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Brought to you from the forthcoming book by renowned historian
Dr. Lennox Honychurch.
WIBS, Windward Islands Broadcasting Service (E)
From 1955 to the end of October 1971 Dominica's local radio service was operated by WIBS, a regional broadcasting network with headquarters in Grenada, inaugurated in 1955. Transmission took place locally on medium wave while the Eastern Caribbean was covered by short wave from a 5 KW transmitter. Dominica's transmitter was located at the Stock Farm. The first local studio was in a room in the old hospital on Bath Road and, when that building was destroyed by fire in 1965, it moved to a room behind the Public Library. The establishment of the station and the running costs for the first few years were provided by British Colonial Development and Welfare Funds (CDW). The Windward Islands of Dominica, Grenada, St. Vincent and St. Lucia shared the air time throughout the day with Dominica having a news time slot at 1.15 pm (a time that has been maintained up to today) and in the evening. It enabled much closer communication and news information exchange between the islands than today. The first WIBS announcer for Dominica was Mrs. Daphne Agar followed by Mrs. Mary Narodny and then Messrs. Francis Andre, Barnet Defoe and Jefferson 'Jeff' Charles. In the late 1960s Premier Eric Gairy of Grenada decided that he wanted his own national government radio station and WIBS fell apart with each island going its own way. Radio Dominica (now DBS) opened its new premises and went on the air, 1 November 1971 as WIBS came to an end.
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