The Media Landscape – Some Reflections

In these reflections, I am going back to the period of Slavery. I am using media in its broadest sense to refer to the means of communicating information. My focus will be first on what we consider the traditional

media, meaning print, radio and television and in more recent times the social media. The original form of media was the print media. Let me first mention that our ancestors passed on information as they congregated in the yards which joined a number of houses. They sat very often under a breadfruit tree.

During the period of Slavery, the proprietors and the colonial officials had their eyes focused on the Mother Country. Ships bringing slaves and supplies also brought news from the outside world. The shipping lanes also connected the sister colonies where planter families, friends and business partners resided. At times of heightened tension enslaved domestic workers listened to the conversations from the dinner tables of their proprietors and relayed that information to those who gathered in the ‘Negro’ yards. The proprietor and merchant class also got official information from Royal Gazettes.

The earliest reference I have to privately owned newspapers was in 1836 with a newspaper the St. Vincent Chronicle. In 1840 the New Era was published by the printer Mr. Henry Balasco. The paper was purchased by a Mr Alexander Henry Abbott who also published another paper, the St. Vincent Mirror. That paper came to an end in 1859 under interesting circumstances. The Editor dared to criticise the conduct of sailors from the HMS Jasper on Christmas Day in 1858. They were referred to as ‘uncivilised ruffians” resulting in members of the crew, the “uncivilised ruffians indeed”, demolishing its printing plant on New Year’s Day in 1859. In 1847 three newspapers existed. They were the St. Vincent Gazette owned by the Government Printer who was paid for the insertion of official notices. The Lieutenant Governor Sir John Campbell referred to the Editor Mr Drake as an honourable man whom he described as one who “would not make any statement for any purpose which he did not believe to be true”. The Royal St. Vincent Gazette was owned by the Inspector of Police. He was said to write ‘vigorously’ in support of government measures, but it was the Lieutenant Governor’s opinion that “were he not satisfied of their propriety he would rather endanger his office of Inspector of Police than continue his support”. It appeared that he was under attack from the Black and Coloured population because of what they considered his ‘obnoxious’ discharge of police duties. Some of the attacks came from the Black and Coloured population through their organ, the Observer newspaper that was owned by a Mr Hazell, a coloured land proprietor and merchant. It was pointed out that the Editor was also coloured. It had wide circulation among the Black and Coloured population. The Lieutenant Governor felt that although it was ‘creditably conducted’ the colouring it gives to events and circumstances was sometimes questionable.

In commenting on those three newspapers, it was the opinion of the Lt. Governor that none of the papers exercised much influence on the public’s mind and cared not to aim to do so.

“When at any time however an original article has appeared bearing on some subject of local interest there has been no cause to complain of prejudice and unfairness or under violence of expression in any of them”.

In 1900 at the turn of the century, a new newspaper the St. Vincent Times, was published by Mr Joseph Bonadie. The Vincentian newspaper which still continues to exist was started in 1919. The St. Vincent Times welcomed it, wishing it stated “our ‘cotem’ a useful and long career.” Before the Vincentian, at about 1912, the Sentry newspaper owned by Joseph Elliot Sprott made its appearance. The first half of the 20th Century was an important period. It was the period that saw disturbances in 1935 and then the formation of the St. Vincent Workingmen’s Association of George McIntosh. Following the death of Elliot Sprott in 1925 the Sentry newspaper was incorporated into the Vincentian. Another paper that emerged was that of Ebenezer Duncan, the Investigator. At the time of the Workingmen’s Association’s control of the Legislative Council, Bonadie and Duncan were members of the Workingmen’s Association and helped to popularise the policies of McIntosh. The St. Vincent Times went up to 1946, and the Investigator closed about 1940. As the country moved to Adult Suffrage in 1951 only the Vincentian that had incorporated the Sentry remained. The Vincentian had become a very conservative force but had to bend to the popular voices that emerged at the time when the Eight Army of Liberation, so called, was overwhelmingly elected to the Legislative Council in 1951.

(This is to be continued and will look at Radio, the Social Media, and Television in the 20th and 21st centuries).

• Dr Adrian Fraser is a social commentator and historian