Rosamond Brown’s meditations

ROSAMOND Brown gives a throaty laugh when reminded that it’s been 40 years since she made her radio début on Capital Stereo , a hip dial that became FAME FM . Now station manager at Kool 97 FM in Kingston, the veteran broadcaster says her line of work is serious business.

Kool 97 FM turned 20 years old last month, and though celebrations to acknowledge the milestone were kept pretty low-key, it is her second innings as station manager, her first turn at bat being from 2001 to 2005.

Brown returned to the fold in 2019 after an extended period at community stations including Rootz FM and Abeng FM. Like Kool itself, she believes she has grown, as a broadcaster and manager.

“I want to think of myself as a very responsive manager. Responsive to all our target groups, responsive to staff needs, responsive to staff welfare, needs of advertisers and responsive to needs of the listeners. So, yes, that’s how I have evolved as a manager,” Brown said.

At the time of her interview in September, administrators at Kool received good news. The All Media Survey conducted by respected pollster Don Anderson, showed they were second only to Radio Jamaica in listenership in the Kingston Metropolitan Region, and sixth islandwide.

There were no statistics showing what makes the station so popular, but Brown believes the answer is simple.

“It’s maybe the only radio station you’ll listen to and never get embarrassed, the music is always palatable and tasteful. At the same time, we were in a situation where people were listening but not necessarily buying,” she noted. “Now, we are at a point where advertisers are paying attention to us.”

The media landscape Kingston-born Rosamond Brown entered in 1981 was not as packed or competitive. After graduating from St Andrew High School, she did an internship at Jamaica Information Service followed by studies at the Caribbean School of Media and Communication.

An affiliate of Radio Jamaica, Capital Stereo was the launching pad for a group of talented broadcasters including François St Juste, Norman Martin and Michael Thompson. Brown was one of the stalwarts who helped develop the station that morphed into F AME FM, which played mainly pop music.

The female presence was also not as pronounced today as her early years on radio. Marie Garth at Radio Jamaica was arguably the biggest star on the airwaves in the 1970s but disc jockeys at that station and the rival Jamaica Broadcasting Corporation were overwhelmingly male.

Rosamond Brown is still on the airwaves. On Sunday, she hosts Kool Meditations, during which she plays “uplifting music”, anything from Jimmy Cliff’s We All Are One to Oh Happy Day by the Edwin Hawkins Singers.

“It’s not a Christian programme, although we do play gospel. The idea is to get people off to a positive start for the day,” she said.