TAYLOR
THE PUBLIC Broadcasting Corporation of Jamaica (PBCJ) could begin broadcasting by August this year.
Minister of Information Senator Burchell Whiteman made the announcement yesterday at a function to install members of the Commission's board at Jamaica House.
The 15-member board is headed by Dr. Orville Taylor, a sociology lecturer on the Mona campus of the University of the West Indies.
Senator Whiteman said the PBC will have a television and radio component and
will produce programmes that "present images of
the best of Jamaica's history, heritage, traditions, culture, film, arts and sports."
The minister stressed that the board of PBCJ will operate independently of the government and noted that the programming content will not be directed by the government.
Senator Whiteman disclosed that the government will not be providing funding for the
commission, and that $25 million has already been acquired for its funding.
Dr. Taylor, in accepting his appointment, said the media have to be reclassified as the
primary source of socialisation as a large number of parents work long hours and television babysits their children. As a result, he said, the board's work in determining what goes into the content of the programmes to be aired on PBCJ is extremely important.
