THE COMMONWEALTH OF THE BAHAMAS-A MEDIA PROFILE

The Bahamas is an archipelago of some 700 islands and cays covering almost 100,000 square miles of ocean. Lying just 50 miles east of Florida the chain extends 750 miles southeastwards to Hispaniola and Cuba. Total land area is 5,382 square miles.

The country's name derives from early Spanish explorers who referred to the 'islands of the shallow sea', or 'baha mar'. After the original Arawak Indian inhabitants were destroyed, the country was deserted until English settlers from Bermuda established a colony on one of the islands in the mid-1600's.

About 300,000 people live here today on 22 inhabited islands. The main population centers are the capital, Nassau, on the island of New Providence (pop: 190,000), and Freeport on the island of Grand Bahama (pop: 45,000).

A British colony for over 300 years, the Bahamas has remained a member of the British Commonwealth of Nations since Independence in July, 1973. A Bahamian governor-general ceremonially represents Queen Elizabeth II of England.

The Bahamas has a bicameral parliament in the British tradition consisting of an elected assembly and an appointed senate and traces its origins back to 1729. The country is governed by a cabinet headed by a prime minister. Elections are held every five years.

Tourism accounts for more than half of all government revenues and some 60% of employment. More than three million visitors (mostly North Americans) spend well over a billion dollars a year in the country. The financial services sector, primarily offshore, is the second largest industry followed by agriculture and fisheries. Most Bahamians are employed in service occupations.

MEDIA PROFILE

For 60 years, all broadcasting in the Bahamas was controlled by the government through the Broadcasting Corporation of the Bahamas-a public corporation which operates one television and four radio channels from its Nassau studios under the call letters 'ZNS' (Zephyr Nassau Sunshine). The stations are partly funded by commercial advertising, but heavily subsidized by the government.

The public sector's monopoly on the industry was broken in 1992 when a new government allowed private investors to set up radio stations, and in 1994 when a Canadian-based firm was licensed to provide cable television service. There are currently three private radio stations on New Providence and three in the Family Islands (on Grand Bahama, Abaco and Eleuthera).

Cable Bahamas Ltd (partly owned by government and local shareholders) began installations in 1995 using advanced fibre-optic technology. Over 98% of New Providence and Freeport households now have access to cable service. Family Island connections began in 1997 on Abaco, Bimini and Eleuthera.

With an exclusive 15-year license, Cable Bahamas offers a 52-channel basic service plus a premium service consisting of HBO/Cinemax multiplex. Other services include pay-per-view movies and Digital Music Express. Cable also carries ZNS Channel 13 and local FM radio stations. No commercial advertising is currently accepted.

For such a small community, Nassau has had a lively press ever since 1844 when the Nassau Guardian was established. This newspaper has published continually since then and is today the leading daily. It was followed in 1903 by The Tribune, which is the second most popular daily. The Punch was established in 1990 as a weekly and is now published twice a week. The Bahama Journal hit the streets in 1987, also as a weekly, and is now published daily.

Television

Number of sets - estimate 50,000
Average sets per household - 1
Number of stations - 1
Penetration - over 80% of population

ZNS Channel 13
Broadcasting Corporation of the Bahamas
P. O. Box N-1347. Telephone 242-322-4623.
Format: Heavy American sports emphasis, otherwise mainly foreign soaps and movies with a few local productions.

Radio

Number of sets - universal
Number of stations - 10
Penetration - 100% of population
Commercial time per hour - average 6-12 minutes
Audience peaks - 8am, 1pm daily newscasts and morning drive time.

ZNS-1 - National coverage, news, music, talk. Generally older audience.

ZNS-2 - New Providence only. Religious music and talk.                  

ZNS-FM - New Providence only. Pop music and news.                  

ZNS-3 - Grand Bahama only. Pop music and news (local and networked).
Broadcasting Corporation of the Bahamas
P. O. Box N-1347. Telephone 242-322-4623.

100 JAMZ FM - New Providence and Grand Bahama only. Pop music and news briefs. First private radio station.               
Tribune Radio
P. O. Box N-3207. Telephone 242-328-4771.

LOVE 97 FM - New Providence only. Softer sounds, news and talk. Jones Communications
P. O. Box N-3909. Telephone 242-356-4960.

MORE FM -New Providence only. American-sourced upbeat music     programming, news.
P. O. Box N-1347. Telephone 242-322-4623.

COOL 96 FM - Grand Bahama only. Adult contemporary, local and regional music, news and talk.
P. O. Box F-40773. Telephone 242-352-7440.

RADIO ABACO FM - Abaco only. Adult contemporary, local news and talk.
P. O. Box AB20418. Telephone 242-367-4935.

RADIO ELEUTHERA FM - Eleuthera only. Island music, local news and talk.
P. O. Box EL27495. Telephone 242-333-4638

Newspapers

Nassau Guardian (broadsheet)
Circulation - 13-17,000 daily
Colour - Spot & process
Format - National news/features/syndicated material. Owned by foreign and local shareholders.    
P. O. Box N-3011. Telephone 242-323-5654.  

The Tribune (broadsheet)
Circulation - 13,000 daily
Colour - Spot & process
Format - National news/features/syndicated material. Family-owned.
P. O. Box N-3207. Telephone 242-322-2768.

The Punch (tabloid)
Circulation - 20,000-plus twice-weekly
Colour - Spot & process
Format - National news/gossip/syndicated material. Downmarket tabloid. Owned by local shareholders.
P. O. Box N-4081. Telephone 242-322-7112.

Bahama Journal (broadsheet)
Circulation - 4-6,000 weekly
Colour - Spot & process
Format - News, political analysis and commentary. Owned by local       shareholders.
P. O. Box N-8610. Telephone 242-325-3082.

Freeport News (tabloid)
Circulation - 3,000 daily
Colour - Spot
Open rate - $6.50 per column inch
Format - National/local news/syndicated material. Owned by the Nassau Guardian.
P. O. Box F-7. Telephone 242-352-8321.

Magazines

Bahamas Journal of Science
Circulation - 300 twice a year
Format - articles of scientific interest relating to the Bahamas
Publisher - Media Enterprises Ltd, P.O. Box N-9240, Nassau, Bahamas

Financial Digest
Circulation - 3,000 monthly
Format - National business news
Publisher - Symonette Communications, P.O. Box N-4271, Nassau, Bahamas

Islander Magazine
Circulation - 140,000 quarterly
Format - Tourism-oriented news and features.
Publisher - the Spectrum Group, P.O. Box N-7937, Nassau, Bahamas

Caribah Magazine
Circulation - unknown
Format - Regional news and features
Publisher - Jones Communications, P.O. Box N-8610, Nassau, Bahamas

THE INTERNET

There are currently four licensed Internet service providers in the Bahamas: Internet Online (owned by 100 JAMZ and private investors), Bahamas Online (owned by Digital Equipment and private investors), Cable Bahamas Ltd, and the publicly-owned Bahamas Telecommunications Corporation (BaTelCo).

Cable Bahamas began Internet service over its high-speed fibre-optic network in Nassau in early 2000 and is installing a submarine fibre cable between Florida and the Bahamas to upgrade its connection speeds. Internet Online uses a satellite feed to connect to the Internet in Florida. Bahamas Online connects to the Internet via phone lines leased from BaTelCo which connects to the United States phone system via a fibre-optic cable to Florida in conjunction with AT&T. Bahamas Online provides web page hosting services.

Internet Online: P. O. Box N-3207, Nassau, Bahamas.  e-mail: info@100jamz.com  Telephone 809-322-1986/328-4771.

Bahamas Online: P. O. Box N-3920, Nassau, Bahamas.  e-mail: info@bahamas.net.bs  Telephone 809-325-1000.

Cable Bahamas: P. O. Box CB-13050, Nassau, Bahamas, e-mail: info@coralwave.com

BaTelNet: P. O. Box N-3048, Nassau, Bahamas.  e-mail: info@batelnet.bs  Telephone 809-328-0990.