A Daily Dose of the News

By Melanie Reffes

From his office on Bush Road, Paul De Windt not only carries on a family tradition but also does what comes naturally. “I am a curious sort who followed the news even as a youngster growing up in Curaçao,” he remembers fondly. Today, as the publisher of the most read newspaper in the eastern Caribbean, De Windt and his team of crackerjack journalists report the news as it happens. Nearly 20 years after the first headline rolled off the presses, The Daily Herald enjoys a circulation of 10,000. “Our readers like our headlines, and we’ve had so many great ones over the years,” he says, “but my favorite has to be ‘This is the Big One,’ which we published the day before Hurricane Luis struck in 1995.”

With six reporters on the Dutch side, one on the French side, and correspondents on Saba, St. Eustatius, Anguilla, St. Kitts and Nevis, De Windt is committed to covering the region thoroughly and responsibly. “Freedom of the press is of paramount concern,” he says while editing a story. “We even report crime that some island newspapers shy away from.”

Judy Fitzpatrick is one of his reporters. For her, stories about island folk are the most heartwarming. “I remember writing an article about a mom and her 7-year-old daughter who had been homeless and sleeping on the boardwalk,” she says humbly. “After my story was published, they were both provided with housing, the mom was given a job and the daughter got a chance to go to school for the first time in a long time.”

The recipient of numerous journalism awards and certificates of merit, Fitzpatrick often tackles sensitive social issues like HIV/AIDS in the prison system and illegal immigration. “My colleagues in the office once left a memo on my keyboard jesting that they had created a new beat for me called the ‘humanitarian issues beat,’ because these stories seem to find me.” A reporter at the Herald since 2002, Fitzpatrick says working on a small island has its challenges. “If you are effective at what you do and if you understand the system and are persistent enough, those challenges are easily met.”

Sister newspaper to The Miami Herald International Edition, The Daily Herald was founded by Mary Snow Hellmund and its current President Roger Snow, De Windt’s stepfather—and is as much a part of island routine as a frosty beer on the Boardwalk or a cool dip in the Caribbean Sea. About the International Edition, De Windt says, “Tourists like the International Edition because it gives them a little bit of home and a little bit of the island.”

The year 2010 will mark the 20th anniversary of The Daily Herald. Enthusiasm is already running high. “I know that will be a big proud party for all of us who work here and everyone on the island who reads us every day,” De Windt adds with a smile.

The Daily Herald is a great read for leisure and business travelers offering these special sections:

Tuesdays — Health and Beauty
Wednesdays — The Kids Herald, with educational and entertaining children's content.
Thursdays — Out n' About, keeping you in the know about where to go and what to see including bars, nightclubs, casinos, fashion, beauty, the arts and local events.
Fridays — TV listings, sports and movies.
Saturdays — Culture, news, the week in review, business and technology.

Turn to the island's professionals for assistance with business or to plan your trip back. Get contact information for business and real estate from our online guide.