Senior Reporter
derek.achong@guardian.co.tt
A move to wind up the Newsday newspaper after 32 years of operation has been approved by a High Court Judge.
Justice Marissa Robertson approved the petition brought by lawyers representing Daily News Ltd, the parent company of the newspaper, last year, during a virtual hearing yesterday morning.
She agreed to appoint chartered financial analyst Maria Daniel, of Ernst and Young (EY), as liquidator.
The approval means that Daniel can now get to work in assessing and selling the company’s assets to help clear its debts to creditors.
During the hearing, attorney Gregory Pantin said there were no objections to the petition from creditors after it was advertised in former rival newspapers and published in the Gazette.
Present at the hearing was Brent Mark Bristol, who sent correspondence to the company’s lawyers seeking the preservation of the newspaper’s publication archives during the liquidation process.
Pantin said Bristol’s request was premature as Daniel would have the final say in determining the most cost-effective method of preserving the company’s assets, including its archives.
He noted that the National Archives has its own database of daily publications by the newspaper in its over three-decade history, which Bristol may be able to access.
The petition was filed on December 31, last year, with the company citing financial issues caused by steadily declining advertising revenue and the impact of the covid-19 pandemic.
It was only revealed by the company earlier this month as it published the last physical edition of the newspaper.
The newspaper has continued to publish digitally while the winding-up procedure was still pending.
Daniel would now have to consider whether such operations would continue while the liquidation process is ongoing.
The company was also represented by Miguel Vasquez.
