Exit Panama Star welcome Newsroom
It began on February 24 1849 at the height of The California Gold Rush. It ended September 30 2009.
Panama’s oldest newspaper which through many mutations recorded the history of the country for over 125 years, and was brought back to life in 2007 has finally been laid to rest after two years as an English supplement to La Estrella.
The readership interest was there, but not the advertiser support, and promotional activity need to sustain a daily newspaper.
The paper began when three Americans enduring the long wait for a passage to San Francisco, decided to break the monotony of life in a city where gambling, drinking and debauchery were the main attractions.
They were soon gone to seek their fortunes in the gold fields, but the tiny paper lived on, finally becoming the Daily Star, with a Spanish supplement, La Estrella, and later merging with an upstart rival The Herald, to form the Star and Herald in 1854.
When the De Lesseps began work on the French attempt at building a canal, the paper became the only tri-lingual publication on the continent. When it died in 1987 it had recorded Panama’s history for 138 years, covering the completion of the first trans-continental railway, the valiant French attempt to build a canal, the birth of the nation in 1903, the completion of the Canal, two world wars and local and international events.
After its resuscitation in 2007, it was able to recorded the start of work on the canal widening, the construction of the Cinta Costera, and the dramatic change of government, with charges and counter charges of corruption at the highest levels.
The Panama Star is no more, but Newsroom Panama, staffed by its core writers and contributors has risen to replace it.
We welcome all as readers, and invite your comments, criticisms and contributions.
To all who previously sent in news of upcoming events, please continue. The “What’s On” section will be an important part of the newsmagazine.
The major features will be changed weekly, important news events will be added daily. Suscribers to our e.mail service will get daily news events.
