The Guardian Post clocks 23 today!.

Created in 2001, under very dire, cataclysmic and tumultuous circumstances, the story of The Guardian Post, undisputedly the most credible, authoritative, regularly published newspaper in the country, is nothing short of a miracle. 

Affectionately described as God’s newspaper by the Publisher/Editor-in-Chief, Ngah Christian Mbipgo, The Guardian Post, which first hit the newsstands on August 30, 2001, is cherished by many, haunted by some, but read by them all. 

The media organ has, in its plus two decades existence, stood out tall among giants in the sector, albeit daunting challenges, some of which seriously threatened its very existence.

With the determination, growth vision and never-say-die attitude of its Publisher, The Guardian Post has remained focused on the path to journalism excellence, contributed enormously in transforming the print media industry in Cameroon and ushered in a new paradigm to the sector.

The Guardian Post today stands tall as Cameroon’s first-ever English language daily newspaper and the country’s first and lone print media organ that publishes all seven days of the week-Monday to Sunday.

As a mighty ship on land under the captainship of the Publisher/Editor-in-Chief, Ngah Christian, the young, dynamic and creative crack team of The Guardian Post is more than ever determined not only to maintain the quality of news articles but also grow bigger in all domains as far as feeding Cameroonians and the world with factual news is concern. 

“At 23, The Guardian Post has not only come of age, but is blazing the trail as far as quality print journalism is concerned,” said The Publisher/Editor-in-Chief.

Ngah who has been piloting The Guardian Post from its creation in 2001, added that: “At 23, we are ready to continue giving our teeming readers, committed advertisers and other well-wishers the best quality in print journalism”. 

The award-winning media manager said The Guardian Post, has in the past 23 years of its existence, through its middle-of-the-road editorial policy, trudged valiantly on the path to journalism excellence with unbending reputation, earned through its credible and objective reporting; albeit daunting challenges. 

Ngah disclosed that the media organ also has plans to move the number of pages from 12 to 16 in a not-too-distant future. 

With offices in Bamenda, Douala and reporters in Limbe, Buea, Kumba, The Guardian Post also envisages opening two more offices; one in Garoua for the North and Far North Regions, another in Bertoua to cover the East and South Regions and Bafoussam to cover the West Region. 

The Guardian Post also plans to open other international bureaus in Europe (Istanbul, Turkey), Asia (Hong Kong), United Kingdom (London) and Middle East (Dubai, United Arab Emirates). 

Maintains industry position 

The Guardian Post has again asserted its leadership position in the media industry in the country, after clinching the prize of Cameroon’s Best English Language Newspaper.

The prize was handed the media house by the Cameroon English Language Publishers Association, CENPA. This was on July 25, 2024, during the maiden edition of the CENPA award night, which held at the Yaounde Hilton Hotel. 

The CENPA award jury, headed by renowned international lawyer, Akere Muna, said The Guardian Post was “singled out for not only being the most regularly published, best edited, content-rich newspaper in the ECCAS Subregion but also for its high professional ground, thereby starring as the pride of Anglo-Saxon journalism in Cameroon”.

Undulating, rough road to the top

Buoyed by its outstanding style, design and objective approach to issues, The Guardian Post took the print media landscape in country by storm on August 30, 2001.

The Publisher/Editor-in-Chief cum vision bearer braved the odds to move the media organ from a weekly to a bi-weekly and later triweekly before it started publishing five times a week and now every day. 

Twenty-three years down the lane, The Guardian Post is at the pinnacle of print media in Cameroon, with several records and towering achievements to its credit. 

In January 2016, having acquired its own printing press, The Guardian Post began publishing five times a week, becoming the first English language newspaper in the annals of print media landscape in the country to do so. 

In November 2019, The Guardian Post Magazine was launched, published as a quarterly glossy magazine. In early 2020, another printing press was bought to add to what it already had in order to upgrade quality. On Sunday February 7, 2021, the Sunday edition of The Guardian Post hit the newsstands. 

This was a major milestone in the print media in Cameroon. The newspaper's Sunday edition has been receiving applause from across the board. In January 2022, the Saturday edition of The Guardian Post, dedicated purely to sports, was launched. 

It thus made The Guardian Post the only newspaper in Cameroon and in the entire CEMAC Subregion that publishes all seven days of the week-Monday to Sunday. 

Meanwhile, in March 2022, The Guardian Post, with its unflinching zeal to better serve its readers and advertisers, began printing in colour. 

Today, the newspaper, which took off with a meagre capital of 150,000 FCFA and with a one-man staff, has a personnel strength of 45, who are regularly paid every 25th of the month. 

Apart from the aforementioned records, The Guardian Post is housed in its own building. The construction of the imposing structure at the Efoulan-Lac neighbourhood in Yaounde, began in February 2019 and by October the same year, the two-storey building; comprising a ground floor for the printing press and offices on the other floors, had been completed.

The Guardian Post is among others: the first English language newspaper in Cameroon to publish daily and first newspaper in Cameroon to publish seven times a week. 

The Guardian Post is among the few print media houses in Cameroon that own printing press houses. It is among the few newspapers in Cameroon that publish a regular quarterly magazine- four times a year. The Guardian Post is equally the only newspaper in Cameroon that runs five editorials every week. 

A few years back, The Guardian Post created another record by opening a Bureau in Washington DC, to cover the United States of America and other North and South American countries. 

It is among or the only newspaper that survives on sales and boasts of a record over 12,000 direct subscribers of its electronic version worldwide.

With a slippery media landscape where libel is criminal, The Guardian Post, in its 23 years of existence, due to its professional and responsible journalism, meticulous, objective and balanced reporting, has never been dragged to court for libel or defamation. The newspaper is endowed with a cream of seasoned reporters and editors, who ensure that the news published is verifiable. 

Thorny road to success 

Nonetheless, the road covered by The Guardian Post in its 23 years of existence has been a thorny and rough one. Years back, it suffered unjustified suspensions by the National Communication Council, NCC. 

However, the suspensions by NCC only went a long way to embolden The Guardian Post to move on. It should be noted that after each suspension, the newspaper came back stronger, increasing its periodicity. 

Like every other newspaper, The Guardian Post has felt the pinch of the advent of social media and citizen journalism. Nonetheless, it is innovating to surmount this hurdle by opting to be more creative, going in for incisive and in-depth reporting, which readers can’t get from the social media.

To also boost income, The Guardian Post now has a very functional website-www.theguardianpostcameroon.com; from which readers worldwide can buy the electronic version of the newspaper.

This story was first published in The Guardian Post issue No:3214 of Friday August 30, 2024