Given the fact that newspaper reports are oftentimes deemed historical accounts of important events, it is alarming and disappointing that the main editorial of a leading daily would provide a misleading account on the coverage of Hurricane Frances. The editorial in question was written in The Tribune on Monday, September 6, 2004 under the headline, "The Bahamas hit by national disaster."
The editor wrote that the public wants to know "why it was that shortly after the storm started to hit Nassau on Friday the national television broadcasting on Cable Bahamas went down and never returned for the duration of hurricane Frances." This statement gives the impression that TV- 13 on Cable Bahamas was not available to the Bahamian public during the period when the hurricane was affecting several islands of The Bahamas including New Providence, Abaco, Grand Bahama and Bimini. However, given the response from- viewers, many residents throughout the islands were able to view TV- 13 on Cable Bahamas, as did employees stationed here at the Broadcasting Corporation of The Bahamas throughout the storm. While Cable Bahamas' feed may have been lost in some areas due to downed telephone lines, there was no general failure of the Cable Bahamas system that would have rendered it inoperable to the entire Bahamas. Thus, it is a misrepresentation of the facts to state that "the national television broadcasting on Cable Bahamas went down and never returned for the duration of hurricane Frances." Furthermore, many without cable watched TV-13 using rabbit ears. Indeed, there was a report from a person who viewed TV13 on an eight-dollar battery operated television. Therefore, while Cable Bahamas may have been out in some areas, many residents were still able to receive the transmission of ZNS. The Broadcasting Corporation of The Bahamas gave serious consideration to the execution of its disaster preparedness plan. Moreover, it has learnt from its past experiences. We are grateful to those who continue to express confidence in our ability to fulfill our national mandate.
Another statement in the editorial is misleading. The sentence reads, "The public, therefore, turned to the private radio stations to keep abreast of developments." This gives the impression that when TV-13 went down on Cable (and I hasten to add "in some areas"), the Broadcasting Corporation's radio stations (in particular 1540AM) also went off the air. Of course, this was not the case and residents were able to listen to the simulcast on all the radio stations operated by the Corporation. Therefore the public did not have to turn to private radio stations to keep abreast of developments.
The Tribune article is all the more suspect when one considers an article of the same date written in the Nassau Guardian. The Guardian article headlined, "ZNS led hurricane coverage," talked about the Corporations 24-hour coverage from Wednesday to Sunday. Mention was made of television, but the article referred mainly to radio coverage. Based on the reports, private radio stations provided limited coverage of Hurricane Frances compared to ZNS. For periods of 12 hours or more private radio stations were NOT available to keep the public abreast of developments. The article in the Guardian not only noted the public's praise of ZNS but also voiced criticisms, providing a far more objective piece than the Tribune. The Corporation accepts and respects the views of the public. However, it is satisfied that its employees went above And beyond in their coverage of Hurricane Frances. The public is reminded that the Corporation broadcast a special four-hour programme on "Hurricane Awareness and Precaution" the day before Hurricane Frances hit the islands of The Bahamas. This was a continuation of the ILC special promos" which had begun at the start of the hurricane season.
The Broadcasting Corporation is frequently criticised for one reason or the other. Some criticisms are justified, others are not. The Tribune article, while not outright critical of the Corporation, was indeed very misleading. The Corporation's initial thought was to ignore the article knowing that viewers and listeners would see it for what it was. However, eventually it was decided to clarify the issue for the sake of Bahamian history.
Further, in the interest of Bahamian history, the Corporation broadcast a special three-hour programme in the aftermath of Hurricane Frances. This programme was aired on Monday, Sept. 6, 2004. It is reassuring to know that the readers of the Tribune are quite capable of determining what to accept and what to reject. Verification of information as reported in the Tribune's article of Sept. 6, 2004 is a simple process.
Signed Management of the Broadcasting Corporation of The Bahamas.
