Helping A Community Regain its Independence Through Local Journalism
The Republic of Trinidad and Tobago has three national newspapers that service the 1.3 million people living in the country. News reported by these outlets derives from various parts of the country. Rural areas such as Toco, however, rarely receive thorough news coverage from the national media unless a gruesome crime or a social, economic or political issue that may affect the rest of the country occurs.
Toco produced Trinidad and Tobago’s first and only Javelin throw Olympic gold medalist, Keshorn Walcott, and international soca artist Patrice Roberts. They are consistently covered by the national media as they both continue to bring accolades to the nation. However, one of Toco’s prominent secondary schools (where both Walcott and Roberts attended) has had its building condemned. Students were unable to attend school several times in the past two years and they are now housed in a tent and refurbished trailers. This news was first reported by Toco native and journalist living in New York, me, Keishel Williams, when no reporter in Trinidad was aware of the story. Few news outlets later picked up the story or offered consistent follow-through.
While the national media — newspapers, radio, and television — attempt to cover the entire country, there is still a gaping hole in news coverage in the Toco region. Toco is located on the northeastern side of the island, about two hours away from Port-of-Spain, where the majority of the national media houses are based. The Toco region is home to approximately 100,000 people. The region has one of the highest unemployment rates among 18 to 29-year-olds in the country, with over 28 percent unemployed. (Source: Kari Consultants)
With The Toco Times, we intend to fill that gap. The Toco Times is a bi-weekly print and digital publication for the Toco region to provide us with local community news and stories. The publication will report on art, culture, wellness, business, history, and lifestyle of Toco. It is important for the Toco region to have a platform where our issues can be addressed, where we can be seen and heard from as valuable members of society, and where we can receive useful information specific to our needs as a community.
The Toco Times will offer Toco-centric information for sustainable social and economic development in our community. The publication will focus on the villages and micro-villages between Matura to Matelot in the Toco region including the villages of Matura, Balandra, Rampanalgas, Salybia, Cumana, Toco, Mission, L’anse Noire, Sans Souci, Grand Riviere, and Matelot.
Storytelling is in Our Blood
With great storytelling and honest reporting, we aim to proffer the Toco region with a sharp, accurate, intellectually - accessible international standard publication. We are partnering with NGOs and other social organizations in Trinidad and Tobago to readily provide a platform for their information on products and services that will be beneficial to the people in Toco. As a community-focused publication, we believe the Toco people should be involved in shaping the way they are represented. All of our writers and reporters are from the Toco region or currently reside in the Toco region. In our “Toco Voices” section we give local residents a platform to contribute content as well.
The Toco Times is being developed as part of an independent study project at the Tow-Knight Center for Entrepreneurial Journalism in New York City. For this project, we are in the process of building a stronger relationship with the community in Toco, the local media houses in Trinidad and Tobago, the local NGOs for long-term partnerships, and people in the diaspora with a strong interest in the development of Toco. These partnerships will give us the information and support needed to build a strong news platform for the Toco region. Building a stronger relationship with the community will also allow us to understand the best way to disperse information, especially with the changing landscape of print media.
We are still open to hearing from people that would like to be a part of this initiative. If you are a journalist, writer or would just like to help create content, fill out this survey and we will be in touch. If you are part of a community organization or part of the diaspora that would like to invest time, funding or knowledge to this initiative, fill out this survey.
Our social responsibility is to help this rural community regain its independence with this platform by providing information to facilitate social, economic, and educational development; providing reports on how to utilize Toco’s natural resources — especially in the tourism and agriculture — to become a self-sustaining region; and providing a space to highlight both the issues and achievements of its people.
The Toco Times
Inspirational. Aspirational. Independent
