Bahamas
State Media Monitor maps one state-media organisation in The Bahamas: the Broadcasting Corporation of The Bahamas (BCB), which operates the ZNS network. It is classified State-Controlled (SC). The defining feature of the Bahamian case is not the size of the state’s media footprint, which is modest, but the extensive legal authority that the executive holds over the country’s one state broadcaster.
ZNS-TV’s two transmitters, serving Nassau and Freeport, are the country’s only domestic over-the-air television stations. BCB operates within a broader media environment that includes private radio stations, cable television, digital media and an active private press. Commonwealth election observers described private broadcasting and print media in The Bahamas as vibrant, although they also recorded concerns about relationships between some private-media owners and the main political parties.
ZNS originated as a state-owned radio service in 1936, partly to provide hurricane warnings and government information to the country’s widely dispersed islands. The present Broadcasting Corporation replaced its predecessor commission in 1972, and television broadcasting was introduced in 1977.
What places BCB firmly in the State-Controlled category is the statutory authority exercised over it by the executive. The corporation consists of five board members appointed by the Governor-General. BCB’s official institutional history states that these appointments are made on the advice of the Prime Minister and that the board reports to the cabinet minister responsible for broadcasting. Board members hold office at the Governor-General’s pleasure.
The permeability of the boundary between the state broadcaster and the governing party has been visible in practice. Clint Watson became BCB’s general manager in June 2023 immediately after serving as press secretary to Prime Minister Philip Davis. His appointment prompted the Public Media Alliance to raise concerns about the transparency of the process and the potential effect of his previous government role on BCB’s independence.
While leading BCB, Watson sought the governing Progressive Liberal Party’s nomination for the Southern Shores constituency. He was not selected as a candidate, but the episode generated further questions about the political neutrality of the state broadcaster’s management.
In April 2026, two BCB board members resigned after the board’s decision to keep Watson away from the broadcaster until after the general election was reportedly overridden. The board had described the arrangement as necessary to preserve transparency and public confidence following Watson’s attempt to obtain the PLP nomination. Correspondence reported by The Tribune indicated that Prime Minister Davis personally told Watson that he could return to work immediately, prompting the two resignations.
Following the May election, Watson left BCB and was appointed to the government benches in the Senate. He was subsequently sworn in as Parliamentary Secretary in the Office of the Prime Minister. Veteran journalist Opal Roach, previously BCB’s deputy general manager for news and digital media, was appointed Acting General Manager on 29 May 2026.
Responsibility for relations with BCB, radio and television was assigned after the election to the Office of the Prime Minister. McKell Bonaby was appointed Minister of State in that office with responsibility for broadcasting and BCB.
The wider Bahamian media environment is comparatively pluralistic. The Commonwealth Observer Group for the May 2026 general election found that press freedom was generally respected and that media across television, radio, print and digital platforms actively covered the campaign. It specifically described the vibrancy of private broadcasters and the country’s print media as commendable.
The observers nevertheless recorded “public disquiet” surrounding governance arrangements at BCB in the period before the election. They reiterated the recommendation made by the 2021 Commonwealth mission that ZNS ensure equitable access and balanced coverage for all parties and candidates and encouraged the introduction of a clear and enforceable regulatory framework for election coverage. The mission did not itself conclude that ZNS’s 2026 coverage favoured the governing party.
The mission also reported concerns about close relationships between some private-media owners and the main political parties and the resulting perceptions of biased reporting. It recommended that private media consider creating an independent media association and adopting a media code of conduct. The national environment is therefore pluralistic but not free from concerns about political affiliations and influence.