Doctoral Dissertations

Date of Award

6-1985

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy

Major

Communication

Major Professor

Darrel W. Holt

Committee Members

Herbert H. Howard, Roland T. Duncan, Kenneth Owen McCullough

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to locate, identify and interpret the mass media of the Bahama Islands in terms of geographical and foreign influences. In so doing, the study created a bibliographic record which identified media enterprises, dates of operation and principal participants in their operations. In the course of the research for this study, 44 newspapers and information sheets were identified as in publication at various times between 1784 and 1956, and at several locations in the islands. Eight papers were found to exist, preserved at the Nassau Public Library. A single copy of a ninth paper at the Public Records Office in London. Two radio stations were also identified as serving the islands.

The mass media, initially newspapers, were introduced to the Colony following the American Revolution and, except for a brief period at the beginning of the nineteenth century, there has been continuous newspaper service to the residents of Nassau. At various times, generally in the present century, there have been a number of attempts to publish newspapers at various Out Island settlements.

Radio broadcasting was introduced to the Colony late in 1930, making the Bahamas the first British Caribbean colony to experiment with broadcasting. The initial attempt was not continued beyond the brief experimental period. Not until 1937, not 1936 as some have indicated, that a permanent broadcasting station, ZNS, was established by the Colony's government. During the period studied, the early mass media were elitist, designed for the educated planter and professional classes of Bahamian society. At the end of the nineteenth century the infrastructure of Following modern mass media began to be introduced to the Colony. World War I, the media became truly mass media with the completion of the introduction of electricity-based publishing and broadcasting equipment.

Bahamian media were confined by the geography of the islands and the uncertainty of transportation to and from Nassau on New Providence Island. Although subscribers were served by inter-island mail boats, wireless telegraphy and broadcasting were the only media to overcome time and geography in bringing news and information to the Out Island settlements.

At various times, the Bahamian mass media have been influenced by the United States, particularly during the American Civil War and Prohibition/Great Depression era. The media have looked and sounded similar to American mass media, but underlying their sound and appearance, Bahamian mass media have reflected British concerns and been unswerving in their support of Great Britain.

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