Chamber wants boycott reversed, weekly paper to go daily
Deon Ebanks, Publisher and Editor of The Cayman Reporter
(CNS Business): The Chamber of Commerce has called on government to repeal its advertising boycott of The Cayman Compass that was passed in the Legislative Assembly this week, saying it “sets a dangerous precedent” and undermines the principle of a free press. Meanwhile, the public sector ad ban, which amounts to well over $1 million a year, has changed the fortunes of The Cayman Reporter, which will become a daily newspaper in July.
During the debate on the motion moved by the member for East End, Arden McLean, who called for government to stop spending public cash at the Compass, the premier revealed that he had already had discussions with the editor of the Reporter to boost printing, giving government an alternative for print adverts. In his online edition Thursday the publisher, Deon Ebanks, said that as a result of client demand and the “recent change in government policy” towards the Compass, it was moving to a daily.
Read more about the controversy regarding the Compass and its editor/publisher, David Legge
However, while the weekly paper, formerly Cayman Net News, may be benefiting substantially from the boycott, the Cayman Islands Chamber of Commerce said the “financial sanction proposed and passed hastily … sets a dangerous precedent”. Pointing to a wider negative impact on freedom of the press generally, the Chamber said in a release that its council called on the government to “repeal the advertising ban immediately”.
The actions of both parties “continues to unnecessarily escalate with the effect that it is creating negative international media coverage,” the Chamber said, pointing to the rounds Compass editor David Legge has been undertaking in the US after he fled to Florida at the weekend in the face of as yet unidentified threats.
“This is reflecting poorly on the Cayman Islands and the wider business community and we encourage both parties to act responsibly to resolve this matter urgently. Doing so is in the best interest of the Cayman Islands’ reputation, which is being unfairly damaged as a result of this matter. It would also be in the best interest of the continued right to freedom of expression by all local media as well as our wider community,” the Chamber stated.
However, Ebanks was making the most of the situation and said that despite the move away from print around the world, the people here are still reliant upon newspapers to see jobs and government notices.
“Until that changes, a daily print newspaper can be justified as there should be enough advertising revenue to support operations,” he said as he faces collecting on the million dollar windfall. “We are also putting together a larger editorial team to raise the level of reporting and journalism in the country,” he said.
Category: Local Business, Media
So what does the Compass, Cayman Airways, and the Turtle Farm all have in common? Each of them require cash injections from government for their survival.
It is funny how the chamber of commerce has not made a public statement, at least criticizing the Compass for their portrayal of the Cayman Society being on steeped in corruption. I would have though this would have had a more detrimental impact to worldwide investor looking to invest in Cayman, than the decision for government to choose where and with who to spend its advertising money.
The comments made in the Compass, although it might be true in some instances but the overall portrayal that it is widespread and blatant is just wrong at the least and in other countries would have incited riots and public demonstration. The Caymanian society has to be given some credit for resisting the temptation to take such action. The “threat to their lives” as expressed by the owners of the Compass was self inflicted by their poor judgement in their use of free of speech. As mentioned before, similar acts around the world have resulted in some violent demonstrations against, like those seen on TV that occurred in Paris, France earlier this year.
Those in the Chamber of Commerce must strongly begin to question how much longer they will allow “businesses” continue to belittle and suppress the Caymanian people.
Does anyone know who this guy really is? Is he as Murdoch front? Does he have status and if so how so? Seems to have risen rapidly as a gadfly/axeman
Gadfly not native! Tell us about them.
We know our brilliant, educated, ethical, handsome Caymanians, their Caymanian parents, grandparents, great-grandparents, great-great grandparents!
A very simple simple solution would be for the Chamber to ask its members who disagree with the ban to increase their spending with the Compass to make up their losses. Any business who agrees with the ban could also stop using the Compass. This way the Chamber would be supporting both free speech and free enterprise.
The real irony in all this is that the worst of the “culture of corruption” that Mr. Legge was highlighting is actually carried on by members of the so called great and good that he so loves to glamorize and photograph. But hey, why spoil a good party……
The goals of the Chamber are obvious — to make more money. They speak up only when they think their bottom line might suffer (when Legge took his drama international).
The government, on the other hand, has an obligation to speak up when the people are being hurt — and if the Premier had not taken on the challenge — who knows what the ultimate outcome might have been.
And, by the way, Chamber, had the situation been allows to fester some more, your bottom line could have been another of the victims of this sad — and unnecessary — national unease triggered by the journalistic incompetence at the Compass. That incompetence, combined with their lack of identity with and understanding of the people. Is a deadly cocktail waiting to explode.
A national newspaper should be run by its own people not some foreigner who only seeks to personally gain by bashing the country and its citizens.Legge stay where you are and thanks for nothing.
Wonderful news. But sad for the Compass as an historic institution, and an irony that the very publication that has been deriding all things Caymanian since Mr.Legge took the helm should itself should become its final victim.
Dear Chamber,
This is one time even as a member I am asking you to grab a pot and stick your head in.
Stop chat foolishness. If you were smart you would cancel Leggie’s membership and walk with the Cayman people.
So how is pulling Governments advertising from the Compass undermining a free press? Just like the rest of us the press must watch what they say – free doesn’t mean any of us can say whatever we feel, with no evidence to back it up. Isn’t the Government like everyone else? Free to spend their advertising dollars wherever they choose?
I’m Caymanian (many generations), now in my senior years, I have never been dishonest, everything I got was by earning it, never paid a bribe or got any favours, I have tried all my life to abide within the law and know that there are many others like myself. Now this pompous popinjay slanders us? If I had the money I’d sue the Compass myself.
But as the old folks used to say, I saw the cut of Legge’s jib a long time ago and since I learned he had control of the Compass I haven’t bought another one.
So Cayman, if you are really offended by his cheap journalism do something about it. Pull your advertising, stop buying the rag!
Don’t forget, folks, that the Chamber has a stake in the Compass — remember EY report, how much the Compass was pushing the let’s-privatize it all — more business opportunities for us? Remember when we leaned that the Compass was all about furthering the agenda for big business and their money making goals? Did we not see clearly that the people’s concerns and needs were secondary, at best, to business’s?
Chamber is on compass’s back pocket and vice versa.
I scratch your back, you scratch mine.
Pulling advertising hurts a free press by making a publisher fear that any criticism of government will result in the withdrawal of lucrative advertising contracts.
Except that in this case it was not a criticism of government that prompted this. It was the noble goal of defending the people against the bullish behaviour of the CompAss that was degrading the national self-image.
Your circular reasoning makes no sense. If Government pulls their advertising, by your reasoning, free speech and criticism of Government should flourish.
If Legge gets no monies from Government, then he has nothing to fear next time he wants to write another editorial lambasting Government and besmirching every honest Caymanian. Government can’t hurt him or blackmail him and the Compass if they do not spend any money with him.
Let freedom of the press reign.
Hurrah, Skilpot. I join you.
Perhaps if the Government ads go to the “Reporter” it should use the space taken up every week with dull religious prose (which I doubt if anybody reads) to accommodate these ads!
I haven’t been a close observer of the Reporter. If 9:44 am is right, Reporter has to reform how it approaches journalism. Just as how the Compass publisher Must abandon with great haste the current friends-with-benefits strategy, the reporter must relinquish its religiosity — if the Reporter hopes to become a serious national player, that is.
Of course, if you want to be a religious organ, go right ahead. But I don’t think you can be that and national player — at least not as currently practised , if reports can be believed. Show your spirituality in your ethical practices.
And please do wack the governemnt when it needs it — we don’t need the softballing or image building of political buddies, either. You will not get support for that. The Cayman public are aware and see right through those tactics, no matter how thinly disguised.
And, particularly, shun using your newspaper as avenue for publishing goals for a PR arm as the Compass does. Legitimate media do view that close association with a great deal of disdain.
@09:44am Obviously you read it ,since you are able to tell us that it is “dull religious prose”.
The Chamber knows who butters its bread!
I believe in free speech BUT there is also responsible corporate citizenship. The Chamber seems to have forgotten that tidbit.
Just as how free speech ends when you shout Fire in a crowded theatre, so free speech ended for me when the Compass became a medium for racist views.
I don’t want my tax dollar to support that.
Does the Compass that is good for business?
But regardless, no one is stopping the Compass from publishing — just not on my dollar.
Why should the Government do it, it’s the people money, what is so great the Chamber is doing for the people, if they offer a class some one have to pay for it, I say know to the chamber and it members them and their members can run all the adds they wish to, but not a penny of government money go to that newspaper, at this time, I would go as far as to say the his Cayman Papers from all two and send them back to their own country
Huh?
The Chamber of Commerce always thought they were the government.David Legge brought this on himself. He and his cohorts has done nothing but insult the Caymanian people. When anyone gets so smug with themselves they tend to forget that there is always an alternative. Dean I don’t really know who you are but I will encourage you to work hard, keep your paper truthful and non- hostile. ” Show up, Pay attention.. Pick and speak your words with truth and do not be attached to the outcome” I hope and pray that many more young Caymanians will go out and start businesses and try to become a stakeholder in the Cayman Dream. I don’t know if you are a Member of the Chamber of Commerce, if you are try to schedule your workload so that you will be able to attend
Meetings and keep up with what goes on there. If you are a member they should be supporting you as much as they support Legge. If they don’t then your next Agenda might be to start a drive for another Council. I believe there are other entrepreneurs out there who are not in the Chamber’s membership. remember opportunities are out there waiting to be manifested through people like you. May God bless you and your endeavours.
I always thought that Government must have been in cahoots with the press at sometime by requiring business to place help wanted ad’s.
I’m happy for the Deon. He’s an ambitious young man who has worked hard over the years to achieve success. As far as I know, this is not his first or second business. The continuous toil is paying off.
Much Respect.
Wow. Just sickening. When I tuned into the Rooster one morning, I heard the moderator of the day espousing the Reporter. I had to go and look for it and when I found it, I laughed. The news stories were old. The articles that they did have seemed regurgitated. It looked beyond amateur. I have never been back.
And today, here I see it again. Why is the government throwing support behind the Reporter when it seems it is nothing more than a hobby? Is it because this man is Caymanian? Is it because they have repressed the press to such a high degree that they have to find an obvious puppet to be the new undertaker of the CIG mission?
Let us be clear, I am not a fan of Legge. At all. The past two years with him at the helm of the Compass and having an international audience has been cringe worthy. He clearly is devoid of any sort of integrity to the job. The damage he has done to Cayman and Caymanians cannot be undone or “swept under the rug”. If he stayed in the States, I think it would be best for everyone.
However, I think it is in the best interests of the government and Cayman to take it’s time after last week to figure out the next strategy. Can the government print their own materials, job ads etc.? I contend that making someone who is completely green behind the ears a millionaire overnight is setting the CIG up for more wrath in Cayman and the outside world. The international news will have a new story and this time: “Corruption Alive and Well in the Cayman Islands as Expat Editor is Ousted for Junior Blogger Press”.
Good Luck Cayman!
Where did anyone say that “government (was) throwing support behind the Reporter”?
Proof is in the pudding in the last paragraph of this exact article, right out of deon ebanks mouth! Enough advertising revenue to support operations. That would be from the CIG.
Not the same as the government “throwing support” behind Reporter, 10:52 am.
Also, by token of that same argument, government should not advertise with any media, including the Compass.
Crabs in a bucket. If you don’t want to look at the Reporter, then don’t.
This smells sooo fishy.
I wondered why the premier had such an over-the-top reaction to the editorial … esp going as far as a vote to remove ads from the Compass.
But now it is crystal clear.
This “deal” needs to be looked at an investigated.
It always amazes me how politicians in Cayman get their “panties all in a bunch” and yell ‘murder’ whenever someone steps on their ‘toes’. In any country that espouses freedom of the press, there are always instances where the media speaks negatively of the government. I can’t think of any developed country where that hasn’t happened.
MacKeeva Bush threatened to sue anyone who would say anything negative about him when he was the premier. I think he should have changed his name to ‘Suzie’ instead.
Now we have Alden Mclaughlin acting more like Validimir Putin when someone says anything he perceives as negative. If he continues, the people of Cayman better watch out. Pretty soon he will meet out the same treatment to the “blood Caymanians”
Caymanian politicians need to grow up, become more mature and stop holding their “balls” complaining they have been “fouled’ every time they get a blow. They need to realize they are in the “political arena’ and take the blows like man, smile at their adversaries (the media) and say “is that the best you’ve got’ rather than cry and complain like a bunch of ‘sissies’. The rest of the world is looking on and laughing at the type of politicians we have in Cayman. I bet if Cayman had a female Premier she would be able to take such blows ‘like a man’ even though she didn’t have any real “balls’.
You appear to have been asleep. The editorial did not speak negatively of the Government. That is not the issue. The issue is the continued abuse and derogatory comments being made about THE PEOPLE of Cayman. This time we have all been labelled as corrupt. Thank God we finally have a leader who is willing to stand up for us! Go back to sleep.
Huh? What deal?
I guess if you are not Caymanian, it would be OK.
Deon, I wouldn’t be too quick to start spending this money. If the total really is $1million there’s potentially an argument that it needs to go out to tender. I know that this is broken down into much smaller payments made by various departments over the course of a year but I’m also sure any good lawyer could find grounds to challenge this move in court.
I see the Chamber has found its voice!
I support free speech but not when it is used to label the Caymanian culture as steeped in corruption to the point the people are consequently unable to recognise it. That is not free speech; that is racism.
As for the Chamber, you should be rallying behind the Cayman Reporter that is breaking a virtual monopoly on the print news. Like everywhere else, competition is good — maybe we can get improved quality at the Compass that seems to think good journalism is churning out nice sounding words accompanied by pretty pictures.
Rush and make your magazine.
Why don’t CIG just nationalise the Cayman Reporter and finish the job? Any newspaper that relies on what is little more than a thinly-disguised government handout to survive completely undermines the concept of a free and impartial press. Do I detect a hidden agenda here, maybe a backdoor extension of GIS?
The Roporter was a weekly. It now says it will become a daily. That was its decision.
Where do we get that they are relying on a “thinly disguised handout”?
If the advertising budget of governemnt is a handout for Reporter, the. It is a handout for Compass.
But that does not make sense — the law requires governemnt to advertise jobs, etc. so you and me can apply.
What I would say to government is to look into whether it can reduce the size of those ads, and refer them to further information online.
well said chamber…… this place is becoming more of a banana republic each day…..
Then why don’t you do us a favor and leave!
When the late Billy Bodden owned and managed the Caymanian Compass it was a delightful paper to read. Mr Uzzell took it to higher heights , then came along Legge with his cut and paste method of filling up the pages. The only original portion of the paper was when he was tearing apart Caymanians so if we are a banana republic he contributed to that big time. I agree with the Premier and members of the legislature not to spend another penny of our money to help him and his rag to treat us with such disrespect. Only a fool would continue to pour money into someone whose job seems to be to degrade us and cause us harm.
OK for Legge though. Now how many want a paper now…….
Chamber of Commerce, shame on you, favoring one of your members over the other. i may be wrong and the other local paper may not be a member but I remember seeing your sticker at the office of the Compass.
If The Cayman Reporter is not a member of the CoC then more shame on you for using your considerable influence to favor one party, who is your member. Legge would certainly consider that corruption.
Legge brought this on himself, the Government had every right to take their business somewhere else, that is a cornerstone of a free market society……a principle the CoC are required to uphold.
The Compass has made enough derogatory statements about Caymanians as a group, that would include me and all my family, that I refuse to spend a single dime with that company and in fact refused their “free” offerings as well.
I say to the Government, do not relent or fold to pressure from the CoC or I will certainly be blogging about you guys too and you, The Government, cannot hurt me financially because you do nothing financially for me nor my family…..nor do I want you to.
Just so I understand, according to the Chamber it is the Government who should change their position because Legge making the “rounds” in the U.S. media is damaging Caymans reputation. But, Legge’s comments in the subject editorial are not damaging our reputation?
Interesting one this. The thought process of many appears to be that the Compass is somehow entitled to the bulk or, at least, a great share of government’s advertising budget. If you tallied up the amounts generated by the Compass over the past several decades from government revenue, direct and indirect (including ads placed by employers etc) it must amount to tens of millions of dollars, or more. Nice!
Putting to one side the nationalistic chest beating that led to the passing of Arden’s motion to ban advertising in the Compass, there must surely be a case for the government advertising dollar to be spread around a little more equitably and to allow the competition to share to a greater extent than previously.
Inertia invariably plays a part where government is concerned, so presumably the growth of the Compass has, to some extent, been linked directly to it being first in on the ground and evolving into the historic primary advertisement carrier of choice. That has no doubt made it all the more difficult for its competition.
On balance, I would submit that it is wrong in principle for one company to be allowed to dominate a particular business sector in circumstances where a large or significant portion of its revenue is sourced from the public purse. I acknowledge, of course, that we have a good many such business operating on this basis and that is certainly something that must be addressed as a matter of priority.
Competition, not greed, is good.
Maybe you should compete with the Daily Gleaner since you didn’t think of competing with the Compass
True, Another Dave in Paradise: the funneling of lucrative advertising revenue to one media dominating the print media sector could spawn corruption!
Chamber needs to stay out of politics!
The Chamber of Commerce should be calling on David Legge to cease being such a “cry baby”. For years he repeatedly insulted the people of this counttype with his editorials from Brittannia Magazine to Grand Caymanian Magazine and now the Compass. What did he expect. He started this whole mess. He was critical of us from he arrived here in the 90’s. Furthermore he was allowed to bring in an unlicensed firearm many years ago. His do called corrupt Caymanians in government let it pass without incident. He must tell the truth that the Governor did not place him I protective custody. This was a plot he crafted with the Commissioner David Baines.
Clearly the Govt could save a LOT of money by downsizing their adverts and making them a group listing. One advert of all the Govt jobs that week would make so much sense. Four adverts make a full page. That is just a waste of money.
That would require a centralized HR department, which it doesn’t haven’t.
Can you imagine the central government, the 19 statuary authorities, and the 7 government companies coordinating every week to release 1 massive advert? Impossible. They would miss the deadline every single time.
Don’t bother come with that Chamber, try and put your boy on a leash when he flies back to Cayman, whack him with the paper a few times, then when he is properly house trained, perhaps we can have a talk. Until then, I don’t want my Government spending another dime of my taxes to support his pompous bahind