The Independent was a
Belize
Belize (; bzj, Bileez) is a Caribbean and Central American country on the northeastern coast of Central America. It is bordered by Mexico to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and Guatemala to the west and south. It also shares a wate ...
an
newspaper
A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background.
Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as politics, business, sports a ...
published weekly on Tuesdays and selling for $1.00.
Premise
According to
News 5, the first issue of the Independent (also known as the Independent Reformer) hit newsstands on November 28, 2006.
[http://www.channel5belize.com/archive_detail_story.php?story_id=17492 Channel 5 story] It quoted the editorial as stating that the majority of pieces in the Independent will be "opinion/editorial" type rather than hard news.
After a run of some 60+ issues, the Independent has ceased publication as of October 2007, confirmed by a Karla Vernon letter to the
Amandala.
Staff
Meb Cutlack, editorial director of the Independent. The
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
n has previously written for
the Reporter and contributed to the
Amandala.
Karla Vernon, general editor. The media veteran has worked for the former
Radio Belize
The Broadcasting Corporation of Belize, otherwise known as Radio Belize (using the call-sign of VPM; no relation to the current VPM-FM), was a radio station in Belize that shut down in November 1998. Until the 1980s it was Belize's only radio stat ...
,
Channel 5,
The Reporter and
The San Pedro Sun
''The San Pedro Sun'' is a newspaper published continuously since 1991 and serves the community of San Pedro Town located on Ambergris Caye in Belize
Belize (; bzj, Bileez) is a Caribbean and Central American country on the northeastern c ...
. Her husband Trevor will serve as business manager; he heads the Independent's publishing company, Independent Publishing, and National Printers, the printing home of the Independent.
Criticism
Before it printed a single page, the Independent was criticized by
The Belize Times
''The Belize Times'' is a Belizean newspaper published once a week and the official organ of the People's United Party (PUP). It was established in 1956 and sells for BZ$1
Its offices are located at the PUP's Belize City headquarters at 3 Queen S ...
, paper for the ruling
People's United Party. The Times claims the Independent, based on the record of Cutlack and Vernon, will be pro-
UDP, but welcomed them nonetheless. Vernon claims that pressure from political parties undermined the Independent's success.
Channel 5, in reporting the story on November 7, poked fun at Cutlack's aggressive writing style, but praised its former news editor Vernon as a balance to Cutlack.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Independent
2006 establishments in Belize
2007 disestablishments in Belize
Defunct weekly newspapers
Weekly newspapers published in Belize
Newspapers established in 2006
Publications disestablished in 2007