Real Cayman News shutdowns down but promises to be back

“Real Cayman News will not be gone forever.  It will eventually arise from its slumber and become a leading outlet in Cayman.”

John Fleming, Editor-in-Chief – Real Cayman News

(CMR) Real Cayman News (RCN) is “shutting down” or taking a temporary hiatus after being in operation for a year. 17-year-old editor-in-chief John Fleming shared that the time and energy required to run a media house are not something that he can fully commit to at this time. The teen started the publication when he was only 16-years-old in December 2020.

In a post on his website, he shared that RCN grew from having just an Instagram page to developing a website, covering the general election earlier in the year and attending government press briefings. Despite these early successes that gave him “decent” website traction and “a good social media presence” the difficult decision was made to shut down at this time.

Real Cayman News was started to be “a young voice in the Cayman media discussion” with the motto of “bringing integrity to journalism.” During his short run, Fleming was often targeted by recently launched talk show host Mario Rankin from Word of Mouth for Fleming's pro-vaccine stance. He made Fleming the subject of several of his podcast shows.

“Running a media house requires a lot of time and energy, which for now I cannot fulfill. We, unfortunately, do not have the funds to hire more help.”

Despite being unable to continue this endeavor at this time he shared that he had acquired skills that were invaluable and the publication will not be gone forever. He opined, “it will eventually arise from its slumber and become a leading outlet in Cayman.”

He noted that he was grateful to CEO and Owner John Michael Kerford and journalist Johnnie Lund for their assistance. He also expressed gratitude specifically to Cayman Marl Road and Cayman News Service noting that “I have learned a lot of valuable skills from you both, and I wish you the best of luck with both of your great platform.”

Fleming attended Catholic School and is from George Town.  He is now attending boarding school in Ireland.