Dear Editor,

I read with interest Hazelin Williams’ letter, “Come on, Jamaica”, published in the June 27 Observer.

Like her, I waited in eager anticipation for NBC’s airing of the programme, and like you I was very dismayed at the final presentation but for very different reasons.

I had watched the live presentation on TVJ’s Smile Jamaica, It’s Morning Time, and had been filled with pride at the excellent quality of the programme, not only technically but also at the professionalism of the presenters which was certainly on par with the women from NBC.The show began promptly at 6:00 am with our local hosts Simon, Neville, Simone and Carlette who were joined by Kathie Lee and Hoda at approximately 7:00am. There were great vibes throughout the three hours of the show.

Our country was resplendent in her beauty as Mother Nature cooperated and provided an absolutely breath-taking morning. All those interviewed, whether ministers of government, the man selling coconuts, the craft vendor, entertainers, etc, all represented Jamaica well.

Imagine my horror when I saw the watered down ( I refuse to say edited) version of the show! I have no doubt that it is difficult to condense a three-hour show into 15 minutes and still retain the integrity and spirit of the original show. However, I was naive enough to believe that what was presented would highlight the positive aspects of the experience.

The comments made by Kathie Lee particularly, were ungracious and obviously exaggerated. Anyone who can say that the prime minister called to instruct the station to extend the show by an additional half an hour is either joking or simple-minded! It was a weak attempt to be funny, but I don’t think that she would expect that President Obama would have called the Today Show, so why would Prime Minister Golding who has a country to run, do that? She also made a snide remark about “a little-known programme” referring to Smile Jamaica. It may well be the case now that the programme is streamed live throughout the world, that their viewership is more that the Kathie Lee and Hoda segment of the Today Show. In addition, she suggested that the local show was Jamaica’s attempt to mimic the Today Show. All of this just demonstrated a condescending and patronising attitude on her part, not just to the station but to the country.

TVJ, under the leadership of Ms Kay Osborne, is a professionally run station with very high standards, and Smile Jamaica, It’s Morning Time continues to educate and entertain discerning Jamaicans each weekday. While I understand Ms Williams’ disappointment, I believe her criticism of the station and the presenters was harsh and betrays our tendency to denigrate our own.

I invite Ms Williams to watch Smile Jamaica as it is streamed live each weekday from 6:00 am to 8.30 am (I assume that you are in the US, so it may start an hour earlier) on televisionjamaica.com.

Try it and you will be hooked!

Marie Miller

idler@cwjamaica.com