Not so happy Press Day
The Spanish language newspaper HISPANO has ceased to exist as of today. It must be called a cynical coincidence that the publication folded on what is celebrated as Day of The Press in the Dutch Caribbean.
A “Day of the Press” has been instituted in a large number of societies to emphasize the vital role the media play in keeping the people informed and the democratic process alive. Press Day offers the opportunity to evaluate that role and express critical encouragement to media workers.
In a society such as St. Maarten, where besides the official language of English a large segment of the population speaks Spanish, it seems almost imperative to see the birth and development of Spanish language media. Imperative, that is, for the sake of democracy.
We call it cynical that precisely on this day a large segment of the people is told it will have to do without its daily portion of news and information. In particular, as one of the main reasons given for the folding is the failure of government to process requests for work permits (for Spanish language) journalists in a timely fashion. Again we note a serious lack of an immigration policy serving the economic and in this case democratic demands of our multi-facetted society.
That said, it must be granted that HISPANO faced an uphill battle trying to serve a market not exactly attractive to the majority of advertisers. With the upward movement of this population segment the feasibility chances of such a publication will, no doubt, improve in the future. Government should in the meantime develop policies and administrative procedures facilitating the media to do the job St. Maarten deserves.
ANNOUNCEMENT
The Annual Daily Herald Lecture 2006 has been postponed. Due to health problems the invited guest speaker for this year - a TV anchor from Washington – had to cancel early August. The lecture is being rescheduled for later this year.
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