Distant Voices Near

Historical Globalization and Indian Radio in Trinidad and Tobago

Shaheed Nick Mohammed

• Publisher: The University of the West Indies Press
• Year: 2017
• eBook ISBN: 9789766406417
• Topic: Medios de comunicación y artes escénicas
• Subtopic: Radio

Distant Voices Near chronicles the development of the popular and contentious Indian radio media subsector in the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago from global historical perspectives and explores its implications for culture and national sentiment in the modern context. The work acknowledges the complex discourses surrounding ethnic and cultural identities in this diverse Caribbean nation where numerous groups coexist, among them the descendants of Indian indentured labourers.

Shaheed Nick Mohammed employs a media-history approach that recounts the emerging roles of modern communications technology and systems from the development of wireless telegraphy and early radio to the use of streaming and social media and the interplay of social and cultural forces along the way. Within this framework, he also maps the evolution of the Indian radio content genre into its own media subsector and into a business and marketing concern across national media while at the same time boasting global reach.

In Distant Voices Near, we learn of international and regional influences as listeners in Trinidad would tune into broadcasts from abroad before local stations were available. Among these influences were international broadcasts from All-India Radio and broadcasts from British Guiana, where descendants of Indian indentured labourers first introduced pay-for-play song request programmes on their local stations.

Using documentary research, interviews with programmers and listeners and content analysis, Mohammed examines the precedents of Indian radio in Trinidad, its advent and development, and its emergence into a global presence through live streaming and social media.

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Contents
• List of Abbreviations
• Introduction
• 1 Trinidad and Tobago: Historical-Global Developments
• 2 Culture and Globalization
• 3 Early Radio in the Caribbean
• 4 Media and Indian Content in Trinidad and Tobago
• 5 103 FM and Indian Radio Stations in Trinidad and Tobago
• 6 Media, Religions and Radio Jaagriti
• 7 The “Corporate” Mainstream
• 8 Hybrid Visions: WIN 101, Heritage and Shakti
• 9 The Global Dimensions
• Conclusion: Contextualizing Indian Radio
• References
• Index