The centrality of self-reliant and participatory approaches to media planning in the Caribbean: An analysis of the television programming framework of Barbados

Abstract

Policy approaches that advance ideals of self-reliance and equitable participation in planning, while emphasizing the centrality of cultural autonomy to full development, are most often lauded by development scholars as the most emancipatory options for emerging societies. Such perspectives are relevant to the discussion of the media planning environment of the English-speaking Caribbean, especially within the television area where overall dispro portionate amount of foreign programming is perceived by some to contribute to the erosion of indigenous cultural character. These concerns have prompted many leaders throughout the region to re-examine existing policies and systems of control, and to consider appropriate alternatives. This article examines the television programming framework of the country of Barbados, and assesses the extent to which endogenous capacity exists for the development of alternative policy approaches that engender self-reliance and equitable participation in media planning. Based on field research conducted in Barbados in 1992, this examines how key sectors influence the nature and direction of television programming policy.