After more than 39 years as one of Guyana’s most prominent independent newspapers, Stabroek News will cease print operations from March 15, with its parent company set to begin voluntary liquidation, Chairman of Guyana Publications Inc. (GPI), Brendan de Caires, told employees on Friday.
Addressing staff, de Caires said the Board had concluded that the traditional newspaper business model has been overtaken by the rise of global digital platforms, which have redirected audiences and advertising dollars away from print.
He pointed to a steep international decline in print advertising, saying it has fallen by about 75% over the past two decades, from roughly US$110 billion in 2004 to US$26 billion in 2024, a collapse that has forced widespread newspaper closures in major markets.
De Caires said more than 2,000 local newspapers have shut down in the United States, alongside more than 340 in Canada and about 300 in the United Kingdom, with many survivors relying on buyouts by larger companies able to absorb print losses.
In a separate piece published today under the headline “The End of an Era,” the paper’s principal shareholders, Isabelle and Brendan de Caires, described the closure decision as “extraordinarily difficult and painful,” framing it as the end point of long-running economic pressures, political headwinds, and the transformation of news consumption.
Stabroek News was founded by David de Caires and Doreen de Caires, who, the shareholders said, sacrificed heavily to keep the paper alive through difficult economic and political periods.
The newspaper became a daily in 1994, and over the decades, it developed a reputation for investigative reporting, commentary, and coverage that its owners say prioritised balance over the “clickbait” incentives of algorithm-driven distribution.
“We exit as we entered. Unbowed. Heads held high. Beholden to none,” the shareholders wrote, arguing that the newspaper’s contribution to civic discourse and democratic life would ultimately be judged by the wider society.
