You’ve seen them on every street corner in Port of Spain. Brightly colored kiosks or guys standing in the middle of traffic, holding up the day's headlines. For decades, grabbing a "paper and a doubles" was basically the law in Trinidad. But things are looking pretty grim right now.
Newsday is closing. Honestly, it’s a shock to the system. On December 31, 2025, the parent company, Daily News Limited, filed a petition to wind up the business. The first court hearing is literally tomorrow, January 19, 2026. This isn't just another corporate restructuring. It’s the end of an era for Trinidad and Tobago newspapers.
The Rise and Fall of the "People's Paper"
Newsday was always the "new kid," even though it’s been around since 1993. It didn't have the deep pockets of the Guardian or the Express. No TV station. No radio network. It just had grit.
By the mid-2000s, it actually became the highest-selling daily in the country. People loved it because it felt local. It went into the "deep south" and the small villages in Tobago where other papers didn't always care to go. Grant Taylor, the Managing Director, recently admitted that the decision to close followed years of "mounting difficulty."
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It wasn't one thing. It was everything.
Why the ink is drying up
- The Price Hike Backfire: They raised the cover price from $2 to $3. Readership plummeted by 40% almost immediately.
- Ad Revenue Ghost Town: Advertising revenue—the lifeblood of print—dropped by a staggering 75%.
- The "Doubles" Effect: COVID-19 lockdowns broke the habit of the morning commute. Once people stopped buying the physical paper every morning, many never went back.
- Rising Costs: The price of newsprint and ink has gone through the roof, making it more expensive to print a paper than what you actually sell it for.
The "Old Guard" and the Digital Pivot
While Newsday struggles for survival in the courts, the two other giants of the Trinidad and Tobago newspapers landscape are leaning hard into digital.
The Trinidad and Tobago Guardian is the oldest of the bunch, founded back in 1917. It’s often called the "newspaper of record." Owned by Guardian Media Limited (part of the ANSA McAL empire), it has a safety net that Newsday lacked. They’ve got CNC3 television and a whole network of radio stations like Slam 100.5 and 95.1 Remix.
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Then you have the Trinidad Express. Founded in 1967, it’s currently the second-oldest daily. They’ve been surprisingly aggressive with their tech. Their ePaper is a literal page-by-page replica of the print edition, and their app is actually decent. You can set personalized alerts and read articles offline. It’s a far cry from the days of waiting for the delivery truck to arrive in San Fernando.
Is Print Actually Dead in TnT?
Not exactly. But it’s definitely on life support.
We’re seeing a shift toward "personality-led" news. Instead of waiting for a journalist to write a 500-word piece, people are heading to Facebook or TikTok to see what "citizen journalists" are saying. It’s faster. Often more entertaining. But, as Newsday’s own editorial staff pointed out before the shutdown began, it’s also a breeding ground for misinformation.
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The Survival of Niche Publications
Interestingly, specialty papers are still hanging on. The Catholic News and The Anglican Outlook serve very specific, loyal communities. Then you have Wired868, which basically owns the conversation around local football and satire. These smaller outlets don't need the massive overhead of a national daily, which might be why they’re still standing.
What This Means for You
If you're a regular reader of Trinidad and Tobago newspapers, the landscape is shrinking. You’re going to see fewer physical copies and more "Premium" paywalls online.
The loss of Newsday is a blow to media diversity. When you have fewer voices, you have less accountability for the people in power. The Guardian and Express are great, but competition keeps everyone honest.
Actionable Steps for the "New" News Landscape:
- Download the Apps Now: If you rely on the Express or Guardian, get their official apps. Don't rely on Facebook algorithms to show you what's happening; the "News Feed" is increasingly hiding actual news.
- Verify Before Sharing: With traditional newsrooms shrinking, "fake news" spreads faster in Trinidad than a wildfire in the hills during the dry season. If a headline looks too wild to be true, check at least two of the major websites.
- Support Digital Subscriptions: If you value local journalism, realize that "free" news isn't sustainable. A digital subscription to the ePaper helps keep local reporters on the beat.
- Explore Tobago-Specific Sources: With Newsday's "Tobago Today" in jeopardy, residents of the sister isle should look toward the Tobago News and local digital creators to ensure their specific issues aren't drowned out by "Trinidad-centric" reporting.
The physical ritual of flipping through newsprint while eating breakfast might be fading, but the need for facts isn't. We're just moving from the pavement to the palm of our hands.