The Life Story
His Story
Patrick David “Choko” Chookolingo (1922–1986) was a schoolteacher-turned-newspaperman who helped reshape modern journalism in Trinidad and Tobago. Over four decades, he moved from the classroom to the heart of the nation’s press, working at major dailies, launching bold new weeklies, and building a family-run publishing house that would define tabloid and community journalism for generations.
In 2013, the Government of Trinidad and Tobago officially recognised him as a National Icon in Media, describing him as the “Godfather of Weekly Journalism” and “one of the architects of press freedom in the Caribbean.” Scribd
From Classroom to Newsroom
Patrick’s working life began not in an office, but in a classroom. He first served as a schoolteacher before moving into journalism in the mid-20th century, when a few colonial-era titles still dominated Trinidad’s media landscape. Scribd
He worked his way through the ranks as reporter, sub-editor, and editor at several key papers of the time, including:
The Gazette
Trinidad Guardian
Trinidad Chronicle Scribd
For a period, he left Trinidad to live in Grenada, where he edited a paper called The West Indian, giving him a regional perspective and deepening his feel for Caribbean politics and culture. Scribd
Building the Modern Daily: Mirror & Express
When he returned to Trinidad in 1963, Patrick joined the British-owned Trinidad Daily Mirror as news editor. He worked there until the paper folded in 1966 after being acquired by Lord Thomson. Scribd
Out of that collapse, a new institution emerged: the Trinidad Express. Patrick was appointed its first general manager, helping to set up what would become one of the country’s most important daily newspapers. Scribd+1
Later commentary from media historians and his own children credits him with playing a “critical role in the formation of the Trinidad Express”, alongside his later work on the Bomb, T&T Mirror, and Sunday Punch. Trinidad and Tobago Newsday
The Bomb and the Birth of Weekly Tabloid Journalism
In July 1970, Patrick took over as editor of The Bomb, a new weekly paper originally launched in partnership with politician Bhadase Sagan Maraj. Scribd+1
Where the old dailies had a formal, colonial tone, The Bomb spoke in a distinctly Trinidadian voice, blending:
political reporting and commentary
humour and satire
corruption exposés
human-interest and community stories
That mix more or less invented the “weekly tabloid” style in Trinidad and Tobago — what later writers called weekly journalism. Scribd+2Trinidad Guardian+2
In 1972, he added a more racy companion: Sunday Punch, which pushed even further into local gossip, scandal, and entertainment, while still carrying political and social commentary. Scribd
Later critics and fellow journalists would describe Patrick as:
“dubiously great” yet undeniable in impact,
a man whose papers could be “vulgar, fearless, and populist” and who forced uncomfortable issues into the national conversation. Trinidad Guardian+2Trinidad Guardian+2
Breaking Away: T&T Mirror and the Family Press
By the early 1980s, tensions had grown between Patrick and the new management of The Bomb after the death of his partner Bhadase Maraj. Public commentary summarises it as a “falling out with the new management”; family accounts and insiders are more blunt, recalling a fierce struggle over editorial control and ownership with religious and political overtones around Sat Maharaj and the SDMS. Trinidad Guardian+2Trinidad Guardian+2
Rather than compromise, Patrick walked away.
In 1982, he left The Bomb and launched his own fully family-controlled weekly, the TnT Mirror. Scribd
From there, the Chookolingo press empire expanded:
TnT Mirror – a populist weekly that later spawned editions like the Tuesday / Weekend Mirror Scribd+1
Sunday Punch – continued publication as a sister title under the family umbrella Scribd+1
National Target – a short-lived but influential title that experimented with political and investigative content Scribd+1
Showtime – an entertainment and celebrity tabloid focusing heavily on soap operas, local culture, and Bollywood-driven pop culture for Trinidad’s large Indo-Caribbean audience (remembered within the family as a runaway hit when it launched)
According to family history, Patrick moved his operations and staff to Barataria, where the presses became a truly family-run enterprise: siblings, children, and close associates all had roles — from editing and layout to distribution and sales.
Populist, Controversial, Fearless
Patrick’s style wasn’t safe, and it wasn’t polite. He mixed hard news with scandal, satire with investigative reporting.
Supporters describe him as:
a “pioneer of weekly tabloid newspapers in Trinidad and Tobago.”
a “father of investigative journalism” for the way he went after officials and institutions
one of the editors who brought the realities of working-class Trinidad into the public conversation. Scribd+2Wired868+2
Critics, including some later columnists, argued that his work was sometimes sensationalist or too willing to push the line of taste — but even they acknowledge that he shifted the entire media landscape, forcing traditional papers to respond to his people-centred, scandal-exposing approach. Trinidad Guardian+2Trinidad Guardian+2
Inside the family, the picture is more complete:
A man who worked late nights at the layout table, editing copy with a pencil and a cigarette.
A boss who could be harsh but was fiercely loyal to his staff, often treating reporters and printers like extended family.
Someone who believed that ordinary people’s stories mattered just as much as those of ministers, bishops or businessmen.
National Icon & the Dream of a Third Daily
Patrick died on Father’s Day, June 15, 1986, after a life spent in newsrooms. Scribd+1
But his influence didn’t end there.
In 2013, he was posthumously honoured as one of the National Icons of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago for his contribution to media and press freedom. Scribd+2tntisland.com+2
His daughter Dawn Ford, a director of Daily News Ltd and later chairman of Choko Holdings Ltd, wrote that Newsday — Trinidad and Tobago’s third daily newspaper — was built directly on her father’s long-held dream of a third daily. She notes that he played a “critical role in the formation of the Trinidad Express, the Bomb Newspaper, TnT Mirror and Sunday Punch,” and that the board of Newsday saw itself as continuing Patrick Chookolingo’s vision of a more plural, competitive press. Trinidad and Tobago Newsday
In that sense, even newspapers founded years after his death still stand on ground he helped clear.
A Living Legacy
For the Chookolingo family, Patrick is not just a name in old mastheads — he is the root of a continuing media and storytelling lineage.
His grandchildren, including Mahesh Chookolingo, now carry that torch into a new era:
from tabloid headlines to AI-generated content,
from linotype presses to digital infrastructure and spiritual-tech,
from weekly print to global, always-on media ecosystems.
This site and this page are part of that ongoing work:
to document his story honestly,
to honour both his brilliance and his complexity,
and to make sure the world remembers that in a small office in Trinidad, a man called “Choko” helped invent a new way of telling Caribbean stories.
Suggested Links You Can Embed
You can turn some key phrases above into direct links on the page, for example:
National Icons profile (PDF excerpt):
– “National Icons of Trinidad & Tobago – Media: Patrick Chookolingo”
(link: https://www.scribd.com/document/723007791/National-Icons-of-Trinidad-and-Tobago-2013-web) ScribdTrinidad Guardian – “The Children of Choko” (critical but historically rich):
(link: https://www.guardian.co.tt/article-6.2.390276.0d561cdae1) Trinidad GuardianTrinidad Guardian – “Correcting errors about Choko” (defence of his legacy):
(link: https://www.guardian.co.tt/article-6.2.390613.8b005d954c) Trinidad GuardianNewsday – “Dawn Ford – Patrick Chookolingo’s dream lives on”:
(link: https://newsday.co.tt/2018/09/20/dawn-ford-patrick-chookolingos-dream-lives-on/) Trinidad and Tobago NewsdayWired868 letter – “Choko was a genius, but the TNT Mirror was…” (later reflections on the Mirror):
(link: https://wired868.com/2018/11/16/dear-editor-choko-was-a-genius-but-the-tnt-mirror-was-destroyed-by-tired-visionless-leaders/) Wired868
You can drop those links at the bottom as a “Further Reading” section, or hyperlink phrases directly in the text.
