Bahamas News
Bahamas Press Club 2014 to Hold Annual Media Awards on November 10th 2018
#Nassau, October 15, 2018 – Bahamas – During a press conference on October 13th at the British Colonial Hilton, the Bahamas Press Club 
2014 announced it would honour persons who have made contributions to the journalism and media profession in the country, during its annual media awards ceremony.
Now in its fourth year, under the theme of: “Celebrating 75 years of Bahamian Media: 1973-2018”, the ceremony is scheduled to take place on Saturday, November 10th at the British Colonial Hilton. Doors will open to a stunning black tie event, as the finest in Bahamian media grace the Governor’s Ballroom to receive accolades for their hard work.
President of The Bahamas Press Club 2014, Anthony Capron, said this year the club has designed a commemorative pin that will reflect the years 1973-2018. This pin will be awarded to 10 selected persons who were employed in the media at the time of Bahamian independence on July 10, 1973.
“We will again recognize a media pioneer. The recipient is well known and relatively still a young man and today, he and his newspaper have made an indelible mark on Bahamian journalism. He is Mr. Ivan Johnson, publisher of The Punch,” said Capron.
Mr. Capron said The Bahamas Press Club 2014 for the second time, will present the Person of the Year Award. Attendees at the award show will experience the big reveal on the night of the event as this recipient is kept a secret until that very night.
“This person is chosen by the Press Club, said Capron. It is a person who has been a perennial newsmaker over the course of the year (2018); and the news doesn’t always have to be good. Last year it was Prime Minister, the Hon. Hubert A. Minnis. When you hear the name and see the person at the banquet this year, you will all agree it is a well deserved honor.”
The recipient of The Etienne Dupuch Lifetime Achievement Award, sponsored by Royal Fidelity, is veteran broadcaster, Sir Charles Carter. Sir Charles, who has had a stellar media career since 1964, expressed his gratitude for such an honour, which is the highest of the media awards.
Sir Charles said being in the media has inspired him and he likes what has happened to the country as it relates to being able to tell a story.
“Find in your work the trigger, the love, that makes you want to tell the stories of this country in such a way that you cause young people to have a better idea about this country,” Sir Charles said.
The Bahamas Press Club 2014 Media Awards cover a wide range of categories honoring working Journalists who are experts at their craft. The deadline for submission of nominees is October 17th 2018.
The other standing awards are:
PAHO/WHO Excellence in Health Promotion Award
The Bahamas Press Club Student Media/Journalism Award
Eric Wilmott Award for Investigative Journalism
Leon Turnquest Award for Sports Print Journalism
Phil Smith Outstanding Sports Broadcast Journalism Award
Bursell Bradshaw Press Photographer of the Year Award
Kenneth N. Francis Award for Newspaper Design and Composition
- Anthony White Columnist of the Year Award
Cyril Stevenson Outstanding Political Journalism Award
Best TV Documentary Award
Best TV News Story Award
Best Editing for TV News Story or Documentary Award
Website of the Year Award
Social Media Award
Best Cinematography
Best Video Editing Award
Best in Photography
Best Producer Award
Best Producer Award Package
Best Newscast Award
Additional awards this year include the People’s Choice Awards. This segment will feature online poll voting where members of the public can vote for their favourites in each category. The online polls open October 29th to November 8th. The award categories are:
Best Radio Talk Show
Best Radio Talk Show Host
Best TV Talk Show
Best TV Talk Show Host
Best Radio Personality (inclusive of DJs and Radio Announcers)
A panel of judges, representing a balanced mixture of expertise in journalism and mass communications, will adjudicate the submissions. They are: Quincy Parker, Duke Wells, Ray Munnings, Ed Bethel and Paul Turnquest.
The Bahamas Press Club 2014 is grateful to welcome IL Cares Foundation & Verizon Media Group as title sponsors.
Branding Manager for IL Cares Foundation and Verizon Media Group, Aneka Stewart, said both of the organizations she represents understand the important role the media plays in developing a progressive society.
“We believe it is essential to not only highlight the work of journalists and those professions who guard the fourth estate, but to also salute them for their tireless commitment and unwavering efforts,” said Stewart.
Mr. Capron said The Bahamas Press Club 2014 is delighted to acknowledge other key sponsors such as Aliv, Bahamas Stripping Group of Companies, as well as continuing sponsors including: The Broadcasting Corporation of the Bahamas (ZNS), The Tribune Newspaper, The Nassau Guardian, PAHO, Caribbean Bottling Company, Summit Insurance, and many others who would get proper recognition leading up to and on the night of the awards ceremony.
Tickets are $150 and will be available for purchase on October 21st 2018.
Captions:
Header: The Bahamas Press Club 2014 will hold its Fourth Annual Media Awards on Saturday, November 10, 2018 at the British Colonial Hilton. A press conference was held Saturday, October 13 at the Hilton, during which executives outline the awards night’s programme. Also introduced was the Etienne Dupuch Lifetime Achievement Recipient, former broadcaster Sir Charles Carter. Sponsors pictured from right are Aneka Stewart, Brand Manager IL Cares Foundation & Verizon Media Group, Title Sponsor of the Media Awards; Sasha Lightbourn, Aliv Media Champion; Anthony Capron, President, The Bhaamas Press Club 2014; and Tanya McFall, PAHO.
Insert: Former broadcaster and newspaper general manager Sir Charles Carter is the recipient of The Etienne Dupuch Lifetime Achievement Award, which will be presented at The Bahamas Press Club Media Awards ceremony on Saturday, November 10, 2018 at the British Colonial Hilton. A press conference was held Saturday, October 13, 2018 at the Hilton for the announcement. Pictured are Michael Anderson, president, Royal Fidelity, sponsor of The Etienne Dupuch Lifetime Achievement Award; Sir Charles, and Anthony Capron, President, The Bahamas Press Club 2018.
(PHOTO/BAHAMAS PRESS CLUB 2014)
PM: Project delivers on promise and invests in youth, sports and national development
GRAND BAHAMA, The Bahamas — Calling it the fulfillment of a major commitment to the island, Prime Minister Philip Davis led the official groundbreaking for the Grand Bahama Aquatic Centre, a facility the government says will transform sports development and create new opportunities for young athletes.
Speaking at the Grand Bahama Sports Complex on February 12, the Prime Minister said the project represents more than bricks and mortar
— it is an investment in people, national pride and long-term economic activity. The planned complex will feature a modern 50-metre competition pool, designed to meet international standards for training and regional and global swim meets. Davis said the facility will give Bahamian swimmers a home capable of producing world-class performance while also providing a space for community recreation, learn-to-swim programmes and water safety training.
He noted that Grand Bahama has long produced outstanding athletes despite limited infrastructure and said the new centre is intended to correct that imbalance, positioning the island as a hub for aquatic sports and sports tourism.
The Prime Minister also linked the development to the broader national recovery and revitalisation of Grand Bahama, describing the project as part of a strategy to expand opportunities for young people, create jobs during construction and stimulate activity for small businesses once operational.
The Aquatic Centre, he said, stands as proof that promises made to Grand Bahama are being delivered.
The project is expected to support athlete development, attract competitions, and provide a safe, modern environment for residents to access swimming and water-based programmes for generations to come.
Angle by Deandrea Hamilton. Built with ChatGPT (AI). Magnetic Media — CAPTURING LIFE.
The Bahamas, February 15, 2026 – For the better part of three years, Bahamians have been told that major Afreximbank financing would help transform access to capital, rebuild infrastructure and unlock economic growth across the islands. The headline figures are large. The signing ceremonies are high profile. The language is ambitious. What remains far harder to see is the measurable impact in the daily lives of the people those announcements are meant to serve.
The Government’s push to secure up to $100 million from Afreximbank for roughly 200 miles of Family Island roads dates back to 2025. In
its February 11 disclosure, the bank outlined a receivables-discounting facility — a structure that allows a contractor to be paid early once work is completed, certified and invoiced, with the Government settling the bill later. It is not cash placed into the economy upfront. It does not, by itself, build a single mile of road. Every dollar depends on work first being delivered and approved.
The wider framework has been described as support for “climate-resilient and trade-enhancing infrastructure,” a phrase that, in practical terms, should mean projects that lower the cost of doing business, move people and goods faster, and keep the economy functioning. But for communities, that promise becomes real only when the projects are named, the standards are defined and a clear timeline is given for when work will begin — and when it will be finished.
Bahamians have seen this moment before.
In 2023, a $30 million Afreximbank facility for the Bahamas Development Bank was hailed as a breakthrough that would expand access to financing for local enterprise. It worked in one immediate and measurable way: it encouraged businesses to apply. Established, revenue-generating Bahamian companies responded to the call, prepared plans, and entered a process they believed had been capitalised to support growth. The unanswered question is how much of that capital has reached the private sector in a form that allowed those businesses to expand, hire and generate new economic activity.
Because development is not measured in the size of announcements.
It is measured in loans disbursed, projects completed and businesses expanded.
The pattern is becoming difficult to ignore. In June 2024, when Afreximbank held its inaugural Caribbean Annual Meetings in Nassau,
Grand Bahama was presented as the future home of an Afro-Caribbean marketplace said to carry tens of millions of dollars in investment. What was confirmed at that stage was a $1.86 million project-preparation facility — funding for studies and planning to make the development bankable, not construction financing. The larger build-out remains dependent on additional approvals, land acquisition and further capital.
This distinction — between financing announced and financing that produces visible, measurable outcomes — is now at the centre of the national conversation.
Because while the numbers grow larger on paper, entrepreneurs still describe access to capital as out of reach, and communities across the Family Islands are still waiting to see where the work will start.
And in an economy where stalled growth translates into lost opportunity, rising frustration and real social consequences, the gap between promise and delivery is no longer a communications issue.
It is an inability to convert announcements into outcomes.
Angle by Deandrea Hamilton. Built with ChatGPT (AI). Magnetic Media — CAPTURING LIFE.
A hardline strategy that reduced murders, gunfire, and collateral deaths
The Bahamas, February 8, 2026 – What happens when police stop routinely granting bail to high-risk suspects and aggressively execute outstanding warrants? In The Bahamas, the answer in 2025 was fewer murders, fewer gunshots, and safer communities.
The Royal Bahamas Police Force arrested 4,337 individuals on outstanding warrants last year, ensuring suspects were brought directly before the courts instead of being released back onto the streets. At the same time, police significantly curtailed the use of police bail for high-risk and repeat offenders, particularly those already entangled in violent disputes.
Police Commissioner Shanta Knowles said the shift was informed by hard lessons from previous years. Intelligence reviews showed that
many homicide victims were not random targets, but men already wanted by law enforcement and — critically — by other criminals. When released on bail, those individuals often became targets themselves, triggering retaliatory shootings that spilled into neighbourhoods, roadways and public spaces.
By keeping high-risk suspects in custody pending court appearances, police say they disrupted that cycle — removing both potential offenders and potential victims from the streets.
The impact was stark. Murders declined by 31 percent in 2025, falling from 120 in 2024 to 83, the largest percentage decrease in homicides since national tracking began in 1963 and the lowest murder count in nearly two decades.
Police leaders say the strategy also reduced the collateral damage that had increasingly alarmed communities. Innocent residents had been caught in “sprays of gunfire” as targeted attacks unfolded in residential areas, at traffic stops, and in public settings.
Gun-violence indicators reflected the change. Gunshot reports fell by 35 percent, while incidents detected by ShotSpotter technology declined by 29 percent, confirming that fewer shots were being fired across the country.
“Gunshots ringing out and cutting through our peaceful paradise were down remarkably,” Commissioner Knowles said, attributing the improvement to decisive enforcement, tighter bail practices, and sustained pressure on offenders.
Police also intensified enforcement against breach of bail conditions, charging and detaining more suspects than in any previous reporting period. Officers say the approach removed the opportunity for repeat offending while matters were before the courts.
Police leadership said the results go beyond statistics. By limiting bail for high-risk suspects and executing warrants at scale, the strategy saved lives, protected bystanders, and restored confidence in public safety.
In 2025, fewer people were hunted, fewer bullets were fired, and fewer families were left grieving — a shift police say was no accident, but the result of deliberate, hardline choices.
Angle by Deandrea Hamilton. Built with ChatGPT (AI). Magnetic Media — CAPTURING LIFE.
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