Montego Bay, Jamaica – The Western Mirror newspaper this week opened the doors to its own office building along Cottage Road in Montego Bay after 25 years in business.

The Mirror, which is circulated across western Jamaica, was born after the collapse of the Beacon. The Beacon, another Montego Bay-based community newspaper, became defunct due to bankruptcy after 15 years in operations.

The shareholders and directors of the Western Mirror today were staff members of the Beacon. It is that team of people who funded the construction of the new building, which boasts multiple offices and a new state-of-the-art printing press that was purchased with a $33-million loan from the Development Bank of Jamaica.

Governor-General Sir Howard Cooke, who spoke at the opening ceremony on Wednesday, described the newspaper as a mighty force in western Jamaica while chairman and CEO of the Creative Production and Training Centre (CPTC) Dr Hopeton Dunn gave it kudoes as the nation’s longest surviving community tabloid.

“The achievement of the Western Mirror is signal in the field of community media. You all know that it is an award-winning institution, but it is by far the longest standing community media house in Jamaica and maybe in the Caribbean,” said the CPTC chairman, who has been in the media business for over 30 years.

The Mirror’s managing director and founding editor, Lloyd B Smith, said he hoped their success over the years would inspire ‘the poor black man’ in pursuit of better.

“I stand here today proudly because I unapologetically say when we started the Western Publishers Limited there was a tremendous feeling that ordinary black poor people, who just a few generations ago came from the cane piece, would not be able to achieve something of this stature,” he said.

“And we still live in a society where there is prejudice, where there is racial discrimination of sorts and where many institutions still do not see your venture or idea as worthwhile if you do not have certain pigmentation or you do not have a certain name.”

Added Smith tearfully: “I can only hope that the story of the Western Mirror will inspire the children of Marcus Mossiah Garvey.”

hinesh@jamaicaobserver.com