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Jamaica News Media

by Nemonie Cassells | Associate Writer

“Extra, extr…” **stops record**
Nope, not in this irie island of Jamaica, try this!

“Mirror, Mirror, Mirror!” “ Gleeeaner, Obseeerver, Heeerald!”

Yup, thats more like it! In my neck of the woods at least :-) Growing up in Montego Bay Jamaica, those were the call of the newspaper men, out and about from early in the mornings to sell the newspapers. 

History Of Jamaica News Publication

The first publication of printed news in Jamaica was the weekly Courant in 1718. Boy have we come far from then or what? It would be nearly a century later before the Daily Gleaner was established, but hey, we did make a lot of progress!!

We have quite a few more newspapers to chose from since then… some local to some parts of Jamaica, for example, the Western Mirror for the western side of Jamaica, while others are distributed island wide.
See https://www.my-island-jamaica.com/jamaican_newspapers.html for our top newspapers here on the island.

Now I’m you know that by now newspaper is not our only means of communicating news here on the island (well, I hope you do). With technology being so advanced, you can hardly expect us to not keep up.

Before I even enter the world of advanced technology, hit that pause button, and lets take a look at the technology that started it all. 

Broadcast Media In Jamaica

1. Commercial Radio
   
   The introduction of the commercial radio to Jamaica was a heaven sent for the locals. Not only were people able to listen to the news and get a glimpse of the outside world, but the people that were illiterate would not have to miss out on what's going on either.
   
   RJR is the oldest broadcasting news media that is still live today! Here’s a good read into the Jamaican radio’s history: http://www.jamaicaham.org/downloads/Radio%20Jamaica%20History.pdf.
   
   Since then, the commercial radio has been an important part of our modern culture, molding our views and opinions of the world around us! It’s immortality is ensured by at least 10 live radio stations today!
   
   For a list of the top radio stations in Jamaica visit this link:
   https://www.my-island-jamaica.com/jamaican_radio_stations.html
   
    
   
2. Television
   
   Jamaican lives and how we see news, literally and figuratively, would forever be changed when Jamaica Broadcasting Corporation(JBC) now TVJ, was aired on August 4th, 1963.
   
   I can just imagine what it must have been like back then… watching people speak to you from a little box! Mind blowing for a lot I’m thinking!
   
   That meant, not only were Jamaicans able to listen to the radio, but for those who could afford it, they could sit at home and watch TV!
   
   I remember as a child, my mother was one of the few persons who had a television (a colored one at that) in her community and people used to gather on the veranda of her home and watched the news and other local programs!
   
   Now hit that play button, let’s fast forward into the 21st century and into 2016! Woooaa! Another minute there and we’d have missed this century all together! Lucky for you I was paying attention! Whew! That was close! 

We boast a number of local TV stations in Jamaica, however the two most popular are Television Jamaica and CVM TV.

1. Computers
   
   With the advanced technologies that we Jamaican are privileged to nowadays, news papers, radios and televisions are far from alone when it comes to delivering news to the public. 
   
   Computers have come a long way from just computing numbers and taking up an entire room…It has  now evolved! 
   
   Now, with the world wide web available at almost everyone's finger tip in the form of, desk top, laptops, smart phones and tablet; News can be read, watched, listened to,  from anywhere at anytime!! 
   
   Jamaican are now able to get live news castings where ever and whenever they wish to! Even our favorite news papers and televisions have taken advantage of the widespread publication that the internet offers. 
   
   In addition the live streaming by the TV stations, listed above, Jamaicans abroad can now keep abreast of what is going right here at home by visiting  local newspapers’ websites! 
   
   These include:
   
   http://www.jamaicaobserver.com
   http://jamaica-gleaner.com
   http://jamaica-star.com 
   http://westernmirrorepaper.com

I hope this helps! Thanks for reading ;-)

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Return to Jamaican Newspapers from Jamaica News Media
Return to My Island Jamaica Homepage from Jamaica News Media

References & Sources For Jamaica News Media

1. Jamaica Observer, http://www.jamaicaobserver.com 
2. Jamaica Gleaner, http://jamaica-gleaner.com
3. Jamaica Star, http://jamaica-star.com 
4. Western Mirror, http://westernmirrorepaper.com

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