This is the full text of the letter sent by Premier Ewart Brown in response to a letter from Earl Maucker, president of the Inter American Press Association in Miami protesting Government's decision to withdraw its advertising from The Royal Gazette and cancel its subscriptions.

Earl Maucker

President

Inter American Press Association

1801 S.W. 3rd Avenue

Miami, Florida 33129

Dear Mr. Maucker:

I am writing to address your concerns brought forward in a letter dated April 15th, 2008. I hope my response can give you a fuller perspective of the government's decisions on cost cutting.

Last month the Cabinet Office released a statement on cost cutting which said in part: "The Bermuda Government will reduce the scope of its print advertising and systematically move toward electronic media outlets for the purposes of delivering messages to the public."

This process was directed proportionally at The Royal Gazette because it is the only daily newspaper in Bermuda and the recipient of almost $800,000 in government spending during the last fiscal year. It is the logical place for us to start in pursuit of cost saving measures. The government will still advertise in print media, but we will find less costly alternatives to The Royal Gazette which just recently raised its advertising rates.

Meantime, it is also worth mentioning that 83 percent of Bermudian residents say they have household Internet access, according to the most recent Bermuda Omnibus Survey. That number is far greater than the percentage of Bermudian residents who subscribe to The Royal Gazette.

It is more penetrative for the Government to advertise online, and as a result, more cost effective for the taxpayer. Radio broadcasters also enjoy market saturation in Bermuda, plus the government has the option of delivering information to the public at no cost on CITV — its television entity. A high percentage of Bermudian households have cable television.

Although not in your letter, I understand a press release on the Inter American Press Association (IAPA) website states the Editor of The Royal Gazette believes our position on print advertising is "payback for its 'The Right to Know' Giving Power to the People campaign".

I think the Editor's point is weak if it has to be made on the Editorial Page instead of in the news section through informed sources outside the newspaper.

The Editor's opinion is further weakened by the fact that the government has repeatedly said, before and after the newspaper campaign, that it supports Public Access to Information (PATI) and will deliver the relevant legislation.

Of course I have not seen the letter The Royal Gazette sent to IAPA, so I can only hope our position on PATI was made to you clearly and fairly.

When our position on PATI is taken into consideration you might realise, as many have, that The Royal Gazette's campaign was a campaign without opposition. The Government of Bermuda has no reason to "punish" anyone on this issue — I would say punishing those who agree with you is not a wise practice among political leaders.

There is a further point that I would like to make personally because I am a former newspaperman. I know that newspapers around the world have seen a decline in readership and advertising.

If that global trend is not a systematic attempt to be "contrary to freedom of the press," I submit that our government's decision is also not "contrary to the freedom of the press". This action on our part is merely a sign of the times.

Bermuda and its media are not immune. In fact one could argue The Royal Gazette has been complacent during its decades of success while other newspapers around the world were cutting resources.

The last time the Government offered its Official Gazette contract The Royal Gazette chose to not even compete. Additionally, when we announced our cost cutting measures last month, no one from The Royal Gazette directly approached the Cabinet Office to discuss new pricing options for our bulk subscriptions or bulk advertising.

As a customer, those two moves told us The Royal Gazette did not need our business. If that is indeed the case, I am hard-pressed to figure out how the government's decision to curtail advertising and suspend subscriptions "severely restricts freedom of the press".

Perhaps you will be heartened, as I have been, by the entrepreneurial spirit that this has aroused in Bermudians.

We have received a number of proposals for innovative ways to communicate government's information to the people of Bermuda.

Internet, radio and the like have stepped up and it is exciting. We take pride as a government in stimulating new economic opportunities for Bermudians and it would appear that we have succeeded in that area once again.

Finally, allow me to thank your organisation for its interest in the economics of journalism in Bermuda. We now invite you to monitor closely the quality of journalism on our Island. Sincerely,

Dr. the Hon. Ewart F. Brown, J.P., M.P.

Premier and Minister of Tourism & Transport