HGP Nightly News – After nearly four decades of uninterrupted publication, the independently owned Stabroek News has announced it will close its doors permanently, with printing ceasing on March 15, 2026, and the company entering voluntary liquidation.
The announcement, made today by Chairman Brendan de Caires, marks the end of a 39-year run for one of Guyana’s most enduring independent newspapers. De Caires described the decision as “extraordinarily difficult and painful.”
A History of Pressure
In a candid statement, de Caires detailed the relentless challenges that culminated in the newspaper’s demise. He recalled a period when advertisements from state-owned companies were withheld, describing it as “a rather crude attempt to muzzle the free press.” State advertising, he noted, constituted a substantial portion of the company’s earnings.
More recently, the financial pressure intensified. The state-run Department of Public Information has accrued a debt to the newspaper exceeding $80 million in unpaid advertisements over the past year alone.
“The debt persists despite repeated private and public entreaties to clear it,” de Caires stated. “This tactic could equally be construed as an attempt to starve this company of its operating funds.”
Obstacles at Every Turn
Beyond the immediate financial crisis, de Caires painted a broader picture of an unlevel playing field. Publishing in Guyana and the Caribbean, he explained, has always been precarious due to modest readership size and market constraints. While the company was never driven primarily by profit, it was nevertheless required to function as a viable business.
Efforts to diversify proved futile. The outlet repeatedly sought a radio licence and was consistently refused. Although the company operated a television subsidiary for several decades, its main local competitors enjoyed “significant privileges.”
“The anticipated progression from newspaper to multi-media broadcaster has been impossible,” de Caires lamented.
A Legacy of Defiance
The De Caires family reflected on four decades of defying the odds. “For 40 years, Stabroek News beat the odds, economic, political, and cultural—every single day,” the family stated. The newspaper published independently in a country where conditions “conspired against any form of daily product, against any form of independence.”
Founded in 1986 by attorney David de Caires and his wife Doreen, the newspaper became a daily in 1994. David de Caires passed away in 2008, and Doreen subsequently assumed a less active role.
