The Digital Narrative of The Nation Newspaper (Barbados)

When the first Nation newspaper hit the streets in November 1973, the founders’ main desire was to raise the standard of journalism in Barbados. But never in the far reaches of their minds nor in their wildest dreams did they foresee that, 35 years later, this weekly publication would become part of a major regional media conglomerate. So what do the next 35 years hold?

From its humble beginning in a one-door, two-storey, cramped building to the spacious complex on Fontabelle; from eight employees at inception to a staff complement of more than 200, plus about 50 contractors, from a privately owned company to a publicly-traded enterprise, THE NATION has blazed a trail of success, expanding its holdings and transforming the business landscape along the way.

As Henderson Carter asked in his book Business in Bim: A Business History of Barbados 1900-2000, how did THE NATION survive? What factors stimulated success and expansion?

As Carter puts it: “Perhaps the most important factor in the survival and success of the organisation was the togetherness, enthusiasm and loyalty of its directors and staff.” This, coupled with the “youthful energy and creativity of journalists” who produced stories that “whetted the appetite of many who were not only concerned with international stories, but with the happenings around them”.

The founders were men and women who saw an opportunity that was begging to be explored, felt the pulse of the people and, backed by a passion and commitment for their profession, took the risk to bring about change for the betterment of Barbados and Barbadians. As Hoyte stated then, it was “journalism in action”.

This caring spirit touched the hearts of the Barbadian people, still in the infancy of Independence, still learning what the “the broken trident” signified – like a nestling trying to find its wings.

The support that THE NATION garnered in those early days mushroomed, allowing the company to move from a weekly, to a bi-weekly, to thrice a week, finally becoming a daily in less than ten years.

The paper’s success led to a corporate reorganisation in 1979 when The Nation Limited (since renamed The Nation Corporation) became the parent company, vesting its publishing business in a subsidiary, The Nation Publishing Co. Limited, and acquiring the shares of Barbados Rediffusion Service Limited from the Rediffusion Group in the United Kingdom.

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In subsequent years, The Nation Corporation has ventured into other enterprises. It acquired shares in Caribbean Communications Network Ltd (CCN) of Trinidad, the parent company of the Express newspaper, with which it has a strong bond.

Over the years, THE NATION acquired or opened news businesses such as Nation Travel and TeleDirect, and divested itself of some when they were no longer viable, all the while keeping in tune with the changes occurring within Barbados, the region and internationally.

It was, therefore, no surprise when at the beginning of 2006, it was announced that The Nation Corporation, the parent company of THE NATION, and Caribbean Communications Network Ltd (CCN), the owner of the Express newspaper, were merging to create a publicly- traded and regionally-focused media company.

This saw THE NATION moving into a new territory, from a privately-held company to one being traded on the Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago stock exchanges.

Looking toward the next 35 years of the company, Gittens sees only a future of growth and opportunities for THE NATION, the staff and readers.

“One Caribbean Media has allowed THE NATION, through joining with the CCN group, to become a pan-Caribbean company, to be involved in a more regional programme and outlook, to reflect the Caribbean to the world and the world to the Caribbean,” she says.

“This is a wonderful opportunity to keep readers and customers engaged and interested because of the diverse products that are offered. It is also an opportunity for staff to develop on a regional and international scale; that is, people who work for and around THE NATION; it is an opportunity to broaden perspective.

She says that as a Barbadian company, the focus was primarily on Barbados. “Now we are looking to be a full member of the CSME and CARIFORUM [CARICOM states plus the Dominican Republic] going forward.We are ready to create the mechanisms that would enable us to become regionalised.

“We can provide the various publics with the news, entertainment and information they want, when they want it and where they want it.These are exciting times to interact with readers, the public and employees,” she says.

Gittens, who has a BSc in electrical engineering and is a certified management accountant, acknowledges that there are financial challenges in the world, but says the new technologies have offered an opportunity to observe and learn what is going on.

“I think we have a sound economy in Barbados, and the region is fairly sound economically.What is occurring in the world will impact us, but being able to provide solid information to persons in the region which can help them, will make it better for us.

“Information is the basis on which we made decisions, and if we can get information out there on a prompt basis, it would be helpful even in a crisis situation,” she adds.

The next 35 years hold great prospects for THE NATION.

– Carter, A. (2008) Shaping The Nation's Evolution. The Nation's Anniversary Special, 23 November, p.10.


History of the Nation Newspaper by Mialisa Fenty is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.
Based on a work at www.nationnews.com.