interests to discuss that newspaper's business with The Royal Gazette . That's a strange stand for any editor to take when all editors and all newspapers live by the fact that people talk to them.

Sun Editor Tommy Vesey said The Royal Gazette "seemed to like having a campaign against us''. The story The Royal Gazette was preparing at the time was a relatively simple piece about Bermuda Sun reporters having to double up as photographers now that the Sun does not have a full-time photographer. It seems that some Sun reporters are not too happy about the photography situation or about the fact that they are expected to produce two editions a week rather than the usual Friday Sun they were hired for.

Newspapers and their reporters are always interested in the happenings at other newspapers either as inside industry gossip or as news. The Sun was happy to get all the publicity it could muster when it launched its Wednesday edition but now that the Wednesday edition has turned out to be something of a damp squib, things do not look too good.

The truth is that there has been interest on Par-la-Ville Road in the doings at the Sun, but never anything like a campaign against the tabloid. Over the years The Royal Gazette has been more than helpful and even benevolent toward its print competitor. Everyone at The Royal Gazette understands that without the Sun the daily and its sister Mid-Ocean News would take constant criticism for being in a monopoly position. No one involved with The Royal Gazette Ltd.

would like to see the Bermuda Sun go out of business, but it was our professional opinion that they were skating on thin ice when they launched the Wednesday edition.

It is clear that the Wednesday issue has placed great stresses and strains on both the Sun's staff and its bank account. However we wish the paper well and we hope they can succeed. We know that it is not easy when you are at the bottom of the pile.

It will not have escaped the attention of the public that the Government subsidises the Bermuda Sun by constantly granting it the contract to print government and legal notices. Government has done that for a very long time, presumably to keep the Sun in business and to provide an alternative voice to Royal Gazette Ltd. newspapers. We have no problem with that because we firmly believe that there should be another newspaper. However we are always amused when cabinet ministers and other government insiders complain about the paper which they financially support.

We do have some problem with the fact that right now Government continues to use the Sun as its publisher despite the fact that the Sun's bid for the Government contract was substantially higher than both the individual bids submitted by The Royal Gazette and The Mid-Ocean News . We have to see that as Government spending more of the public's money than it needs to.

But that it not to complain because many people at Par-la-Ville Road prefer that their newspapers not be seen as the Government mouthpiece.