60 years of broadcasting not only shows prestige but points to consistency, commitment and excellence. RJR 94 FM has had far more than a half century of being in the home, hearts and minds of listeners … the family station and social conscience ofJamaicans at home and abroad… will continue its mandate ofbeing most trusted, credible, and consistent.
November 17,1939 saw the beginning of broadcasting in Jamaica and indirectly the subsequent birth of Radio Jamaica. On this day Governer Sir. Arthur Richards made the first official radio broadcast over station VP5PZ. Radio Pioneer, John F. Grinan then acceded to Governor Richards’ request to hand over station VP5PZ
Station VP5PZ later became ZQI with the government assuming full responsibil¬ity. With financial constraints and expensive operations, the government decided that it could no longer absorb the cost of the station…
On July 9, 1950, Jamaica Broadcasting Company took over station ZQI’s opera¬tions and the new commercial station took on the name “Radio Jamaica”. The company then started its rediffusion service in 1951 and this led to yet another change… Radio Jamaica became known as RJR which at the time was an abbreviation for Radio Jamaica and Rediffusion -representing the two business interests of the company.
August 1951 saw another big move for RJR, when the station moved from its original Seaview Avenue location to what was then described as “The modem air conditioned and excellently equipped studio premises’ at 32 Lyndhurst Road. Another monumental move happened in 1953 when frequency modulated trans¬mitters were installed at Coleyville and Tinsoen Pen, making Radio Jamaica the first station in the British Commonwealth to broadcast regular scheduled pro¬grammes on the FM band.
Rediffusion was a wired speaker service that carried RJR’s programme to sub¬scribers throughout the nineteen and a quarter hours of radio broadcasting and continued throughout the night after radio “signed off’ at midnight with recorded uninterrupted music. The advent of transmitter radios caused a decline in the demand for the rediffusion service and so it was axed in 1968. The Jamaica Broadcasting Company took on other ventures to fulfill other demands like their “reditune background music service” for hotels and offices but no one can deny the impact that RJR made on Jamaica. The nation went from being a visually informed one that relied heavily on print to an aurally-informed one.
RJR was entrusted to cover the entire island with radio broadcasting. Wirelessly receiving sets were set up in about 200 designated listening posts throughout the island. So people gathered at schools, police stations and village stores to get a taste of Real Jamaican Radio. The move to grant the license to Radio Jamaica also included that it would become a commercial radio station, so radio time would attract a cost that advertisers would pay according to the time used for their advertisements.
RJR developed into the nation’s primary source of communication through programmed music, regular newscasts, drama, discussions, concerts and other forms of entertainment. When the government decided to operate its own public broadcasting station that would assume the name Jamaica Broadcasting Corporation… Radio Jamaica was formally changed to Radio Jamaica Limited.
RJR 94 FM remains on its continued campaign to please you; it’s a sixty year practice turned perfection of leading the marketplace with the most credible and listened to news and sports information on Jamaican Radio, keeping it global via streaming on www.radiojamaica.com and other international synergies.
The leading morning programme, the leading talk programme, entertainment programmes and social conscience programming. In this our sixtieth year, we promise to continue being there in times of national self-actualization and redefinition, through natural and man made disasters and moments of collective national pride, in all major instances of development, we pledge to continue to provide balanced, unbiased information that is trustworthy and appropriate at all times.