An open letter

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This is an open letter from Sir John Swan to Editor of The Royal Gazette Bill Zuill, who the newspaper announced would be stepping down from his post in December.

September 28, 2012

Dear Sir,

In your 14 years as Editor of The Royal Gazette we have seen Bermuda go from great prosperity to a decline in most aspects of our revenue and our civil and social order. You leave us at a time when we are all in need of experience as we search for a new direction.

During the period of your tenure I am sure that many times you were tempted to lash out because of accusations generated from real or perceived bias particularly from those who were offended by your search for the truth. You always seem to uphold the principle of “innocent until proven guilty” which is the hallmark of our judicial system. Therefore, you were not deterred by the rumours and gossip that might have led to character destruction or from awakening the public from their nightmares that seem to plague the community from time to time.

I commend your steadfastness to the principle of good journalism even when many might have thought that you did not pursue matters in depth as expected or you pursued matters that were found to be offensive by some. You took the consequences both verbally and physically when you saw the demise of your paper’s income but received the support of your publishers to keep Bermuda informed about the course of its destiny good, bad or otherwise.

As you undertake the next stage of your career, I am sure that you will not step away from guiding Bermuda with your vast amount of information and access to resources that will help to shape our future, particularly at a time when all aspects of our social, economic and civil indicators are pointing in the wrong direction.

I thank you for all of your support and wish you the best in all of your future endeavours.

Sincerely,

SIR JOHN SWAN

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