My years at Searchlight

by Clare Keizer

My association with Searchlight began well before I formally joined its staff in 2005.

The newspaper’s first Editor, the late Norma Keizer, was my mother. In the early years, when money was scarce and volunteers carried much of the workload, I would stop at the office after work and help wherever I could. I brought an interest in desktop publishing, a background in computer science and a desire to see the newspaper succeed.

Searchlight was then printed by the Nation Publishing Company in Barbados. Its President and Editor-in-Chief, the late Harold Hoyte, took us under his wing. I was among the first sent to the Nation for training in page design and layout. Mr Hoyte arranged training for other staff, sent experienced personnel to St Vincent to help us and remained only a telephone call away whenever advice was needed.

My involvement with Searchlight evolved into a much larger commitment. I became a shareholder, director and Chairman of the Board. In May 2005, I joined Interactive Media Limited as Chief Executive Officer, with responsibility for establishing our printery. In 2007, with support from the Nation and other partners, Searchlight began printing in St Vincent and the Grenadines.

My instinct is to see problems as systems waiting to be improved. I designed and launched our first website in 2004; online subscriptions followed in 2005 and an e-paper app in 2013. We introduced YUTE (Youth Uplifted Through Education) in 2008, the Midweek edition in 2010 and, later, Best of SVG. The Norma Keizer Scholarship Foundation, established during our 20th anniversary, expressed our belief that a newspaper should contribute to the society it serves.

Although I was Editor and CEO, ours was a small newsroom, and I remained an active reporter. I travelled around the country, listened to people who arrived at our doors carrying stories they desperately wanted told, and wrote hundreds of articles, most without a byline. I interviewed prime ministers, politicians, police commissioners and public servants, but also students, vendors, scholarship recipients and people confronting tragedy. I learned that every life contains a story and that status does not determine whose story matters.

The work also toughened me. Elections and natural disasters tested us severely. I was shouted at by politicians and activists, threatened with lawsuits, and stalked by criminals and their relatives. I came to understand that people sometimes blame the mirror for what it reflects.

There were lighter moments. Few things matched the energy of young reporters pursuing a story or the excitement of publishing an exclusive. Once, having confirmed through three credible sources that a Cabinet reshuffle was imminent, we carried the story on the front page of the Midweek newspaper. The announcement did not come. The Prime Minister later told me that he had intended to make it, but would not allow a newspaper to get one up on him!

I did not make this journey alone. Harold Hoyte was a mentor and a rock. Roy Morris gave invaluable support during difficult years of restructuring, while Renwick Rose provided editorial guidance and moral support. Our directors stood with me, and the staff, correspondents, columnists and many friends of Searchlight made the burdens lighter. Above all, my mother was always there, quietly and steadfastly supporting me.

My 18 and a half years at Searchlight were the longest I have spent at any workplace and the most challenging of my professional life. The newspaper opened doors, carried me across the world and allowed me to observe leaders and institutions at close range. It also taught me about courage, judgement, loyalty, human frailty and the weight of being trusted with another person’s story.

As this chapter closes, I am grateful for the opportunities I received, the people who shared the journey with me and the privilege of serving Searchlight and its readers for so many years.