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Clint Chan Tack, from left, Laurel Williams, Allyson Fahey, Yvonne Webb and Betty-Ann Hosein, the team at Newsday's office in San Fernando. Chan Tack, Williams and Webb have more than 50 years combined in journalism. Hosein and Fahey were part of the administrative staff. - IN the never ending story that is our lives, the book contains many chapters.
Looking back, I would never have contemplated having spent 27 years in one place as I have at Newsday.
Nor would I have thought I would have experienced the things that I did.
Finishing my Bachelor's of Arts degree at UWI's St Augustine campus, it was September 1998 which found me at the doors of the old Newsday office on Chacon Street, Port of Spain.
The place had the aroma of newsprint and then chief news editor John Babb interviewed me for a reporter's job and spelled out all it entailed. One could tell being in Mr Babb's presence, the passion that came with being a journalist. That passion I soon came to see was reflected in everyone else who was there, all committed towards building something special.
Newsday's South Bureau, in the Courts Building, High Street, San Fernando was my first office as a new member of the media. Small in size and windowless with no idea whether it was night or day outside.
It was here under the guidance of my former colleagues Richard Charan, Azard Ali, Azlan Mohammed, Sascha Wilson and Sunil Ramjitsingh that I learned how to be a reporter and love what I do.
Being in the presence of Mrs Therese Mills was both an honour and a privilege. She was forthright and wise. Her praise and her criticism were of equal measure. Mrs Mills never hesitated to praise me for the good work I did or deliver harsh but constructive criticism
Therese Mills, Newsday's founding editor-in-chief, received an honorary doctorate from UWI in 2012. -
Anil Goorahoo, one of Newsday's former columnists/ editor/ manager of the South Bureau, helped me craft the story which I would have my first byline on. Keep it straight, simple and stupid, he would say.
When I transferred to the head office in Chacon Street, I would often be summoned to Mr Babb's office where he would use a ruler to go through my articles line by line, to point out where the article was lacking.
The attention he and others in Newsday paid to intricate detail, I dare say is a skill which many people in the media have lost over the years, arguably becoming too reliant on social media and other technology.
You would see that in today's media when reporters rattle questions off their cell phones which they never wrote and did not understand what they were asking.
Mrs Mills always insisted that reporters be knowledgeable about their news beat and how everything works. After all, one cannot find answers if one doesn't understand the question.
Court and general news were some of my early beats, but it was politics which I eventually gravitated towards.
I trace this beginning to an afternoon sitting of the House of Representatives in 1999 where I accompanied my former colleague Aneela Maraj on her stint at covering the House. Watching Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj and Patrick Manning having a friendly chat before the sitting before transforming into mortal political adversaries was priceless.
The processes of government, Parliament and politics were both daunting and rewarding to know. I learned parliamentary procedures at sittings of the House and Senate, learning to read mannerisms of MPs and Senators, how to study complex pieces of legislation which would have ordinary people confused.
The forum of elections, outside of the decorum of Parliament, was both exciting and challenging. Late nights, distant locations, sun or rain, I wouldn't trade the experience for anything.
From 1999 to 2026, I have covered every general, local government, Tobago House of Assembly elections, and by-elections.
Leading political figures such as Patrick Manning, Basdeo Panday, Arthur NR Robinson, Kamla Persad-Bissessar, Jack Warner, Orville London and so many others, who I once only saw on television or read about, I was able to interact with them up close and personal and engage them on issues which were topical for Trinidad and Tobago.
From beginning to end, elections are dramas where the pendulum swings with such uncertainty no one knows what's going to happen.
Witnessing the thrill of victory, the agony of defeat and history in the making on some occasions.
One of which being Mrs Persad-Bissessar being elected on May 24, 2010 as this country's first female prime minister. A feat she would later repeat 15 years later on April 28, 2025.
I'm privileged to have covered several Caricom Heads of Government conferences in Trinidad and in other parts of the region, getting a flavour of regional politics outside of the local confines.
Without a doubt in 2009, this country's hosting of the Fifth Summit of the Americas – introducing the regional political debut of the newly minted US President Barack Obama – and the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting – with the opportunity to literally be in the presence of royalty, and hear Queen Elizabeth II speak with grace and gravitas, is something I will always treasure.
My Newsday colleagues and I literally lived in the International Waterfront Centre for days, going back and forth from news conferences to file stories, and participating in political and business fora – a regular feature of these international summits on cruise ships docked in Port of Spain for that purpose.
Covering the budget was one of my favourite assignments during the parliamentary cycle. I'm honoured my colleagues trusted me enough to let me lead the charge on the presentations of the budget in the Parliament by different finance ministers such as Winston Dookeran, Larry Howai, Karen Nunez-Tesheira, Colm Imbert and Davendranath Tancoo.
My brief stint as editor of Newsday's Business Day magazine was also interesting, especially learning from the magazine's creator, Rory Rostant, who's work ethic was unmatched.
Rattan Jadoo, the late chief photographer at Newsday. -
Who could forget Chief Photographer Rattan Jadoo's trained eye for seeing the picture that no one else would and his brutal honesty to call things as the saw them. Rattan never belittled anyone or expected them to be like him. Rather he, and many others in Newsday, wanted people to live up to their own individual potential and be the best they could be.
There certainly were many people who fit that category who I was proud to serve alongside.
Therese Mills, Suzanne Mills, Michele Mills, Vashty Maharaj, Suzanne Sheppard, Horace Monsegue, Nalinee Seelal, Francis Joseph, Ian Gooding, Rory Rostant, Charleen Thomas, Lara Pickford-Gordon, Jada Loutoo, Rattan Jadoo, Azlan Mohammed, Sureash Cholai, Roger Jacob, Sasha Harrinanan, Miranda La Rose, Andre Bagoo, Sean Douglas, Enrico Matthews, Aneela Maraj, Richard Charan, Sascha Wilson, Azard Ali, Anil Rampersad, Richardson Dhalai, Laurel V Williams, Lincoln Holder, Stacy Moore, Karl Cupid, Marissa Williams, Munir Hosein, Corey Connelly, Angelo Marcelle, Anil Goorahoo, Susan Mohammed, Carolyn Kissoon and too many others to mention, will, for me, forever remain some of the brightest stars in Newsday's constellation which will continue to grace the journalistic heavens with their auras, long after Newsday fades into history.
History, as I mentioned earlier, was what I studied in UWI before joining Newsday and I completed my degree while I began my journey with what would be my first permanent job and commitment for the last 27 years.
History tells us that eras come and go – empires rise and fall – and everything runs its natural course, without exception.
This week, I bid goodbye to my workspace in Newsday's South Bureau in Carlton Centre and the office itself. The space in which I spent many days and nights, writing stories for the newspaper I dedicated the majority of my adult working life to.
It was like many occasions in the past. Being the last person in the office to bid it good night and look forward to returning the next day.
But this time, leaving felt bittersweet. Remembering the memories made there and at Newsday while knowing this was the last time I would be in this space.
The walk out of the office, down the corridor, further and further away, with one last look at the sign that still hangs over the door – "Newsday...The People's Newspaper"– seemed just a little bit longer.
Like Thomas the Train Engine – Newsday was the little paper that could and it did for many years.
A journalistic "David" taking on the "Goliaths" of the media landscape and prevailing against the odds.
What the future holds? Who knows?
I know have stayed the course and was there at the end, to say farewell to a cherished friend and partner.
Goodbye Newsday.
You will never be forgotten and have earned your rightful place in journalistic immortality.
May your legend stand apart from the rest and remind everyone in the ever changing world of the media – trust, integrity and character are timeless values which advances in technology cannot replace.
May others keep your core values alive, give a voice to those who others consider voiceless, and continue to keep telling the story as it is.
English (US) ·