Stacks of newspapers on a newsstand sit unsold Thursday night at a gas station in the western area of New Providence. The Tribune’s false claim of raising street sales cannot be true as vendors tell the true story of sluggish sales and declining newspaper readers. Our photo taken on the highest newspaper sale day (Thursday) tell the truth in the whole debate. (Photo by K. Sands)
Nassau Bahamas: The morning daily is once again spinning lies to defuse our article yesterday, that morning dailies have collapsing street sales numbers.
It has been some weeks now since the PLP Member of Parliament for West End and Bimini, Hon. Obie Wilchombe, called for a nation-wide boycott of the Tribune for their bias reporting practices.
Under the headline “Tribune and Guardian bucking the trends’ a press statement said, “No other newspapers come close to the unmatched paid circulation that these two [Tribune & Guardian] vibrant titles give an advertiser.’ President of the Guardian Mr. Tony Ferguson said.
“Monday and Thursday have always been the strongest sales days, but the Tribune’s circulation is now consistently hitting new heights,” Robert Carron Chief Operating Officer for both dailies noted.
What is interesting here are the fact the neither senior men could pass to the public any exact figure in circulation numbers for either newspapers.
None of the newspapers mentioned why they are not members of the Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC), the world body that monitor newspaper street sales. Such an organization both the Guardian and Tribune were once registered members.
Added to those facts, recently both newspapers entered into a Joint Operating Agreement (JOA), which confirms their struggles to stay in the dying newspaper business proves our point.
Both newspapers particularly the Tribune, have drastically declined in printed numbers and street sales is becoming tragic news to the newspaper operators. Breaking news coming to our newsroom also confirms that the Tribune’s circulation manager has recently left their operations on Shirley Street.
The new heights noted by the Tribune’s Robert Carron must be of another kind, known to people that walk the streets not knowing in what direction they are headed.
No one however can trust the Tribune anymore to share any commentary, as scores of street vendors and newsstands are confirming sharp declining figures and sluggish newspaper sales.
We laughed to see the Tribune slack talk of ‘bucking the trends’ when in fact they are not bucking at all, but tripping and falling down in numbers. Missing from their photo on page eleven is a photo of the Guardian’s newsroom celebration (If there was really a celebration to have.) The Guardian recently dismissed their editor.
If the Tribune and the Guardian is really having a ball, what happened to the newspaper in Freeport Grand Bahama? Is not The Freeport News also apart of the JOA? And one final question, if the Tribune is celebrating where is John Marquis and Eileen Carron in the celebration shot? We believe they were busy holding up the lighting and taking the picture all to crop up another lie to the general public.
Thursday morning headlines read “PLP underpaid workers” (60 public servants) yet the morning daily cannot find pages in its newspaper to print how The FNM has fired civil servants. An ‘intolerable bias’ that has resulted in declining street sales and advertising spaces.
So whilst the Tribune editorial team toast with wine glasses in the editorial office, all spin on a dredging fact of declining street sales. Street vendors are forecasting the fact that there will be plenty newspapers around this winter, for junkanooers, car cleaners and window washers to use this upcoming holiday season.
