The Bahamas Press Club is set to host its annual Media Awards Ceremony under the theme “Celebrating 45 years of Bahamian media.”
The press club intends to honour the industry’s brightest minds and pay tribute to those that paved the way.
It has been announced that 10 individuals employed in the media, at the time of independence, will receive a pin designed to reflect on the years 1973 to 2018.
The Lifetime Achievement honouree this year will be veteran broadcaster Mr. Charles Carter.
Mr. Carter has been on the air since the 1960’s hosting the “Young Bahamians Show” on ZNS Radio.
With the advent of television, he hosted a series entitled “Focus”.
Now, some years later, he is now the owner of his own station.
Given that he will not be able to attend the festivities on November 10th, he gave brief remarks this past Saturday.
He said, “I got into broadcasting as a result of a General Manager by the name of Rusty Bethel, who along with another gentleman that came in from England, were trying to develop the Broadcasting Cooperation of The Bahamas and bring in new voices.”
He said he heard the ad and his grandmother suggested he take a break from studying law with his uncle and give broadcasting a try.
He added, “I went up to ZNS, they gave me an opportunity, and I started the next day, and its been love ever since that.”
Mr. Carter said he also realized that his love for the profession pushed him to want to do things far greater than him, adding that he hopes the younger generation of media is inspired to do the same.
He said the reason he did the Young Bahamian Show was because there was an abundance of talented young Bahamians in the country that needed a platform.
He said that from that more and more Bahamians began to realize how talented they really are, also taking credit for the popularity of The Beginning of The End’s “Funky Nassau”.
Mr. Carter also expressed his view that Bahamians do not tell their own stories as well as they should, suggesting that Bahamians ought to make room for more heroes in the country, no matter where they are in the world.
He said, “there are Bahamian abroad who are doing very well from Academia to Hollywood. They are doing everything!”
He added, “We used to be so proud of our roots and that’s when we created roots that made us proud. We must nurture the future generations of our country or we’re going to lose our country.”
The Bahamas Press Club Media Awards, a black tie event with all the trimmings, kicks off on November 10th in the Governor’s ballroom, at the British Colonial Hilton.
