There are 40 applications for radio station licenses in the possession of Minister responsible for broadcasting, Obie Wilchcombe. But with his concern over the programming and content emanating over the airwaves, the granting of licenses will be carefully scrutinized by the proposed Broadcasting Commission.
Minister Wilchcombe told The Bahama Journal that a number of meetings are now underway to discuss the formation of the Commission and an outline will be presented during his budget communication in parliament this June. This, as he seeks to get funding to ensure that the body can carry out its responsibilities of monitoring the industry.
“What is important is to have a mechanism that monitors what happens in all aspects of communications in this country. At the moment, there is nobody [who] monitors what happens at radio stations, [who] assures that broadcast licenses and the scope of responsibility are being carried out. And so, you have to bring some normalcy to the industry,” Minister Wilchcombe said.
Having a communications sector that is well regulated is imperative particularly with the proliferation of radio stations in the country, he said.
There are 11 radio stations throughout the country. Four are owned by the government and there are private stations in New Providence, Eleuthera and Abaco.
“If it is not, you have chaos and you’re not sure what is going on, what is being aired and the standards are compromised. We have to ensure that doesn’t happen,” he noted.
Originally, the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) was mandated to monitor the broadcast industry, regulating content and cost of services.
But now that there will be a separate commission to deal with broadcasting, Minister Wilchcombe said it will still work closely with the PUC.
Although unable to state how many additional radio station licenses will be granted by the government, Minister Wilchcombe disclosed that he is perusing the 40 applications on his desk. “How do we continue to give licenses without ensuring the reason for giving them and ensuring that there is a paradigm in which they work? I welcome the privatization of broadcasting.
I welcome the private radio stations and I still think it is wonderful, but I believe that it is important to have regulations,” Minister Wilchcombe said.
Although the advertising dollar is presently being stretched, according to Deloitte and Touche Retail Business Survey 2003, during 2002 newspaper advertising continued to edge out radio commercials as the preferred medium for merchants to advertise their business.
In the interim, Minister Wilchcombe believes the market for radio stations is not saturated. He is of the opinion that there is a market for an ‘all-talk’ radio station and at least two or three additional gospel stations that broadcast throughout the islands.
Questioned as to his views on the quality and content of broadcasting at this time, Minister Wilchcombe said that there is a long way to go. He expects that a Broadcasting Commission would help raise the standards.
“I’m concerned about some of the content of music on the air, the country not having a standard in so far as Bahamian content of its programming,” Minister Wilchcombe said. “I’m very concerned about the limited number of talk shows or news magazines that we have on. I am concerned about the formatting of all these shows, how we arrive at news and the extent of the coverage and that stations are still not really covering the Bahamas and so we have a lot to do and we have been excluding the Family Islands with a lot of what we have been doing.”
As the government develops this concept, Minister Wilchcombe said decision makers will examine what is happening in other Caribbean territories, the United States and Canada.
“We’re looking at all the paradigms to see which one would work with us… it’s not easy, but the reality is the world is different and we must ensure that our communications sector is properly regulated,” Minister Wilchcombe said.
The Bahama Journal
