Anthony Turner/Gleaner Writer NEW YORK: R ADIO BROADCASTERS onWVIP 93.5 FM in New York, listeners and Jamaican businesses who rely on the station tomarket and promote their products and services are reeling in shock by news that the entity has been sold. The NewYork-based, brokered radio station that boasts a concoction of Jamaican/Caribbean music and talk, has reportedly been sold for US$8.15 million to Hope Media Group, owners of the Christian AC Way FM network and Spanish Christian Vida Unida network. WVIP was owned by the late Bill O’Shaughnessy, who died in May 2022 at age 84. The Westchester County station reaches thousands of Jamaican/ Caribbean nationals in the tri-state area, who reside inMt Vernon, New Rochelle, White Plains, Ardsley, Elmsford, Yonkers, Bronx, Queens, Nassau County in New York and Bergen County, New Jersey. According to a 2021 US Census Bureau/ American Community Survey, approximately 1.3 million residents in the USA are Jamaicans. In New York, Jamaican Americans comprise about 1/2 a million residents, which is approximately 1.6 per cent of the state’s population. Bobby Clarke, CEO of Irie Jammedia group, which is celebrating its 30th anniversary onWVIP, was alarmed about the sale. “This is sad news,” Clarke said in an interview on WVIP last week, a few hours after news of the sale became public. “This leaves a major void in the community... . We are hoping that there might be a way to continue our services to our community here, but right now we are not sure,” he shared. Clement ‘Ras Clem’Hume, Groovin’ In The Park executive and host of Groovin Radio, which also broadcast on the WVIP platform, told The Gleaner that he was at a loss for words. “This is shocking news! I still cannot believe it,” he confessed. Independent broadcasters onWVIP spend between US$500 to US$1,000 per hour for airtime on the station. COMMUNITY INITIATIVES Community advocate Irwine Clare, CEO of Caribbean Immigrant Services and host of Fact Of The Matter that is heard on the WVIP platform, spoke about community initiatives that independent broadcasters at the station have supported that benefited Jamaicans at home. “We had a 12-hour radio marathon with a collective of broadcasters on this platform from Irie Jam radio, Squeeze (Linkup radio), Carl B Moxie and other individuals,” he said. The initiative raised US$10,000 on September 14, 2004 to help in the relief effort for Hurricane Dean which damaged sections of the island on August 19. This is not the first time that Caribbean radio broasters in NewYork have been broadsided by a station sale. In 1997, WNWK 105.9 FM closed its doors on reggae and the Jamaican community when a change in FCC regulations allowed its then founder and chief executive Arthur Liu to sell the station (along with another smaller station) to Heftel Broadcasting, the nation’s largest Spanish language radio group, for US$135 million. Among the popular radio personalities from Jamaica who will be impacted by the sale are former Prime Minister Bruce Golding ( Jamaica Live); Reverend Ronnie Thwaites and Chief Pearnel Charles ( Public Eye); Richard ‘Richie B’ Burgess ( Up & Go) and Elise Kelly ( Un-tengle), who currently simulcast their respective programmes on WVIP from The Bridge 99 FM in Jamaica. THE MONTHLY GLEANER | JULY 6 - AUGUST 2, 2023 | www.jamaica-gleaner.com | NEWS 11 Shock as NY radio station WVIP 93.5 FM is sold CLARE CLARKE Set to impact broadcasters, J’can businesses in tri-state SANGSTER INTERNATIONAL Airport (SIA) in Montego Bay, St James is anticipating a strong summer season. The gateway is operated by MBJ Airports Ltd. MBJ indicated in a release that, with the last three months, from April to June, showing gains above 10 per cent over 2022, the 2023 summer season is anticipated to record an increase in passenger traffic. The traffic recorded for the last three months represent the highest number of arriving and departing passengers in history at SIA, with over 400,000 total passengers per month. This trend is expected to continue into July and August, resulting in high passenger traffic volume throughout the terminal and airport. To reduce wait times and queues in Arrivals, all arriving passengers are encouraged to complete the Immigration and Customs form online at https:// enterjamaica.com. Each arriving passenger is required to complete the Immigration and Customs form. To reduce wait times and queues in Departures, all departing passengers are encouraged tomake transportation arrangements to be at the airport with additional time to enter the airport for check-in three hours prior to the scheduled departure time, especially during the peak operating hours of 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. This will reduce the risk of flight delays and the possibility of passengers missing their flights. Departing passengers should also check in online and utilise mobile boarding passes where available; passengers are encouraged to check in online and save the boarding pass to their device prior to arrival at the airport; passengers with a mobile boarding pass who are not checking in bags should proceed directly to the security checkpoint. Passengers checking in bags should proceed to the airline counter. THE MURDER trial of the St Mary taxi driver accused of killing two American missionaries in the parish in 2016 commenced this week in the Home Circuit Court with his former co-defendant set to give testimony against him. The 34-year-old defendant, Andre Thomas, was charged with the murders of 48-year-old Randy Hentzel and 53-year-old Harold Nichols. Thomas was jointly charged with Dwight Henry, a St Mary farmer. However, Henry recently pleaded guilty to two counts of murder under a plea deal and was sentenced to 28-years in prison. The two missionaries were found dead in Wentworth district in St Mary on April 30 and May 1, 2016. They were reportedly last seen alive when they left Tower Isle, St Mary, on motorcycles about 8 a.m. on April 30, 2016. Attorneys Leroy Equiano and Althea Freeman are representing the defendant. Prosecutor Sharon Milwood Moore, in her opening address, told the jury that the murder is one of common design, meaning it was committed by more than one person with the same intent and purpose. She advised the jury to come to their decision on the facts that will be presented and not to speculate. THE MAN who fired four bullets into a woman during a church service in Trelawny two years ago has pleaded guilty to the murder. Dwight Bingham also pleaded guilty to illegal possession of a firearm for the shooting inside Agape Christian Fellowship Church which claimed the life of banker Andrea Lowe-Garwood. Bingham is scheduled to be sentenced on July 25. He is the second person to plead guilty for involvement in the January 30, 2021 incident that made national headlines. Leon Hinds, the driver of the vehicle in which Bingham escaped, is serving a six-year sentence for illegal possession of firearm after he pleaded guilty. Garwood’s stepson, Javan Garwood, is the third person facing criminal charges for his alleged involvement in the killing. His murder trial, which is expected to include evidence fromHines, is currently under way in the Trelawny Circuit Court before Chief Justice Bryan Sykes. Prosecutors disclosed in court on Monday that Binghamwas seated behind Lowe-Garwood inside the church. He fired four bullets that struck her before fleeing from the church and hopping into a waiting car that was being driven by Hinds. His cellular phone fell to the ground as he fled the scene. BUSY SUMMER FOR SANGSTER AIRPORT KILLER IN TRELAWNY CHURCH MURDER PLEADS GUILTY TRIAL OF TAXI OPERATOR ACCUSED OF KILLING AMERICAN MISSIONARIES BEGINS
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTUzNTI=