The St Helena Independent has announced that the next issue will be its last. Its demise seems to have been occasioned by the decision of the Government to start a new newspaper, and no longer to buy advertising space, without which the Independent is unviable.
I had always wondered how such a small population could support two newspapers, but this is nevertheless a worrying development. Some reaction, including my own, has been covered on Simon Pipe's blog. There is little more I can add except to say that this is a regrettable and rather worrying development. The Independent was a thorn in the flesh for the Government on the island. It was not always right, but it performed a useful service.
It will surely also have consequences for employment at the island's privately owned printing firm. At the moment the airport project is generating a number of better paid jobs, and will do so for some time. How the island will fare when the airport is complete and the RMS St Helena, itself an important employer, is decommissioned, is another matter.
