GUEST COMMENTARY: BY FRED FERGUSON
(EDITOR’S NOTE: I absolutely had to share this Facebook post by renowned Bahamian entertainer Fred Ferguson as a Guest Commentary with readers of BAHAMAS CHRONICLE.)
NASSAU, Bahamas, February 1, 2023 — I’m saddened to see the closure of Island FM. I know how much the late Sir Charles Carter believed in the promotion of our Culture especially through the music.
His son quite rightly explained how the financial struggle was the cause of this sad ending.
Island FM was developed on the idea of promoting OUR music and artists.
SO how many artists are willing to face the truth and say how WE are also responsible for and contributed to the closure of Island FM??
All stations survive on the advertising.
Businesses advertise on stations who demand the best listenership for the return on their investment.
The Bahamian audience will not be forced to listen to music because it is Bahamian. They are savvy enough to know good quality when they hear it.
How many will be willing to accept that our music of late does not meet the standards or quality that will cause our own Bahamian public to want to listen to us on a regular basis.
INTROSPECTION!!!
Mr. Carter’s vision was a noble one … can we honestly say we did our part to make that dream a permanent reality???
THERE I SAID IT!!!
EDITOR’S NOTE: Sir Charles Carter, a legendary broadcast journalist, established Island FM 102.9 after a long and distinguished career with the Broadcasting Corporation of The Bahamas and ZNS Radio and Television. Island FM began broadcasting in August 2001. Sir Charles, who died in May of 2021 at the age of 78, also had a notable political career and was a former Minister of Health and Minister of Foreign Affairs in the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) government.
