Patrick Williams honoured for his service to media and communications

WESTERN BUREAU:

Patrick Williams, the chief executive officer of Montego Bay-based radio station More 91.7 FM, has established himself as the western city’s chief local radio broadcaster after 31 years of experience in media and communication, including past stints with stations like HOT 102 and Links FM.

For his service to the media industry, with which he has worked since age 12, Williams, 43, was awarded the Spirit of Independence Award for his contribution to St James in the field of media and communication during this year’s 58th Independence Civic and Awards Ceremony in Montego Bay.

“I feel very proud to know that somebody has actually seen what I have been doing, and having started from the tender age of 12, being in media for 30 years, and now seeing it pay off, I think I made a good choice,” Williams said concerning his award and the honour that came with it.

More FM was launched in 2011 while Williams was working with Links FM, where he has been employed since 2004. He operated his radio station out of his home at Glendevon, before later relocating the station to its current site at Church Street in downtown Montego Bay.

LOCAL RADIO STATION

According to Williams, More FM was born out of a desire that he had to give Montego Bay a locally based radio station. That desire started during his earlier tenure at JBC Radio West, now HOT 102, in the early 1990s.“More FM was based on a concern that I had when I was at JBC Radio West, because with the new development of media and with so many radio stations coming in, Montego Bay was left behind. We did not have a community radio station, something that could bring you the highlights of what was happening in Montego Bay,” said Williams.

“From then, it stuck in my head that I needed to do something like that, and I said that wherever I would go, I wanted to start a community radio station and build my community of Montego Bay. I could be in Kingston, but I chose not to go there; I wanted to stay here and build Montego Bay,” added Williams.

Williams’ media expertise has also carried him overseas, as in 2017 and 2019 he served as Jamaica’s cultural ambassador to Wuhan, China, where he participated in a seminar for news media personnel at Beijing’s Research and Training Institute of National Radio and Television Administration.

Patrick Prendergast, director of The University of the West Indies, Mona, Western Jamaica Campus, praised Williams’ success at giving a voice to the local community through radio.

“One of the things he [Williams] has been involved in is using the community medium forum, and specifically community radio, to advance the voices that come from the community, giving a space that would not normally be there in traditional radio. That is one of the positives coming out of the More FM experience and his leadership,” said Prendergast.