15565: Haitian Times: History of paper

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Haitian Times <publisher@haitiantimes.com>

Haitian Times a.k.a. Gary's Mission
By Zbigniew Basara, Nowy Dziennik/Polish Daily News, March 23, 2003.

The Haitian Times is without a doubt one of the most interesting titles
in the New York ethnic press market. The average Big Apple inhabitant
probably associates Haiti with poverty, political chaos and Abner
Louima, the most famous victim of police brutality during the Guiliani
administration. Immigrants from Haiti, the poorest country in the
Western hemisphere, have flocked to the United States since the end of
the 60s. Until recently, they lived in almost complete isolation.
However, the Haitian Times has nothing to do with provincialism or the
claustrophobia of a black ghetto.

Gary Pierre-Pierre, publisher of this English-language weekly paper, has
a lustrous career at the New York Times behind him and it is his goal to
uphold the highest journalistic standards. Since its first issue, the
Haitian Times has become a model example of the best of the ethnic
press. However, according to some experts on Haitian migration, the
publication might fall victim to excessive ambition.

The short history of the Haitian Diaspora

It is difficult to grasp the meaning of Haitian Times, without at least
a superficial knowledge of this Caribbean country and its Diaspora.
Christopher Columbus discovered Haiti in 1492, and half a century later
the Western part of the island came under the French rule. After the
outbreak of the French Revolution, the African slaves, who made up 90
percent of the population, started a mass rebellion and a drawn out
civil war which finally concluded with the formation of the first-ever
black republic. To this day, this event is the root of Haitians'
national pride.

Alas, freedom did not bring stability to the country. A string of
dictators ruled the island. The bloodiest regimes were brought by the
rulers of the African Duvalier clan (Papa Doc and Baby Doc), who were in
power from 1957 to 1985. Four years later, Jean-Bertrand Aristide won
the democratic election. A former priest, he was excommunicated by the
Vatican for preaching a theology of independence. After merely a few
months of leadership, he was forced into exile in the United States by
the troops of general Cedras, and returned four years later after the
American military intervention. He has ruled (by himself or through
associates) for the last 13 years, but despite the hopes of fellow
Haitians he has not proved to be the Providence-sent savior. Secret
slayings of oppositionists and journalists are regular occurrences, as
well as secret liaisons between drug smugglers and members of the
government. The average national income is $300 per year; three-quarters
of the population of 8 million go hungry. Only one out of four Haitians
is literate. Foreign charity and the Diaspora, who each year
collectively send over a billion dollars to their families, support the
country.

Immigration to the United States began in the 1960s with the exodus of
several thousands of artists, teachers and businessmen, hardest hit by
Papa Doc's regime. In the 1980s, boats and rafts arrived of the coasts
of Florida, occupied by emaciated Haitians, the "unwanted escapees," as
the American press called them. Several years later, family members,
escaping the chaos that followed the military coup of Aristide, joined
them. Currently, there are over half a million Haitians living within
the New York metropolis, mainly in Flatbush in Brooklyn and in Cambia
Heights, Queens. Another 350,000 settled in Florida, mainly in Miami.

The turning point in the history of Haitian migration was the return of
Aristide to the island and the disappointment in his leadership that
followed. Haitians, who until now saw the acceptance of U.S. citizenship
as the ultimate act of betrayal, realized that there was no point in
returning to their homeland. As their children grew up and received
American college degrees, they saw themselves more as immigrants than
accidental tourists sitting atop suitcases. The issues of better
communication with Americanized children, how to obtain health insurance
and garbage pick-up schedules took precedence over the political news
from Port-au-Prince. Gradually, first generation Haitian immigrants
developed their political ambitions, and many became lawyers, doctors
and real estate agents with multimillion-dollar fortunes. Haitian
community leaders began to slowly realize that in order to survive they
had to stop observing from the sidelines and, instead, attain leadership
roles in their new country.

Dreams must be realized

If success is the result of combining personal growth with the needs of
society, then such a moment occurred in the life of Garry Pierre-Pierre
four years ago when he quit his job at the New York Times to launch his
own weekly publication. The 40-year-old descendant of original French
colonizers came to the United States at the age of 9 and grew up in a
black neighborhood of Elizabeth, New Jersey. After completing a college
degree in journalism, he was a reporter for the Miami Herald and the New
York Times, where he wrote about immigration issues, the city
transportation system, life in Brooklyn and the civil war in Zaire.

In the Haitian Times offices, located on Vanderbilt Avenue in Prospect
Heights, Brooklyn, a framed front page of the largest New York City
newspaper hangs on the wall. The headline and story are about the
international observers being thrown out of Haiti by Cedras.

"It's true, the New York Times assignment was a top position, but every
journalist fantasizes about having their own publication," says
Pierre-Pierre. "In life, you cannot miss the moment when it's still
possible to pursue your dreams."

>From the start, the Haitian Times was a combination of a journalistic
ambition, a business idea and a social mission.  "My goal was to create
a forum for the young generation, who until then was ignored by the
Haitian ethnic media, as well as the American press," he tells me. For
the majority of ethnic press, the language choice is obvious, yet for
Pierre-Pierre it was the most risky decision to make. Unlike in many
societies, language is the great divider in Haiti. The social elite
(about 5 percent) speaks French, and the rest speaks Creole (a
combination of French and African influences brought by the slaves). The
written form of Creole was only recently classified.

The other three Haitian weeklies are published in French with some pages
in English and Creole. The oldest of them, the Haiti Observateur
(published in New York since 1971), has from the beginning struggled
with the dictatorial regime. First it was Papa Doc's; currently it's
with Aristide's. The majority of the 75,000 issues are distributed in
Haiti. The leftist Haiti Progres, published for 10 years (20,000
circulation, a large portion shipped to the island), was in the
beginning also critical of the "little priest" (the president's common
nickname), but currently considers him a victim of Washington's
imperialistic sanctions and "colonial" revenge of France and Canada.
Miami's Haiti en Marche has a negligible influence, ever since a rumor
circulated among the Diaspora that its owner is a paid CIA agent.

Thus, deciding on a first-ever Haitian publication in English,
Pierre-Pierre was betting heavily on the younger segment of the Haitian
community; the 1.5 generation (Haitians who came to the United States as
children and for whom English is their first language), and the second
generation. "The English language negates the class divisions we brought
with us from Haiti, because we must all use it in order to survive in
our new homeland," he reasons. "It's also the language of legislation."

The paper's motto, "Bridging the Gap," denotes the gap between first
generation immigrants and their children, as well as the gap between the
dominant currents of American life and Haitian traditions. However,
representatives of the major Haitian papers in French believe that that
Pierre-Pierre has cut himself off from the older sector of the Diaspora
as well as new immigrants expected in the future. (By 2040, the Haitian
population is expected to grow to 20 million).

He passed on the house, holds on to the wife and kids

Even more difficult was the task of obtaining the $250,000 needed as
start-up capital. Pierre-Pierre invested all of his savings into his
enterprise. "I passed on purchasing a house, but kept my wife and two
kids," he jokes. But even that was the proverbial drop in the sea, and
no bank would lend him the money.

"But you must take into account that American corporations took decades
to grasp the purchasing power of Latinos and Asians," says
Pierre-Pierre. Eventually, he was able to convince several hundred
Haitian shop and restaurant owners, doctors and lawyers to buy shares of
his company. "The only investor from outside the Haitian community was
my father in law," explains Pierre-Pierre, whose wife is a white
American.

The first issue of the Haitian Times came out on Nov. 20, 1999. Forty
thousand copies were published, some of which were given away for free
as a promotion. After this, production fell to 20,000 copies a week and
remains at this number today. Fourteen thousand copies are distributed
in New York City and on Long Island, and 1,000 in Florida. At first,
Pierre-Pierre used to send several hundred copies to Haiti, but he
abandoned this practice due to unpredictable inflation there. While the
24-page Haitian Times sells for $1 in the United States, in Haiti it
yields the maximum selling price of ten cents.

>From the business side, the weekly seems like a small family business,
where every dollar is accounted for. The Haitian Times employs only six
people: two reporters (in NYC and Port-au-Prince), a photographer, an
office manager and two advertising and promotion experts. Everyone else,
including the graphic designer, is a freelancer. In many aspects, the
operations of the publication are reminiscent of the bartering
initiative of the Haitian community.  The authors of special-interest
stories and advice are not on the payroll, and neither is Pierre-Pierre
himself, though he wears the hats of publisher, editor-in-chief and
writer. "The only steady income my family counts on is the salary of my
wife's, who is a nurse," adds Pierre-Pierre, who in the first months of
operations used to also take care of distribution and even cleaned the
offices.

The vast connections of the editor-in-chief are an undeniable asset for
the Haitian Times. The same company contracted to distribute the New
York Times also delivers the Haitian Times to 600 newsstands and other
locations around the New York metropolis and Long Island. Two additional
distribution firms deliver the paper to Haitian shops and restaurants,
as well as to the majority of the 200 Haitian Catholic and Protestant
churches in the area. It is through that last distribution channel that
Pierre-Pierre hopes to increase his production to 40,000 copies a week.
"At least 100 of these churches are thriving parishes consisting of
upwards of 1,000 members and we are hoping for wholesale orders from
them."

Bridging the gap

>From an editorial point of view, the 24-page Haitian Times is a tabloid,
with color photos on the front cover and color photo spreads inside. As
far as content, the paper is more like a magazine. The most important is
the headline story (biggest event of the week in Haiti or within the
U.S. Haitian community, relayed in the form of a report or an analytical
study) as well as editorial commentaries and stories mainly about the
Haitian community's struggle for a position in the new homeland.  Also,
there are current events from the Associated Press and other press
agencies, mostly from the Caribbean region and Africa, on immigration
and health advice, as well as pages designated for sports, culture and
arts.

"When relating current events, we try to take as many points of view as
possible into consideration," says Pierre-Pierre. When asked about which
article brought him the most satisfaction, he cites the story about the
purposeful lowering of the numbers of Haitians during the Census of
2000, which resulted in the expansion of the Census Bureau workforce to
include additional representatives of African-American communities.

A great asset for the Haitian Times is Macollvie Jean-Francois, a
twenty-something graduate of Baruch College with a major in journalism,
currently serving as the paper's New York reporter. Each day, she hits
the pavement of Haitian neighborhoods, visiting police precincts and
talking with restaurants and tire shop owners. She visits botanical
shops, where aside from a life-size statue of St. Claire, one can
purchase figurines of various gods worshipped by the followers of
voodoo.

"It won't be easy for me to work with a white man by my side," she
laughs as we meet at the Church Avenue subway station. On this day,
Macollvie is working on two stories. First is on the sentiments of the
Haitian community toward the 200th anniversary of the independence of
Haiti. The second story is about raising tuition costs at CUNY and SUNY.
Almost all Haitian students have part-time jobs, and the $1,200 hike
means more hours will be spent at the restaurants or the clothing
stores. Interactions of a Polish person with Haitian immigrants means
entering a world where there are often conflicts which are simply
nonexistent in our community-mainly, the color of skin. In the drugstore
windows lining Church, Flatbush and Nostrand Avenues, the most prominent
display is occupied by soaps and other preparations with skin-lightening
properties.

"In Haiti, this problem is non-existent, but immigrants who settle in
the United States are often victims of racial biases," says Macollvie.
"This is why mulattos do not consider themselves a part of the
community. A white wife is a status symbol, as is living in Long Island
among white families."

Her interviews in stores and barber shops yield mixed results. Some of
the men believe that participation in the January ceremonies in Haiti is
a patriotic duty, especially considering that France and Canada would
like the world to forget about this anniversary. Others believe that the
money is better spent on the building of a hospital. The most certain
are the elderly Haitian women, who sell corn and cinnamon sticks from
stands on Church Avenue. "What's to celebrate? 200 years of poverty and
dictatorship?" asks one of them. "My daughter is a lawyer, my son
studies medicine, yet in Haiti I had no running water or even
electricity."

Together with my guide, we enter a music shop, where next to Carnival
tunes and voodoo chants, customers can pick up CD's with songs by Edith
Piaf or Jacques Brel.
"Haitians are ambivalent toward France," says Macollvie. "While proud of
overthrowing the colonial shackles, this very French influence is the
origin of feelings of superiority not just over other Caribbean
immigrants, but even Americans."

I ask if it's it easy for her to work among "her own kind." "Haitians
hold reporters in low esteem, because back in Haiti the majority of
journalists write what politicians dictate," explains Macollvie. "Every
word criticizing the Diaspora is seen as spitting on one's own nest."

Advertising, or To Be or Not To Be

Eventually, it's not the quality of articles, but revenues from
advertising that determine the fate of any publication.

"The success of The Haitian Times will depend on persuading American
companies to purchase advertising their spots," wrote John Morton,
director of Morton Research in Maryland, commenting on the paper's
launch. Four years later, 60 percent of all advertising revenues come
from companies such as AT&T or Western Union, but, despite this, profits
are marginal.

"It covers the bills," says Pierre-Pierre, who spends about $20,000 a
month on publication costs and office maintenance. The only chance for
growth depends on increasing the volume (the 40/40 plan, as
Pierre-Pierre calls it) and obtaining advertising from additional
American corporations. His most serious competitors are other English
language newspapers aimed at Caribbean immigrants (Caribbean Life and
other titles published by immigrants from Trinidad and Jamaica) as well
as publications launched by black Americans, such as the Daily
Challenge, who aim to become the newspaper of the general black
minority-regardless of the country of origin. Obviously, these
publications are trying to win over not only the Haitian money, but also
their souls; they offer identification with groups larger than their
immediate ethnic circle. Smaller threats are the French-language
publications and four radio stations, as well as three New York cable
stations that broadcast in Creole.

Garry's bet

Pierre-Pierre based his mission on the assumption that Americans of
Haitian descent will remain a separate ethnic group and will not
dissipate into the American melting pot of races and cultures. Will this
actually happen?

"I am certain that Haitians in the United States will retain their
ethnic identity," claims Samuel Nicholas, a representative of the
Association of the Haitian Clergy. "You only need to witness the pride
of children, who have never set foot on the island, as they parade with
the blue and red flags during the Independence celebrations."

"Haitians, like Dominicans, do not consider themselves members of the
general Caribbean population," seconds Abby Scher, director of the
Independent Press Association-New York. "For linguistic reasons, their
assimilation is less rapid than that of the other Caribbean immigrants,
which makes the Haitian Times indispensable."

However, others are skeptical. "This newspaper is a lofty and ambitious
idea, but as a business it is doomed for failure," insists Raymond
Joseph, co-publisher of the Haiti Observateur. "The young Haitians will
assimilate with the general society and will lose any interest in the
events on the island."

What does Pierre-Pierre himself think?

"I remember that among my friends in Elizabeth, there were many children
of Polish immigrants," reminisces the journalist whose own aunt married
a descendent of one of Dobrowski's officers who settled in Haiti. "They
called themselves Polish-Americans, but there were no differences
between them and Americans. I hope that Haitians never get this far."

Author's Note:
Working on the above story, I referred to an article about Aristide by
Wojciech Jagielski, "Priest, the Avenger," published two years ago in
Gazeta Wyborcza.