Julian Rogers

Julian Ernest Rogers, born of Guyanese parentage in Bridgetown, Barbados (11 November 1947- ), is an eminent Caribbean broadcaster and journalist, with over forty-five years' experience as broadcast manager, television and radio host and producer, publisher, trainer, lecturer, media consultant and public relations practitioner. Renowned for his biting interviews, he is known as "the Caribbean man" for his work across the region’s media landscape of television, radio and print, and is particularly recognized for his record of building national radio stations, notably in Barbados, St Kitts & Nevis, and Antigua & Barbuda.

In the 1970s and 1980s, Rogers pioneered regional news-gathering for radio in the Caribbean. His ground-breaking work in radio branding, programming, production and presentation, as well as in television, has established his reputation as one of the most respected media practitioners in the region. His TV talk show, "Talking Caribbean" (1998–2000) - featuring hour-long interviews with guests of all stripes, from politicians to entertainers - was a new concept in regional broadcasting, "the Caribbean Broadcasting Union’s first attempt at live interactive television".^[1] In 2002 Rogers and fellow broadcaster Julius Gittens were the first two Barbadians to be accredited under the CARICOM Skilled Nationals programme, granting freedom of movement within the Caribbean community.^[2][3]

He was also the publisher of the Sunday Scoop newspaper, founded in 2004 in Antigua & Barbuda.

Education

Julian Rogers was educated at Cooperative High School, Barbados (1960–64), where he was a Foundation Scholarship winner. He attended the University of the West Indies, Caribbean Institute of Mass Media at Mona, Jamaica (1974-5), on a UNESCO scholarship, receiving a Diploma in Mass Communications for his thesis "The creation of an exchange regime for Caribbean radio and television programming and production", which was later converted into a UNESCO-funded project for the Caribbean Broadcasting Union. He also attended Syracuse University (1980) as a member of the International Media Program, and was on attachment to WCCO television and radio in Minneapolis.

Broadcast and media career

Julian Rogers began his career as a broadcaster in March 1964, when he joined the Barbados Rediffusion Service as a scriptwriter, eventually becoming a radio announcer, outside broadcast commentator and producer. His forays into television began in 1969 with his hosting of one of the first game shows in the region, which served as his launch into the new medium that had only just started in Barbados three years earlier.

Moving to Monserrat in 1970, he became an announcer for Radio Antilles, hosting their morning show. Some years later, as Manager of their English Service (1976-7), he reformatted the station and established the Caribbean correspondents' news network, a forerunner of the Caribbean News Agency. The station delivered breaking news of the Caribbean for much of the 1970s and 1980s.

In 1971, he was appointed Programme Director of ZDK Radio, in Antigua & Barbuda, establishing the country's first non-government-owned commercial radio station. Until March 1972 he hosted the morning show and anchored the major evening newscast.

Back in Barbados, he worked for the Caribbean Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) (1977-9) as a television news anchor, hosting and producing programmes such as "Understanding" (with young panelists including a future prime minister of Barbados, David Thompson), "Window on the World" and "Yearenders". As a television host, Rogers has been acknowledged with setting standards of competence for the Caribbean comparable with those of Larry King in the USA.^[4] During a subsequent stint at CBC (1981-2) he acted as the company's Programme Manager and Head of Productions.

He worked for eight years, from 1982 to 1990, as Programme Director for Barbados Rediffusion's "Voice of Barbados", which he was responsible for rebranding.

From 1993 to 1995 he was General Manager of Prime Radio 106, a subsidiary of Caribbean Communications Network (CCN) in Trinidad & Tobago, for which he then became an anchor on TV6 (1995-8). He became a pioneer of breakfast television in the country, launching Trinidad's first ever live morning television talk show with producer Natalie Williams. In 1998 Rogers found himself at the centre of a national controversy when the then Prime Minister of Trinidad & Tobago, Basdeo Panday, refused to renew his work permit, leading to widespread protests by many, who felt the move was motivated by the fact that guests critical of the government had been among those featured on Rogers’ popular early morning current affairs show, “Morning Edition”.^[5][6]

In May 1998 he returned to Barbados, where he produced and hosted the country's first morning television show, "Wake Up Caribbean", for CBC.^[7]

He went on to establish the first independent radio station in St Kitts, Winn FM, in 2000, and the following year supervised the setting up of Antigua & Barbuda's first independent radio station.

As Chief Content Officer and a member of the executive group of Caribbean New Media Group Limited (2007–08), Julian Rogers directed the development of content for the most modern national television, radio and new media company in the Caribbean.^[8] He also served as their Head of News and Current Affairs.

Latterly based in Antigua & Barbuda, where in 2001 he had served as consultant in the setting up of Observer Radio, Julian Rogers is currently General Manager of the Observer Media Group, under the chairmanship of Winston Derrick. He oversees the operations of two radio stations – Observer Radio and Hitz FM – as well as the Daily Observer newspaper, while continuing to develop strategies for international and Caribbean-wide media coverage.^[9]

Since 1975 Julian Rogers has also worked as an independent consultant to both government and private sector throughout the Caribbean region, including Guyana, Belize, Barbados, Jamaica, Montserrat, Antigua & Barbuda, St Kitts & Nevis, St Maarten and Anguilla. He was Corporate Communications Consultant for LIME (Landline, Internet, Mobile, Entertainment), serving as a member of the consulting team working on the transformation of the 13-country business units into one pan-Caribbean company (June 2008-February 2009). He has served as adviser to several regional and international institutions on media development and to the University of the West Indies on media training.

As a trainer, he has been employed by "Voice of America", and conducted a study of Caribbean television and radio content suitable for exchange under the aegis of the Caribbean Broadcasting Union and UNESCO.

In addition, Julian Rogers has served on the Advisory Council to the Prime Ministerial Sub-Committee on the CARICOM Single Market and Economy and sits on the Regional Advisory Board of the Jamaica-based Caribbean Institute for Media and Communication (CARIMAC).

His live broadcasts have often broken new ground for Caribbean television and radio, as with his 2007 coverage of the Trinidad & Tobago general elections, "CNews - Campaign 41,"^[10][11] and his anchoring of the live broadcast covering the inaugural ceremony of the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ), which took place in Trinidad & Tobago in April 2005. In November 2010 he commentated at the state funeral of Barbadian Prime Minister David Thompson.^[12]

Notes

1. ^ "July 10, 1998 'Talk Caribbean' debuts on Monday" http://edition.channel5belize.com/archives/24653
2. ^ "Rogers, Gittens first Bajans to receive Caricom skills certificate" http://www.broadstreetjournalbarbados.com/node/262
3. ^ http://gittensj.blogspot.com/2007/12/flashback-2002-adventures-in-radio.html
4. ^ http://watchttmedia.blogspot.com/2008/07/giggling-and-jesse-jackson.html
5. ^ “Attacks on the Press in 1998 – Trinidad and Tobago” http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/country,,CPJ,ANNUALREPORT,TTO,,47c5658b23,0.html
6. ^ "The Caribbean Media: Freedom and Understanding" http://www.unesco.org/cpp/uk/declarations/caribbean.pdf
7. ^ http://www.bankingonthefuturesummit.com/2007/speakers_popup_2007.html
8. ^ http://www.trinidadexpress.com/news/Sell_CNMG__says_ex-journalist_Cuffie-107113958.html
9. ^ http://www.bbc.co.uk/caribbean/news/story/2005/08/050815_journalism.shtml
10. ^ http://www.islandmix.com/backchat/f6/live-election-coverage-169669/
11. ^ "Campaign 41 launches" http://www.allyuh.com/blog/2007/11/04/campaign-41-launches/
12. ^ http://www.nationnews.com/mobile/view/just-like-it-is-well-done-barbados/

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Name	Rogers, Julian
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Date of birth	11 November 1947
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