my father and visitors to our house told me when I was a little boy. But I saw it in full force at SN. DeCaires and Fitzpatrick were condescending to anyone who was not from the MCC.
A hard-to-take person at SN was Mrs. DeCaires. As a columnist, she told me never to attempt to speak to Mr. DeCaires. No staff member could walk up to the third level and try to speak to Mr. DeCaires; only the Portuguese and Caucasian employees had that privilege, including British woman, Anna Benjamin. Mrs. DeCaires was harsh and insulting to one of the leading politicians of the day, parliamentarian Moses Nagamootoo.
Security was not at his desk, so Nagamootoo walked up. Mrs. DeCaires waded into Nagamootoo in front of people and scolded him for going upstairs without permission and asked him to leave. My heart went out to Nagamootoo and from that day, I detested Doreen DeCaires, a feeling that has not been diluted over the years.
Two moments caused a revelation at SN that its owners were intent on bringing back Portuguese elitism. One was for a Sunday edition. Mr. DeCaires allowed his daughter and her friend, the daughter of the OMAI gold company, to simply run the newspaper for that day. The two women knew absolutely nothing about journalism.
The other moment was when DeCaires plucked an 18-year-old Portuguese altar boy from the Catholic Church and made him the news editor. It sent shock waves throughout SN’s journalistic staff. This “youth maan” maybe didn’t know how to spell journalism much less to write it. But DeCaires and Fitzpatrick got away with it because they owned the only real newspaper and everyone bowed to them. Guyana had returned to the days of conspicuous class elitism. DeCaires held his birthday each year at a majestic resort on the Essequibo River and only his MCC friends were invited, not even one senior staff from SN. In 1986, the MCC was reborn.
DISCLAIMER: The views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Guyana National Newspapers Limited.