Divestment and a new day

Karen Blair, Features Writer

In 1997, after 15 years at JBC, James was soon caught up in the whirlwind that had gripped the station. News had begun to spread that JBC was up for divestment. James points out that, with uncertainty looming over their future, it was difficult to motivate his team or employ new members.

The station was divested in 1997 and James' long and illustrious career in news suddenly came to a halt. He, like all the other senior managers, was not rehired by the new owners.

"For me, it was a blessing in disguise because it unlocked something in me that I didn't know existed. Because of how busy the station was and not being able to take vacation, my redundancy package reflected this. I took it all and decided to take 10 months to rest", James says.

After the 10 months of travelling and enjoying life with a new girlfriend, James began to realise that 'all good things must come to an end'.

"I wasn't the lazy type to simply sit down and twiddle my thumbs, so I began to seriously think about the next step. In January 1998, the deputy chairman of a major media company came to ask me to take over a certain newsroom, but I knew I didn't want to work in a newsroom ever again and suggested an innovative approach which he liked, but his board didn't, as the board thought I would 'make more money than the general manager'. Whatever I was doing this time had to be mine", James states.

At that time, JBC had become Super Supreme Television under the leadership of general manager, Marcia Forbes. James, who had now identified a lack of business news on local television, wrote to Forbes, expressing a desire to start a programme called 'The Business Day'.

She gave him the opportunity, and the show got off to an uncertain start. Being a novel idea, the advertising staff was unsure of how to sell it and very soon Forbes was writing to let James know she had to pull the programme.

But James had a vision and was determined.

"I told her I would continue to produce the programme for 'gas money' and accepted $500 on the days we could not get sponsorship", he says.

James then started to do personal advertising, listened to criticisms of the show, got additional training in broadcasting styles and improved the programme. On advice from a friend, he managed to secure sponsorship from a blue-chip company and, soon after, other companies literally lined up to be a part of 'The Business Day'.

Seeking to broaden his horizon, James confided in a friend, Monica Campbell, his desire to create a programme which focused on successes and failures of businesses in Jamaica. He, however, was a bit tardy and only got off to a start when Monica told him she had a sponsor for the programme. The sponsor was Doreen Frankson's Edgechem and 'The Business Review' was born in November 1998.

"I started to look at companies and individuals who succeeded in business through dogged determination. Among those we featured were Audrey Hinchcliffe, whom I dubbed the 'Queen of Clean'; the GraceKennedy/Unilever story; Audrey Marks and the Paymaster story; celebrated hospitality mogul and entrepreneur Butch Stewart, all-inclusive pioneer, John Issa, and many more, James says.

However, the feather in his cap came from interviewing the hugely popular, courageous and celebrated Heather Little-White who was shot and wounded by gunmen.

"I remember after airing her story of dogged determination, a friend of mine, Jean Lowrie-Chin, called to say someone who was going to commit suicide watched the programme and decided not to", says James. "That was an accurate barometer of whether or not the message I was trying to convey was reaching. I am a messenger."