Georgetown, Guyana – At the 37th annual Caribbean Broadcasting Union (CBU) Media Awards held Wednesday night, two veteran journalists from Trinidad and Tobago’s Express newspaper claimed top regional honors, while two additional reporters from parent company CCN earned special recognition for impactful work across public interest and children’s rights beats.
Senior multimedia investigative journalist Mark Bassant took home the award for Best Print Item for his deeply reported exposé *The $440 Million LifeSport Rip-Off*, published by the Express. Bassant, a longtime correspondent for CCN TV6 who has built his career on unpacking public corruption, organized crime and other underreported issues of public concern, also earned a special mention for his televised investigative series *LifeSport Secrets Revealed*, which aired on CCN TV6. Both works probe the long-controversial $440 million LifeSport program, reigniting public and official scrutiny of one of the region’s highest-profile public spending scandals.
This latest win marks Bassant’s 10th CBU Media Award, capping a decades-long decorated regional journalism career that has also seen the reporter face intimidation and threats for his unflinching investigative work. For Bassant, this recognition carries unique personal weight: he dedicated the two honors to his mother, who passed away in February of this year.
“This one was very special to me because I dedicate that win to my mother who passed earlier this year in February. When I was working on this piece, we spoke briefly in November of last year, when her health was a little bit better then. I really wanted to dedicate that tenth CBU award to my mother’s memory,” Bassant said in comments after the ceremony.
Bassant explained he returned to the LifeSport story years after initial reporting because core questions about the program’s mismanagement, alleged ties to gang figures and use of non-existent “ghost” companies remained unanswered. “There’s always room to find out more. I realised there was more to this story rather than just what we saw on the surface. If something has not been revealed 20 years later, it still becomes a story, and one that turned out to be quite powerful,” he said. The investigation required painstaking review of a 72-page official document to structure findings accessible to general readers.
In the wake of his win, Bassant emphasized the urgent need for expanded investigative journalism across the Caribbean, framing the work as a core function of the press as a fourth estate. “Investigative journalism, more so than normal news, is needed in this region. We need more investigative journalists across the region to come out and be there to expose things, to shine a light on things that people need to know about. We definitely have to hold those persons or government or businesses accountable,” he added.
The second Express journalist to claim a CBU award was Carolyn Kissoon, head of the outlet’s South Bureau, who won Best Item on a Children’s Rights Issue – sponsored by the UNICEF Eastern Caribbean Area Office – for her feature *Mariah’s Painful Life and Brutal Death*. The report investigates the short life and tragic death of 12-year-old Mariah Seenath, who was found dead in September 2025 after she went missing while walking a familiar bush path from her home in Friendship Village, Ste Madeleine, to her grandmother’s residence.
Kissoon said the child’s death hit her personally, driving her to investigate the systemic failures that preceded Mariah’s death. “This bothered me terribly. There were too many unanswered questions, and too few people who seemed to care to get the answers,” she said. She returned multiple times to the community, conducting interviews with Mariah’s family, school officials and local residents to piece together the full context of her life. The reporting exposed devastating systemic and personal hardship: Mariah lived in severe poverty, missed school regularly because she could not afford taxi fare, went extended periods without adequate food, and faced repeated allegations of domestic abuse. The story also raised critical questions about the failure of social protection authorities to intervene to protect the child.
For Kissoon, the award is a bittersweet honor. “Truthfully, I would give up this award if it meant Mariah never having to suffer this way. It is far more bitter a feeling than a sense of accomplishment,” she said.
Alongside the two category wins, two additional CCN journalists earned special mentions for their work. Khamarie Rodriguez, a past CBU award winner, received recognition in the Best Investigative Item category for her piece *The AI Revolution and Elections*, which examines the intersection of artificial intelligence and regional democratic processes. Rodriguez expressed gratitude for the recognition at a time of widespread industry pressure. “As journalists, we face challenges both within and outside of our newsrooms every day that can very easily overwhelm. It is encouraging that amid those vast challenges, the CBU has set aside the time and resources to give a nod to the exceptional work being done by dedicated reporters,” she said, celebrating her fellow winners’ work.
Broadcast journalist Cindy Raghubar-Teekersingh of CCN TV6, also a past CBU award recipient, earned a special mention in the Best Item on a Children’s Rights Issue category for her reporting on the need for accessible youth vacation programs. Raghubar-Teekersingh called the regional recognition “an absolute honour,” noting “I dedicate myself to every story with an open mind, keen attention to detail and compassion, so to have my work acknowledged at the regional level for highlighting children’s rights issues is deeply rewarding.” She added that journalism has a unique power to “move audiences, drive meaningful change, and inspire future policies.”
CCN multimedia editor Richard Charan said the collection of honors reaffirms the enduring value of truth-centered, public-facing journalism across the region. “There are still journalists who, on behalf of our readers, will go out there and find the truth, without distortion, without lies and without a slant. These awards are a reminder that good journalism still matters,” Charan said. “They are a reminder that there are journalists willing to do the hard work, ask the difficult questions, and hold people and institutions to account. And most importantly, they are a reminder to everyone, that the Express never forgets.”
Hosted during the CBU’s Annual General Assembly at Georgetown’s Hyatt Regency, the 2025 37th CBU Media Awards recognized excellence across all segments of Caribbean media, with 92 total winners honored across 56 categories spanning print, digital, television, radio and photography. The 2025 awards were held under the theme “Caribbean Media and AI,” reflecting the region’s growing conversation about technological transformation in journalism. By the end of the ceremony, Barbados emerged as the top-performing country with 15 category wins and eight special mentions, while Trinidad and Tobago secured six category wins and nine special mentions overall.