Christopher Barnes- Managing Director
The Gleaner Company

Christopher Barnes was appointed Managing Director of the Gleaner Company in February 2011 having served as Deputy Managing Director since February 2008.

He is the Chairman of Independent Radio Company Limited, PALS Jamaica Limited and Media Association Jamaica Limited.

He serves on the boards of Caribbean News Agency, Caribbean Media Corporation, Ocho Rios Beach Limited, Pan Jamaican Investment Trust Limited, JN Life Insurance Company Limited, Inter-American Press Association, and the Private Sector Organization of Jamaica.

Prior to joining The Gleaner, he spent 10 years with Montreal-based Alcan Inc. (now Rio Tinto Alcan) in various international roles including his last as Director, Strategic Initiatives for Alcan’s Global Pharmaceutical Packaging Group.

The following edited extract was taken from the company’s Annual Report to shareholders.

180 Years Have Been Good To The Gleaner

2014 heralded in important changes in the operations of your company. Responding to an increasingly challenging environment for the media industry, management made three very important changes to The
Gleaner’s product offerings.

Firstly, we reduced the web width of our broadsheet product to render the publication more attractive and manageable by readers, following on a global trend in broadsheet newspapers.

This step not only enhanced the reader experience, it also resulted in considerable savings in newsprint.

Secondly, your company, known for pioneering new developments, led the charge by introducing online subscription to its growing website audience.

Thirdly, 2014 marked a return to enterprise journalism. Having mastered maintaining a dynamic news cycle, through breaking news online and providing regular updates throughout the day, our newsroom has renewed focus on providing a frequent dose of exclusive, award winning in–depth investigative pieces which regularly drive discussions across popular radio programmes and other media for months.

180 years have been very good to the Gleaner. Notably, this year we celebrated yet again top prizes in advertising customer service from the Advertising
Agencies Association of Jamaica and another record haul of 17 journalism awards from the Press Association of Jamaica.

Operationally, management and staff continued to focus on the strategy of investing gains from operational efficiency in digital innovations which set your company apart from its competitors.

Operational gains in energy and newsprint consumption were used to grow our web subscriber base and our social media followings.

We saw significant growth to our accounts on both
Facebook and Twitter, which cements our position among the top brands in Jamaica on these platforms.
Our video offering has blossomed with multiple additions of high quality audio visual programming to our website, while the consolidation of our radio operations into our North Street location continues to pay dividends.

A greater focus on the management of our investment portfolio has increased returns and we continue to look for the right operational investment opportunities to execute when the environment allows.

We are confident that continued revenue from our dominant print readership base, which leads our nearest competitor every day of the week and by a three to one ratio on Sunday, and growth in conversion to paid online traffic by our loyal readers, will ensure sustainable provision of quality content.