The disintegration of the state model in the English speaking Caribbean

Abstract

Public service broadcasting evolved in the small states of the English speaking Caribbean as state broadcasting. As such, state broadcasting has been forced to change to compete with private broadcasters, cable, satellite and the internet. This article assesses the paradigm shift in public service broadcasting within the former British colonies of the Caribbean, with particular emphasis on Jamaica, the Bahamas, Barbados, and Trinidad and Tobago. Then the article discusses the changes in state broadcasting in the Caribbean region in recent decades in relation to market sector, audiences and digital technology. This is followed by a discussion on the policy directions, programming and mission of newly minted public service broadcasting (PSB) in the English speaking Caribbean with questions of the future of PSB in these small states.

Caribbean journalism’s media economy

“…This growth began with an explosion of new media channels, particularly in broadcasting, from the late-1980s to present, which were ushered in through deregulation and liberalization policies that opened these former state-controlled markets. These policies led to the privatization of many state-owned institutions, including state broadcasting, and increased the number of media organizations, particularly broadcasting, within these markets (Storr, 2011). Many Caribbean media markets went from one state radio and television broadcaster to as many as 60 private radio and television stations.…”

Television in Botswana: Development and Policy Perspectives

“…Similar to other media systems in developing countries where there is a pervasive presence of foreign media content (Rodrigues, 2006;Sakr, 1999;Storr, 2011), Botswana has had to contend with the invasion of foreign channels, most significantly from South Africa. Zaffiro (2000) also expressed the same view.…”

“…Some scholars call these broadcasters "public broadcasters" (Banerjee & Kalinga, 2006;Eko, 2003;Ojo & Kadiri, 2001). These broadcasters are state-run enterprises, are characterised by the interference by the ruling elite, and they face political, economic and administrative challenges that have an impact on their performance (Storr, 2011). Thus, Mytton (2000, p. 28) describes broadcasting in Africa as being generally "centralised, national and state dominated".…”

“…Neo-liberal policies are said to have facilitated this decline, for example, in parts of Asia such as Singapore and India (Athique, 2009;Thussu, 2000) and the Caribbean (Storr, 2011 (Alhassan, 2005). However, examples from Ghana (Alhassan, 2005) and India (Fürsich & Shrikhande, 2007;Straubhaar, 2007) demonstrate that commercial objectives can prevail over equally important social objectives of local content central to the developmental needs of these developing states by securing revenue through increased advertising, scheduling popular programs to attract audiences and competing for audiences with commercial broadcasters.…”

“…In other countries, the preponderance of state broadcasters to attract audiences and consequently advertisers has compromised the scheduling of development-oriented content (Alhassan, 2005;Rodrigues, 2006;Storr, 2011).…”