On visit to head office: US Embassy hails The Guardian Post, donates to media house.

The remarks were made by the Public Affairs Officer of the US Embassy, Ethan Tabor. 
He was speaking during a visit to The Guardian Post head office at the Efoulan-Lac neighbourhood in the nation’s capital city, Yaounde.
Ethan Tabor was accompanied by the Press and Media Coordinator at the Embassy, Rodrigue Nganzi, and the Public Diplomacy Professional Associate, Bamba Sene. 
The Embassy officials were received on behalf of The Guardian Post Publisher/Editor-in-Chief, Ngah Christain Mbipgo, by the Managing Editor, Doh Bertrand Nua. 
Present during a working session, which held at the media organ’s conference room were the Political Desk Editor, Maxcel Fokwen; Society Desk Editor, Mua Patrick; Sports and Foreign Desk Editor, Deng Eric as well as two City Reporters viz Morine Tanyi and Dewah Fabrice Teh.

"We very much admire your work"
The Spokesperson of the US Embassy, said the visit to The Guardian Post was to appreciate the work done by the media house. 
“We came first to express our gratitude for the work you do as journalists at The Guardian Post....and to say, Thank You very much for the work that you do,” Ethan Tabor said. 
“As a private media company, we very much admire your work, not only to raise awareness in Cameroon but also for diplomats and other international folks about the issues going on in Cameroon,” the Public Affairs Officer at the US Embassy added.
Ethan Tabor told The Guardian Post staff that the visit was also to show sympathy to the media organ after its Publisher/Editor-in-Chief, Ngah Christian, was arrested, held incommunicado, and thoroughly grilled by security officials over a faked cover page of the newspaper. 
He also situated the visit as intended to build a good relationship and permanent dialogue to improve the media landscape, especially as the US takes a lot of interest on issues related to a free and vibrant press.
The Spokesperson of the US Embassy also situated the visit to efforts to better understand challenges faced by the media house. He cited the disturbing phenomenon of faked cover pages of the newspaper usually circulated on social media. 
He also pledged that the US Embassy stands with The Guardian Post in the face of whatever challenges.

Donates to The Guardian Post 
Aside pledging to stand by The Guardian Post in times of challenges, the Public Affairs Officer of the US Embassy, Ethan Tabor, also donated a consignment of books to the media organ. 
The books included those on investigative journalism, the art of nonviolent communication, social media marketing, elements of journalism as well as others on starting businesses and being an entrepreneur.

Briefed on history, evolution, challenges...of The Guardian Post 
Speaking earlier while welcoming the officials on behalf of the Publisher/Editor-in-Chief, the Managing Editor, Doh Bertrand, thanked the officials for taking time off their usually tight schedule to visit the media house. 
Doh then briefed the US Embassy officials on the history of the creation, evolution and challenges facing The Guardian Post in its 22 years of existence in the media market in Cameroon. 
The Managing Editor told the visiting officials that The Guardian Post was created in 2001 as a weekly but buoyed by its outstanding style, design, middle-of-the-road editorial policy and objective approach to issues, the media organ later took the print media landscape in country by storm. 
He said thanks to the Publisher’s determination, The Guardian Post has surmounted countless challenges and continued to march on,  moving from a weekly publication to a bi-weekly and later began publishing three times a week.     
He said the newspaper in January 2016, having acquired its own printing press, began publishing five times a week and in November 2019, launched a magazine, which is published quarterly in glossy. 
Despite the challenges and financial constraints, Doh added that in early 2020, the media house bought another printing press to upgrade quality. This move, Doh added, enabled the media house to in February 2021, to begin the Sunday edition of The Guardian Post, which was followed by the Saturday edition, dedicated purely to sports, which was launched in January 2022, making the newspaper the only in the country and in the entire CEMAC Subregion, that publishes all seven days of the week- Monday to Sunday.

Zooms on challenges 
The Managing Editor also used the opportunity to enlist the problems facing The Guardian Post newspaper, including lack of adverts, threats, intimidation among others.
He also mentioned the phenomenon of faking of the newspaper’s front pages by suspected separatists based abroad aimed at tarnishing the reputation and credibility of the newspaper. 
Doh also appealed to US Embassy officials to see if they could help to investigate and track those behind the faking of the newspaper’s cover pages. 
Despite the odds, Doh said, The Guardian Post continues to survive, thanks to its credibility and sales made through subscription to its electronic copies.  

Other issues discussed 
The Public Affairs Officer at the US Embassy and his colleagues, also used the opportunity of the visit to discuss other issues relating to The Guardian Post newspaper.
They posed varied questions ranging from the media organ’s means of surviving the challenging landscape to publish every day, despite been affected by the crisis rocking the Anglophone Regions, how it handles the issues of faking of its cover pages among others.
Other issues on ensuring freedom of press and ensuring a free and vibrant press also came to the fore with the US Embassy Public Affairs Officer briefing staff on steps taken within the diplomatic corridors on issues related to attack, threat and killing of journalists in the country. 
The visit ended with a guided tour of all the departments of The Guardian Post newspaper.