Caption: MATT’s new executive, Shivani Lal, Jermaine Cruickshank, Kejan Haynes, Prior Beharry, Phillip Matheson and Vindhar Suraj. Missing is Yvonne Webb
By Alicia Chamely
THE Media Association of Trinidad and Tobago (MATT) elected a new executive on Saturday, but the landslide victor by the “Stronger MATT” slate led by AZP News Editor-in-Chief Prior Beharry was tempered by mounting alarm over the announced closure of the Newsday newspaper.
Beharry and his team won all seven executive positions in balloting held in Port of Spain, San Fernando and Tobago. Running on the theme “Stronger MATT,” Beharry described the campaign as “short and entertaining.”
Beharry replaces Dale Enoch, head of news at Radio 195.5 FM, who chaired an interim executive initially appointed for three months in 2023. That arrangement extended for more than two years after elections were not held.
The newly elected team includes:
- President – Prior Beharry;
- Vice President – Kejan Haynes;
- Secretary – Phillip Matheson
- Assistant Secretary – Shivani Lal;
- Treasurer – Vindhar Suraj
- Floor Member – Jermaine Cruickshank; and
- Floor Member – Yvonne Webb
In his first comments after the results, Beharry focused on the uncertainty facing Newsday staff and freelancers after the company announced on Friday that it was set to close after 32 years.
“MATT will try its best to do what it can for the employees, first and foremost,” he said, urging the newspaper’s management and owners to ensure both permanent staff and freelancers are properly compensated.
Candidates from Newsday’s editorial department appeared across the three competing slates, and the looming shutdown cast a shadow over the election, highlighting the pressure on the local media industry.
Beharry also pointed to longer-term structural issues facing the association, including how membership is defined in an era of social media and independent digital publishing. He noted constitutional requirements that journalists be employed at recognised media houses and derive most of their income from that work.
“The landscape has changed in the past 20 years, and that is something we will take back to the membership,” he said.
He said the new executive would also prioritise MATT’s financial standing, including a review of the association’s accounts, while drawing on the experience of past presidents and senior practitioners.
“MATT is alive and well,” Beharry said, adding that turnout at all three venues signalled continued support for the organisation.
Enoch, the outgoing interim president, said Newsday’s impending closure was “devastating” for workers and the wider profession.
“To say it is sad is an understatement. This is a blow to the profession and the professionals,” he said, suggesting MATT and other bodies may need to step in with counselling and practical support. He warned that Newsday’s situation reflects a wider regional and global pattern of cutbacks, shrinking opportunities and freelancers being among the first affected, while also referencing pressures in state media, including Trinidad and Tobago Television (TTT).
Looking back on the interim executive’s work, Enoch said its main tasks were keeping the organisation functioning, visiting media houses to hear concerns, and returning MATT to elected leadership.
“This is your organisation,” he told members. “Give support to the incoming executive. Let us move forward.”
Interim treasurer Mark Lyndersay also cited long-running financial and administrative hurdles, including MATT’s lack of access to its bank accounts and the registration of the association as a non-governmental, non-profit organisation.
Voting was held at the National Library and Information System Authority (NALIS), Port of Spain, First Floor Seminar Room, COSTAATT Campus, San Fernando, and Radio Tambrin in Tobago.
