British African-Caribbean Community - African-Caribbean Culture in The United Kingdom - Media

Media

Further information: Media of the United Kingdom

The Voice newspaper was the primary African-Caribbean newspaper in Britain, and was founded in the early 1980s by Val McCalla. However, today it is owned by a Jamaican publisher and has a Caribbean focus. Pride magazine, which has been going for 21 years, is the largest lifestyle magazine for the community and was described by The Guardian newspaper as the dominant lifestyle magazine for the black community in the UK for over 15 years. Its owner Pride Media also specialises in helping organisations target the community through a range of media. Other publications have included the Gleaner, Black Voice, New Editor and The Caribbean Times. The growth of such media is a response to the perceived imbalances of "mainstream" media. In 2006, Sir Ian Blair, Chief Commissioner of London's Metropolitan Police, joined a long list of commentators in branding the mainstream British media as "institutionally racist" for its alleged failure to offer a proper balance in reporting affairs related to the community.

Trinidad-born Sir Trevor McDonald is one of the community's best-known journalists, having been the main presenter (newscaster) for the national ITV network for over twenty years. Other notable media figures include Gary Younge, The Guardian columnist, and Moira Stuart, the veteran BBC news presenter. Trinidadian-born Darcus Howe has written in the New Statesman and fronted a number of documentary series including the Channel 4 current affairs programme Devil's Advocate. Much of Howe's work is related to the experiences of British African-Caribbeans and racism in wider British society. Other notable producer/directors are Terry Jervis (Jervis Media) and Pogus Caesar (Windrush Productions); both have made multicultural, entertainment and sports programmes for Carlton TV, BBC TV and Channel 4.

The community has a strong tradition of "underground" pirate radio broadcasters. Among the most established are London's Lightning Radio, Genesis Radio and Galaxy Radio, which play a mix of ragga, reggae, bashment, hip hop and R&B. Pirate radio stations such as Supreme Radio, Galaxy Radio (which calls itself "the only de-brainwashing station"), Genesis Radio (known as "the people's station" or "the black power station") and the more recently emerged radio station Omega FM Radio are particularly highly regarded in the Afro Caribbean community for not only playing a variety of music such as soca, soul, dancehall, jazz, hip hop, Reveail and Funky House, but also for dedicating time to have "talk shows" and "information shows" often taking an uncompromising stance in view. Thus giving the community the opportunity to phone in and participate in an array of subjects that mainstream radio, wider media and even other pirate radio stations refuse to address.

In 1996, Choice FM received a licence to broadcast in London and Birmingham with a remit to serve the musical tastes of the African-Caribbean community. Sadly, after being bought by PLC (which owns pop station Capital Radio) and more recently Global taking the ownership of the station, many feel that Choice FM has sold out and no longer reflects the community. This is demonstrated by the sacking of talk-show host Geoff Schumann. In an article Schumann said "When I was on Choice, my show– a talk show– had an audience that was higher than any of the station’s other shows, and yet I was told, by a white man, that my style wouldn’t fit in with the station’s future plans. Generally speaking, a radio show with high ratings is usually the show that a station will keep. But when you want to create the impression that all black people want to do is listen to music, you sack the host that does the talking!” The people from the Afro-Caribbean community with a sense of identity, dignity and pride have abandoned Choice FM, often criticizing the misrepresentation of the music and the general undermining of not only Afro-Caribbean people, but all black people of African ancestry.

As a result, many black activists have campaigned tirelessly for the state to stop attacking black pirate radio stations such as Power Jam (now deceased), Galaxy Radio and Genesis Radio, as they are the only voice many of the Afro-Caribbean community feel they have to discuss issues that concern them, other than just promoting "Urban music".

"The thing with me is that I’m not afraid to call myself black. I’m black — I’m not urban.” - Geoff Schumann. Schumann now hosts a talk show on a popular west London pirate radio station with the same format that he had on Choice FM, before the only black-owned legal station was sold.

In 2002, the BBC established its digital broadcasting strand, BBC Radio 1Xtra, to focus on new Black music - which in effect means catering to the tastes of the country's African-Caribbean youth. The Internet has afforded the community the opportunity to publish en-masse, and there are now thousands of websites and blogs produced by or for African-Caribbeans in the UK such as the BBC's Family History page, and The African-Caribbean Network, Blacknet UK, launched in 1996.

Award-winning Myrna Loy, a female poet, and published writer who has recited poetry alongside Linton Kwesi Johnson is a poet in her own right. Her poetry radiates passion for political situations, rages against hypocrisy and abuse and balances it with appreciation and gratitude. Myrna came second in the Bridport Prize, which is one of the UK's notable and prestigious poetry competitions; and came 2nd for her poem The Last Poem, performed at the Castillo Centre in Manhattan. Myrna is 3-times published, her book 'The Other Side of Tourism' shares her conflict between her British and Jamaican roots, and her two poetry books 'Poetry's Teacher and Poetry's Promise' share her person and professional life experiences. As a Black Britain, Myrna says: "British culture teaches us to conform, to hide our light under a bushel, to not sing our praises, so as a result I reveal "my light" through my poetry, paintings and my quarterly magazine called Blackbright News, which celebrates the wonderful works Black People (not only in Britain) have done. I may eventually be relegated to the area where tyrants and revolutions belong, but in he meantime, I intend to shout from the roof-tops what I feel and why I feel it!" Myrna (aka Lady Loy) is a radio presenter on Jamrock Radio, and uses this arena to promote black music and black talent.