Chronicle editorial team comes in for praise

Dear Editor,

I WRITE to compliment the editor (in chief) and the editorial department as well as publication management of the Chronicle for the marked improvement in the quality of reporting, the editorials, and reporting in the newspaper since early August with the change in administration. During the previous five years, the management of the paper behaved like a propagandistic arm of the previous regime. Balance and professionalism were scarce qualities.

Under previous management, letters from certain individuals, including those who are professional and unaligned, were excluded. I penned several letters, all non-political and non-critical of the then regime.  Some were about the diaspora and U.S.-Guyana relations and they were all impartial. None were carried, not even those announcing Indo Guyanese conferences in America or celebrations of Eid, Phagwah, and Christmas, among other festivals. I have been writing since 1977 and my reports and commentaries were carried in various publications worldwide. For inexplicable reasons, or should I say for political reasons, my viewpoints and reports on activities in the diaspora were not carried in the Chronicle. Guyanese living in Queens and the Bronx hardly got mentioned in the paper.

Also, during the preceding five years, diversity was sorely missing in the state publication. The paper focused primarily on one ethnic group. Today, I notice balance in which every group gets fair representation and there is a wide variety of articles and viewpoints. The paper provides relatively fair representation of the diversity of the nation. The Amerindian community gets a balanced and fair coverage of events unlike during the previous five years. And no person is excluded from making a contribution in the paper on account of ethnicity or political affiliation.

The paper now seems professionally managed. Quality has improved significantly. There is journalistic integrity.  And there is no personal attack on anyone, not even on those who are critical of the paper and the government. There is accuracy, balance, objectivity, and fairness in reporting and editorialising – hallmarks of good journalism.
Thank you editor, management, and editorial staff for a job well done. Please continue elevating professional standards.

Yours truly,
Vishnu Bisram