PORT-AU-PRINCE — After suspending its print version attributable to escalating insecurity, Le Nouvelliste has as soon as once more reinvented itself—this time as a digital-first publication. Now centered on strengthening its on-line presence, the newspaper is striving to retain a shrinking subscriber base important to its longevity, all whereas upholding its mission of steadiness and objectivity.
Haiti’s oldest every day paper now operates out of latest workplaces in Pétion-Ville after fleeing a gang assault on its former headquarters on Rue de l’Enterrement in Port-au-Prince. Regardless of these challenges, Le Nouvelliste, now gleaning every day information below Editor-in-Chief Frantz Duval’s management, continues to claim its position because the dean of the nationwide press.
Calm and approachable in a blue-and-white checkered shirt, Max E. Chauvet, now proprietor and director, displays on the newspaper’s evolution since taking the helm in 1973, shortly after getting back from overseas. He speaks with evident pleasure in regards to the paper’s enduring legacy.
“I don’t need the newspaper to cease functioning below my course. I go away this choice within the arms of the following era,” Chauvet mentioned with a smile throughout an interview with The Haitian Occasions.
A ardour for data and repair to the Haitian neighborhood
Le Nouvelliste’s origins hint again to Might 1, 1898, when Guillaume Chéraquite based Le Matin, a newspaper printed on the press of Henri Chauvet, a author, Port-au-Prince parliamentarian and great-grandfather of Max E. Chauvet. When Le Matin folded in April 1899 attributable to monetary hardship, the 2 males determined to launch a brand new publication. On Aug. 1, 1899, Le Nouvelliste was born — thought-about a continuation of Le Matin, although it retained Might 1 as its symbolic anniversary.
“At the moment, there have been many newspapers, however all have been tied to political events,” Chauvet explains. “The 2 founders wished to create a industrial paper, supported by subscribers and open to all sectors.”
From the start, Le Nouvelliste aimed to be impartial — neither aligned nor opposed — however rooted in service to the neighborhood. That guiding philosophy laid the inspiration for its editorial independence and position as a platform for public dialogue.
Chéraquite served as director-owner, whereas Henri Chauvet, a person of letters, grew to become editor-in-chief and later, in 1909, a full associate. That very same yr, he acquired the paper totally and handed it on to his son, Ernest Georges Chauvet, in January 1919. And the newspaper has been owned by the Chauvet household since then. Knowledgeable journalist skilled in the USA, Ernest—Max’s grandfather, turned Le Nouvelliste right into a family-owned establishment that has endured for over a century regardless of quite a few trials.
To this present day, readers acknowledge and worth the newspaper’s dedication to public service, viewing Le Nouvelliste as an important supply for staying knowledgeable and socially engaged.
“It gives dependable, well timed information and shares considerate evaluation and reflections from numerous consultants, all whereas sustaining a transparent editorial line,” says Paul Aimable, a longtime reader. For him, the paper has earned the general public’s belief via its enduring repute.
Ashley Jean Baptiste, an legal professional with the Mirebalais bar affiliation, additionally commends the outlet’s rigorous fact-checking and editorial requirements.
“I grew to become an everyday reader of Le Nouvelliste in 2012, however I used to be already looking some articles in 2008, and also you’ve by no means heard of it spreading disinformation,” he says. “Le Nouvelliste is a media outlet that retains evolving, transitioning from print to digital with the identical professionalism.”
A legacy of generations and resilience via turbulent occasions
After the loss of life of Ernest Georges Chauvet, management of Le Nouvelliste handed to his sons, Max Chauvet Sr. and Pierre Chauvet — the third era to information the newspaper.
Pierre later pivoted to the tourism sector, founding his journey company, Citadelle, whereas administration of the paper fell to Jeanine Chauvet, Max Sr.’s widow. When Max E. Chauvet returned to Haiti after finishing his research overseas, he assumed common administration of the paper in 1973, ushering within the fourth era of household management.
“To outlive, you will need to owe nothing to anybody. We’ve had many provides — generally disguised as assist to improve our gear — however we all the time mentioned no.”
Max E. Chauvet, Proprietor and Director of Le Nouvelliste
By a long time of political unrest and financial instability, Le Nouvelliste weathered many storms. Max Chauvet remembers that the one time the newspaper ever ceased publication was through the U.S. occupation of Haiti. His grandfather was arrested and jailed twice for publishing articles opposing the American presence within the nation.
Underneath the Duvalier dictatorship, the paper adopted a cautious posture to make sure its survival, typically steering away from political confrontation.
“My elders selected to stay discreet and really impartial,” Chauvet says. “On the time, the paper centered totally on native incidents and worldwide information.”
Longevity pushed by independence and flexibility
Le Nouvelliste has lengthy stood as a pillar of Haitian journalism, thanks partly to its legacy of unbiased thought and its skill to evolve with the occasions. Throughout generations, influential voices have helped form its position within the nationwide media panorama.
In its early years, Haitian journalism was deeply influenced by the interaction of literature and politics. Many early contributors have been intellectuals actively engaged in public life, typically sustaining shut ties to the political institution. The paper’s founder, Guillaume Chéraquite — himself a former deputy — exemplifies that dynamic.
The primary govt council of Le Nouvelliste, established in 1920, mirrored this intellectual-political mix. It included Ernest Georges Chauvet, Frédéric Duvigneaud and poet Léon Laleau — all of whom would go on to carry important authorities positions.
At the moment, Le Nouvelliste’s longevity continues to encourage each respect and curiosity. One query surfaces many times: What’s the secret to its survival?
Whereas different historic Haitian dailies like Le Matin, based by outstanding literary author Clément Magloire in 1907, and Le Nouveau Monde, established in 1958 by former Cap-Haïtien parliamentarian and Haitian Ambassador to the U.S. Luc Fouché, have disappeared, Le Nationwide—established in 2015 as a newer entrant— rapidly deserted its print version early to grow to be absolutely digital. In distinction, Le Nouvelliste endures.
In line with Max E. Chauvet, the paper’s present proprietor and director, there is no such thing as a magic formulation. He attributes the continued existence of the every day—censored throughout each the U.S. army occupation of Haiti and the Duvalier dictatorship—to a guiding philosophy handed down via generations, one rooted in steadiness, objectivity and editorial integrity.
“It’s about the way you current the information,” Chauvet says. “We’ve averted extremes and tailored to altering occasions.”
Survival, he provides, additionally requires independence.
“To outlive, you will need to owe nothing to anybody. We’ve had many provides, generally disguised as assist to improve our gear, however we all the time mentioned no,” Chauvet explains, recalling related conditions below the Duvalier regime.
“In Haiti, survival means fixed self-reflection, adaptability, and staying alert to your environment,” mentioned Max E. Chauvet.
When Chauvet assumed management of Le Nouvelliste in 1973, the newspaper entered a brand new period. Regardless of enduring wave after wave of political, financial, and social upheaval, the paper pressed on, guided by improvements that helped it modernize and develop.
A shift from black-and-white to paint printing marked a turning level. With a brand new rotary press and upgraded manufacturing capabilities, the paper expanded from 24 to 32 pages, half of which have been in shade. These advances allowed for sooner printing, larger quantity, and extra visually partaking layouts.
The paper additionally broadened its editorial scope, evolving right into a full-fledged every day with devoted sections on information, the economic system and tradition to interact a wider readership.
For Joram Moncher, an editor with greater than 12 years on the paper, Le Nouvelliste’s resilience is rooted in a core set of values: professionalism, creativity, self-discipline, impartiality and inclusion.
“This chance helped me each professionally and socially. It’s a narrative of success,” mentioned Moncher, who relies in Belladère.
“Working right here calls for self-discipline and dedication. One should symbolize the establishment with dignity,” added Michel Césaire, a journalist since 2014. “It’s an honor to see my title within the oldest newspaper within the nation.”
Césaire, who covers judicial affairs, mentioned he’s constantly impressed by the publication’s skill to endure — a testomony, he believes, to its deep dedication to serve, inform and educate.
Hit exhausting by insecurity, Le Nouvelliste nonetheless stands
On April 25, 2024, Le Nouvelliste’s administration introduced that its workplaces had been vandalized. The assault pressured the suspension of its print version — a multimillion-dollar funding made after the 2010 earthquake. The attackers dismantled and stole a 40-meter-long printing unit, the centerpiece of the paper’s manufacturing.
But, insecurity had been eroding the paper lengthy earlier than the break-in. With each neighborhood that fell below gang management, the variety of subscribers declined.
“In Carrefour, Martissant, La Plaine, and elements of Delmas, we not ship the paper,” mentioned Chauvet. “We went from 15,000 subscribers to round 3,000.”
With the print version halted, subscription income, as soon as a core pillar of the newspaper’s monetary mannequin, disappeared.
“At the moment, we’re like a radio station,” Chauvet added. “What used to make us sturdy have been subscriptions and promoting.”
The assault struck a heavy emotional chord among the many employees. For editor Joram Moncher, it felt just like the collapse of greater than only a constructing — it was the lack of collective reminiscence.
“To see that after 125 years, a couple of disoriented people destroyed the premises of the nation’s oldest newspaper — it was painful,” he mentioned.
“Le Nouvelliste is a pillar. It should stay the reminiscence of a struggling nation,” mentioned Michel Césaire, who additionally lamented the lack of journalistic solidarity within the face of rising insecurity.
“We now need to keep away from sure areas for our personal security,” he added.
Le Nouvelliste appears to be like to the longer term with paid digital content material
As print readership continues to say no, Le Nouvelliste is embracing a extra strong digital mannequin. With audiences more and more turning to cell phones, tablets, and computer systems for information, the paper is adapting to fulfill readers the place they’re.
The surge in insecurity has solely bolstered this shift. For Max E. Chauvet, the transition have to be mobile-first. His imaginative and prescient is to develop a paid digital platform providing unique content material — together with audio and video — that can’t be discovered elsewhere. For now, the location stays free to entry.
Globally, print is below stress — squeezed by rising manufacturing prices and competitors from FM radio and digital media. Whereas Le Nouvelliste reinvents itself to remain related, the decline in promoting income stays a urgent concern.
“Promoting that was once unfold throughout ten shops is now shared throughout ten occasions extra,” Chauvet notes.
Nonetheless, the paper retains a powerful digital footprint: a complete web site, the Ticket journal, and lively social media channels. This digital infrastructure is now central to Le Nouvelliste’s technique for the longer term; one which should evolve with out abandoning the rules which have guided it for over a century.
“I’ve no alternative however to see the newspaper not simply as a newspaper, however as a multimedia product,” Chauvet says.
Urgent challenges throughout Haiti’s broader media panorama
Le Nouvelliste’s digital pivot comes at a time when Haiti’s media ecosystem is present process fast transformation amid deepening insecurity and political instability. Whereas the nation boasts a sturdy media custom courting again to the nineteenth century, in the present day’s panorama is fragmented and threatened.
Media possession in Haiti is predominantly family-run or privately held, with few conglomerates and nearly no important state-owned press except for Télévision Nationale d’Haïti (TNH) and Radio Nationale d’Haiti (RNH), each established in 1979 below the Duvalier regime. Haiti’s gazette, Le Moniteur, was based in 1845 to handle the federal government’s official and administrative communications.
Because the 2000s, nonetheless, an rising variety of unbiased digital shops like AyiboPost—some operated by citizen journalists or diaspora-supported initiatives—have emerged to deal with the hole left by shuttered or financially struggling print, radio and TV shops.
Traditionally, radio has been the first medium in Haiti, with almost 700 stations making up over 70 % of the nation’s media consumption. There are roughly 40 tv stations nationwide. Print circulation has sharply decreased because the 2010 earthquake, and digital media now represents an rising share of reports entry—particularly amongst youth and concrete populations with cell web entry.
However journalists function below fixed threat. In line with UNESCO, as reported by AP, a minimum of 21 journalists have been killed from 2000 to 2022 in Haiti, with 9 killed in 2022, the deadliest yr for Haitian journalism in current historical past. Two extra journalists have been killed in 2023. The July 2023 gang assault on the Liancourt-based Radio Antarctique within the decrease Artibonite Division—the place gangs set hearth to the station and looted its gear—and the killing of two journalists through the tried reopening of the State College Hospital of Haiti (HUEH) on December 24, 2024 have been a chilling reminder of the vulnerability of unbiased press establishments.
“We’re seeing unprecedented assaults on press freedom in Haiti,” mentioned a Port-au-Prince-based reporter who requested to not be named for security causes. “It’s not simply censorship—it’s worry to your life.”
The Inter-American Fee on Human Rights (IACHR) has repeatedly condemned the threats confronted by Haitian journalists, citing impunity and lack of state safety as key enablers of violence in opposition to the press.
Regardless of these challenges, Le Nouvelliste’s digital transformation serves as a beacon of resilience in a hostile surroundings—an effort not merely to outlive, however to uphold a democratic pillar in an more and more fragile society.
Editor’s Notes: Fritznel D. Octave, Haiti editor of The Haitian Occasions contributed to this story.
The submit Le Nouvelliste, Haiti’s oldest every day newspaper, faces modifications within the media panorama appeared first on The Haitian Occasions.