By Matthew Falloon, Staff Reporter
1959: Mrs. Edna Manley presses the button to start the Gleaner's new £120,000 press at the invitation of Mr. N. N. Ashenheim, right, chairman of the Gleaner Company. - File
BORN IN the year of Emancipation, The Gleaner today celebrates its 168th birthday.
While the faces have changed and successive governments have come and gone, "The Old Lady of Harbour Street" and since 1969, "The Old Lady of North Street", has stood firm in history, serving the Jamaican public both at home and abroad.
Now a completely computerised and public company, The Gleaner was the brainchild of 19th century publishers Jacob and Joshua deCordova who, on September 13, 1834, launched "The Gleaner and Weekly Compendium of News" declaring in the maiden editorial that:
"We are perfectly aware of the difficulties of our present undertakings; but we feel assured from the proverbial kindness of the Jamaican public, joined in our unremitting exertions to render our paper worthy of their support; that all difficulties will be surmounted, and a fair portion of patronage will crown our attempts to please - to amuse - and to inform."
That all difficulties will be surmounted has not been too far from the truth. It has not been an easy ride to the sophisticated, international company that exists today - a company that publishes a comprehensive web site, two daily newspapers, a Sunday newspaper, four weekly overseas papers, numerous books, textbooks and supplements.
The 1970s were a particularly difficult time for everyone. The State of Emergency declared in June 1976 put pressure on the freedom of the press by requiring all copy be vetted by the security services before publication. The newspaper subsequently paid the army and the police the courtesy of delivering the paper after publication. In 1979, a memory that has seared itself into the mind of managing director, Oliver Clarke, then Prime Minister Michael Manley led a demonstration to the gate of the newspaper in support of Cuba. "Next time! Next time!", Mr, Manley warned. Mr. Clarke recalled in the millennium publication, "The Story of The Gleaner", that all was not bad. "The more Manley attacked The Gleaner, the higher our circulation rose," he observed.
FREEDOM, LIBERTY AND JUSTICE
"I believe the country is better off for having The Gleaner," said Glen McFarlane of KLAS FM, president of the Press Association of Jamaica. "It has always campaigned for freedom, liberty and justice and long may it reign."
Like so many of the country's media, government and industry personnel, Mr. McFarlane served his "apprenticeship" at The Gleaner, spending close to a decade in sports and sub-editing.
"As far as I can tell The Gleaner has always been recognised as the university of the media in Jamaica," he said.
"The Gleaner Company has a very strong image in the media market and has withstood all kinds of pressures because of its independence," Newton James, president of the Media Association of Jamaica (MAJ) and head of Power 106, said.
Besides political upheaval, The Gleaner has survived where many have perished, emerging out of destructive fire in 1875 and the massive earthquake of 1907 that wiped out much of Kingston's urban landscape.
The founding deCordova family also guided the newspaper through the rationed times of world wars and into the commercial world that exists today, constantly updating production techniques and introducing new products such as The Sunday Gleaner in 1939 and the textbook, "The Gleaner Geography and History of Jamaica".
The 1950s were one such time of great expansion for the Gleaner Company, seeing the debuts of the Children's Newspaper (now Children's Own), the Overseas Weekly Gleaner (now produced for three different markets in the UK, Canada and the USA) and the popular evening paper, The Star. In December 2001, the company started distribution of its first free newspaper, Extra, in New York.
In 1962, The Sunday Gleaner magazine (now Outlook) was introduced and was swiftly followed by the entertainment bible, The Weekend Star, in 1963.
Getting the news of the day out across the island has always been a priority for The Gleaner. So much so that during the Second World War, with fuel being kept for transporting reporters, the paper was delivered by train, bicycle, "footsoldiers" and even donkeys. In 1966, the Montego Bay branch office was launched to emphasise community reporting and keep fully in touch across the country.
"We, in Jamaica, know that when you are talking about news, the first name that springs to mind is The Gleaner Company," Mr. James said, confirming the reputation that dedicated distribution has helped to establish.
After the move to the landmark building at the cross-roads of North and East streets in central Kingston, The Gleaner Company maintained its position as the country's leading news organisation and was one of the first newspapers in the Caribbean to dive into the computer age.
FIFTY-SEVEN MILLION HITS
In 1997, in its 100th year of incorporation, The Gleaner launched its web site at jamaica-gleaner.com providing up-to-date information at the touch of the button. The site recorded over 57 million hits last month.
"I have observed that The Gleaner is making every effort to be a First World newspaper," Mr. James said. "If you look at the transformation of The Gleaner over the last few years there is very little difference in terms of look and content," he said, adding that where there is style there can still be substance. "You get the impression that you are getting a really balanced view of what is going on in the country."
Now, in our 168th year of bringing Jamaica's news to Jamaica's people, we will continue to maintain our usual high standards. Added Mr. Oliver Clarke, the company's chairman and managing director: "The future is challenging for us as a media company and we hope our readers and advertisers will continue to give us their very strong support."
