Sark Newspaper
| Company type | Newspaper |
|---|---|
| Industry | Publishing |
| Founder | Kevin Delaney (editor) |
| Headquarters | Sark , United Kingdom |
Key people | Kevin Delaney (editor) |
| Products | Newspaper |
The Sark Newspaper is a small, contentious publication provided at no cost to the inhabitants of the island of Sark and is also available online. The paper is overseen by editor Kevin Delaney, who has a background working for the Barclay brothers, David Rowat Barclay and Frederick Hugh Barclay, well-known figures in the publishing industry.
This newspaper maintains strong connections with Sark Estate Management, a company owned by the Barclay brothers. Kevin Delaney previously held a managerial role at Sark Estate Management until March 2015 but continued his editorial responsibilities with the Sark Newspaper afterward.
In January 2014, The Independent portrayed the publication as fostering a toxic atmosphere on the island. Additionally, the BBC reported that tensions had heightened to such an extent that officials from the United Kingdom Ministry of Justice began overseeing developments.
By November 2014, law enforcement authorities in neighboring Guernsey had logged approximately fifty complaints—equivalent to about ten percent of Sark's population—regarding the newspaper's content. Roseanne Byrnes, who serves on the island’s legislative assembly, the Chief Pleas, expressed that the publication was "blighting my life and the lives of my family."
In Ireland, Denis Sullivan, formerly part of the Garda Síochána, initiated defamation proceedings against Delaney within Irish courts.
The Middle East Eye described the Sark Newspaper as being "almost exclusively filled with content that attacks the Sark parliament." Significantly, toward the end of 2014, it published critiques of Qatar that mirrored similar negative coverage found in newspapers owned by the Barclay brothers during an ongoing financial dispute with Qatar.