GUEST COMMENTARY: BY ANDREW J. BURROWS
(EDITOR’S NOTE: I decided to share this article posted by Andrew J. Burrows on his Facebook page as a Guest Commentary in BAHAMAS CHRONICLE, not only because it is extremely well written, but because it addresses some issues that I felt should be shared a wider audience.)
NASSAU, Bahamas — It was my last week on the air at Island FM. I had just been offered the job as News Director at ZNS and had asked Sir Charles Carter for his advice, having been a founding member of the management team at ZNS. Sir Charles told me that there is a shortlist of people who have held that job and all of them are respected for their work then and now. Go he said. Go fast. And so I accepted and the start date was worked out.
On my last day, an article came out in The Tribune. It had a photo of Clint Watson and Shenique Miller with a caption that suggested they were being removed from the Newsroom at ZNS to make way for me. In all of my deliberations with the Chairman, GM and DGM before I said yes, never did we ever discuss Clint or anyone else in the newsroom other than the fact that the soon-to-be former News Director was still going to remain at the station but in a different capacity. To be honest, I was actually a bit disappointed that he wouldn’t be in News, having followed his career from when he was doing news on More 94FM.
So I came in and got to work. Clint went to work as well, creating one of the most successful weekly shows on the network – The Youth Zone. Over the first year and so, he and I would run into each other and it was always pleasant but I always felt unease over the fact that I was working hard to build a top news organization and a key component of that wasn’t available to me. Then I met his mom. LOL. Trust me, if you have a parent like Clint’s mom, you’re set up for success because she pushed hard. Then one day, Clint asked if we could talk and we did. I had no problem with bringing Clint back in but my hands were tied with the board, but I decided to lobby nonetheless. He would talk to who he needed to talk to and we’d meet in the middle.
Not very long after that, Prime Minister Christie and I were talking and he brought up the fact that he wanted to have someone who could cover him in a way that the country saw how hard he was working and what all he was doing. Someone who was fearless but also very detailed and keep up with his pace. We both knew he was talking about Clint and he asked me if I had an issue if he were to ask the board to allow it. No issues at all. The PM didn’t know that Clint and I had already talked.
Once that decision was cleared, Clint and I made a plan for how he would be reintegrated into the operations so as to not cause a shock to the system. In any newsroom, ego management is a big thing. You have to know how to soothe and massage more than a dozen people equally so everyone feels they are special and important and needed. We would bring Clint back as the morning radio news anchor and we’d make a big deal out of that, so we made promos, and off we went.
A month or two in, the PM was ready for Clint so I set up a meeting and we discussed with the PM how Clint would be assigned to him as his priority correspondent and the rest is history. I used to joke with Opal Roach, my deputy that whenever an Island Luck story came up, Clint would take it and we kidded him openly as being the Chief Marketing Officer. He took it in stride. When ILTV launched its news division and I got the call from Clint that that’s where he was headed, I wished him well, gave him some advice and listened intently to his ideas, which included BTH and how, as News Director, he would create separation by very rarely covering the daily news in his newscast. Special reports, top top top stories, yes but regular stuff, no. He wanted to give his reporters that opportunity while also maintaining the distance to do a news and opinion show. We talked about it because I had tried to do the same thing at ZNS when I launched “Off Air” on ZNS Radio. I warned Clint that it is a thin line and to be as transparent as possible, which he was.
I was extremely proud of the job he did and told him often. I was particularly proud of the leadership he displayed as the News Director and the fact that he allowed and encouraged his number 2, Genea Noel, to grow into her role and run the ship in the newsroom. In a short time, they managed to create a news entity to rival any in the country and the fact that they started to draw top talent from other newsrooms was the proof. I still believe there is more room for growth but they are headed in the right direction clearly.
When I heard the voice note of the now-former Acting Financial Secretary declaring Clint as the new Press Secretary, I sent Clint a message. “Press Secretary?” He didn’t reply but instead called. I could hear the excitement in his voice when he confirmed for me that he would indeed be stepping into that role created by the former PM for Anthony “Ace” Newbold. “Ace and I have been talking and he has been filling me in,” Clint told me. That’s maturity. Two icons working together for the good of the country. I told him I was happy for him and proud of what he’s accomplished and that I look forward to what he will do as Press Secretary. He knows that if he ever needs my help, I’m there.
I saw the negative stuff too from bitter people upset at the fact that during the elections, and even before it, Clint took the former government to task on his show. What those people ignore is that Clint did the same for the former Opposition. They just had very little to criticize. The fact that the Prime Minister tapped Clint for this role is no indication of Clint selling out but rather the PM recognizing in Clint a key component for what he wants his legacy to be as the 5th Prime Minister of an independent Bahamas. Brave wants to be the bridge builder PM. He wants to build partnerships that unite and not tear down. His choice of Clint is proof of that agenda because our country needs to know what its leadership is doing at all times and Clint is the man for that job at this time. Brave sees what those folks don’t see and I’m happy for it.
I know Clint will do well just as I know Genea will do well in succeeding him as News Director. Ain’t God good! 9 and half years ago Clint Watson was in “the basement” and Genea Noel was a Reporter III. Now look at them! Top of the mountain and I’m so, so happy for them and proud.
EDITOR’S NOTE: I would also like to extend my congratulations to Clint Watson, whom I met for the first time not as a fellow journalist, but as leader of the gospel group Shaback when I was Press, Cultural Affairs and Information Manager at the Embassy of The Bahamas in Washington, D.C., and they performed at several events in D.C. celebrating the 43rd Independence of The Bahamas in July of 2016.
