COMMENTARY: BY OSWALD T. BROWN
WASHINGTON, D.C., November 30, 2019 – I saw the story on “Brawl 4 The Ball” at Atlantis on Paradise Island tonight and felt compelled to share it with readers of BAHAMAS CHRONICLE, although it may be too late to generate support for this excellent idea to raise funds for the victims of Hurricane Dorian, which caused considerable destruction to Grand Bahama and Abaco, two northern Bahamian islands, during the first week of September.
It also provided me with an opportunity to congratulate EYEWITNESS NEWS, which publishes an online news edition as well as its television productions, for having established itself as a major force to be reckoned with when it comes to the dissemination of news in The Bahamas in such a short time since being launched.
Of course, as a veteran newspaperman who detests rumormongering and sensationalism as the main foundations for news articles, there were occasions in the past when I was disappointed in some stories published by Eyewitness News, and I have publicly criticized Clint Watson, a superb journalist who heads the News Department of Eyewitness News, on one occasion for straying from the norms of good journalism. However, there is no question that Eyewitness News has developed into a first-rate news medium since it was launched two years ago.
Living in Washington, D.C., I am generally kept up-to-date on news in The Bahamas by a compilation of front-pages of the newspapers in The Bahamas and selected important stories from inside pages published early every morning by Barbara Wilson, except Saturdays, when she takes seriously her commitment to the religious dictates of her Seventh Day Adventists Church.
Barbara is a trained nurse, but she has developed into a good newsperson, primarily promoting Prime Minister Dr. Hubert Minnis and his Free National Movement Government. Indeed, she singlehandedly does a far better job at publicizing the FNM government than Bahamas Information Services (BIS), the government’s official news agency, which has a full staff of writers and photographers.
However, I can’t recall ever seeing an item published by Eyewitness News in the “valuable news service” provided by Barbara Wilson daily; therefore, I generally scour the Internet for Eyewitness News online to see what news stories it is reporting. The introductory paragraph of the story on the “Brawl 4 the Ball” immediately attracted my attention. It stated:
“On the heels of hosting the ninth annual Bad Boy Mowers Battle 4 Atlantis basketball tournament, Atlantis will play host to Brawl 4 the Ball. It’s a basketball showdown that will give one-year bragging rights to staff at Atlantis or its biggest local competitor – Baha Mar – as the basketball league champions at each hotel will face off in what is expected to be a heated game this Saturday, November 30th.”
In “Brawl 4 the Ball,” the Atlantis Cove Impalas will go head-to-head with Baha Mar Vipers in a “highly-anticipated game” that will tip off at 7:00pm at the Grand Arena Convention Center at Atlantis, Paradise Island.
So what was it about this story that really attracted my attention, aside from the fact that it is an excellent idea? I’ll admit that I developed a selfish motive when I looked at the photograph that accompanied it and noticed that two of the individuals in the photo are Robert “Sandy” Sands, Senior Vice President of Government and External Affairs at Baha Mar, and Ed Fields, Senior VP of Public Affairs at Atlantis, Paradise.
I have written to both individuals on more than one occasion trying to convince them to advertise their hotel properties in BAHAMAS CHRONICLE. When my diplomatic appointment in Washington, D.C. ended after four-plus years following the change of government in The Bahamas in May of 2017, I decided to remain in D.C. and have established THE BROWN AGENCY LLC, which offers a variety of services, including writing press releases, promotional articles, editing and proofreading.
I also publish an online news publication BAHAMAS CHRONICLE, which was launched to keep Bahamians and nationals from other Caribbean Community (CARICOM) countries living in the diaspora up-to-date on selected news from their respective countries. In addition to The Bahamas and the wider Caribbean, BAHAMAS CHRONICLE has attracted a huge following across the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom.
I have been having difficulty attracting PR clients and advertisements from The Bahamas despite a very affordable standard rate of $200 for promotional article and $300 a month for a business card-size advertisement that will appear daily in BAHAMAS CHRONICLE throughout the month.
So Sandy and Ed, if you happen to see this, once again I think it makes perfect sense for Baha Mar and Atlantis Paradise Island to advertise in BAHAMAS CHRONICLE.
