While other media may rule elsewhere, these are still radio days in Jamaica. A strong oral tradition brought over by African slaves, low incomes, love of music and distrust of authority are all considered factors in radio's popularity in Jamaica. These days, the freewheeling medium increasingly is an outlet for frustrations with politicians' misdeeds and the government's inability to stem violence and crime or ease poverty. The island of about 2.5 million people has 1.9 million radios - the highest ratio in the Caribbean and much higher than in many developed countries. By contrast, government figures show only 330,000 television sets.
Newspaper readership is relatively low, and Internet use is limited.
Radio's power was highlighted during a recent uproar over the political violence of the 1970s, a time when Jamaica's two main political parties organized and armed residents in poor neighborhoods during a power struggle. A bout of national soul-searching was set in motion when former politicians confessed on the radio to their misdeeds during that era. People get to vent their frustrations, whether at the water commission, the condition of the roads or the politicians,'' says Aggrey Brown, a communications professor at the University of the West Indies. Experts say Jamaica's love affair with radio can be traced to the strong oral tradition among African slaves brought over by the Spanish and British to work on sugar and coffee estates. After emancipation in 1831, news spread among a largely illiterate population by word of mouth.