June 20, 2008
BELIZE DIARY: Belize's Channel 5 Sold to Controversial British Peer
By David M. Kinchen
Special to Huntingtonnews.net
Belize City, Belize -- British billionaire Michael Ashcroft, owner of Belize Telemedia Ltd (BTL) took over Channel 5 TV on Tuesday, June 17, 2008. and Amalia Mai, former Belize Times editor and close friend of People's United Party leader Johnny Briceņo, is replacing Stewart Krohn as the company's Chief Executive Officer and news director.
In February, Belizeans voted out the PUP administration of Prime Minister Said Musa -- in power since 1998 -- electing Dean Barrow of the United Democratic Party as the nation's first black prime minister.
BTL, which has acquired majority ownership of Great Belize Productions Limited, the parent company of Channel 5, said in a news release that the transaction was in keeping with BTL's strategic objectives "to expand the current range of services develop partnerships, and expand beyond the national borders as opportunities present themselves."
It sounds like just another business acquisition, but 62-year-old Baron Ashcroft -- he was named a life peer in March 2000 and sits in the British House of Lords -- is controversial both in his native Britain and in his adopted nation of Belize. He grew to love the English speaking Central American country when his father served as a diplomat in the then British colony of British Honduras. Belize became independent in 1981 and is a member of the British Commonwealth.
On Wednesday, June 18, 2008, opponents of Ashcroft held a march against Ashcroft in Belize City. The midday march was organized by a group calling itself the Committee to Oust Lord Ashcroft (COLA). The march, which attracted about 300 protesters, was held in downtown Belize City, in front of Belize Bank headquarters.
Belize Bank, the country's oldest, is controlled by Ashcroft. The protest was covered extensively -- and fairly -- by Channel 5. It was directed at Belize Bank and a complex transaction involving a US $10 million transaction involving Venezuela, Taiwan, and the bank. In addition to Channel 5's coverage, competitor Channel 7 also devoted extensive resources to the protest:
http://www.7newsbelize.com/sstory.php?nid=11461
According to Belize Telemedia's Business Development Manager Karen Bevans, Channel 5 will be run as a separate and distinct entity.
Ambassador Mai has been named to replace Managing Director Stewart Krohn, who led the company since its inception in 1983.
Mai, the new Channel 5 CEO and news director, said the move presents new challenges and opportunities at Channel 5 that will expand viewership nationwide and provide a wider variety of local programming and more in-depth coverage of the issues affecting Belizeans.
Krohn, who founded Great Belize Enterprises in 1983, remains a consultant to the company. His high-end resort development on the Placencia Peninsula, CocoPlum, was not included in the transaction with BTL.
Krohn told Channel 5 staffers that he had full confidence that the combination of Ambassador Mai's energy and Telemedia's willingness to invest long-term resources in the growth of the station would produce great results.
In March 2000, Ashcroft was appointed as a life with the title Baron Ashcroft, of Chichester in the County of West Sussex. His appointment to the House of Lords was controversial at the time, particularly because of his business and political interests in Belize. He was nominated by Conservative party leader William Hague on the condition that he became a UK resident. Ashcroft then announced that he intended to take the title "Baron Ashcroft of Belize", a suggestion that infuriated his political opponents. He later claimed this had been a joke, and his title was created as simply Baron Ashcroft.
Krohn formed Great Belize Productions, a video and distribution company, in 1983. GBP would eventually grow to produce a number of informative documentaries about Belize. He applied for and received a television license in 1991, forming what is now Channel 5.
In an interview in the country's major newspaper, Amandala, Krohn told the newspaper's readers to have an open mind about the new ownership. "See what the television station puts out there. If you like it, watch it. If you don't to watch it, don't watch it. It won't survive if it doesn't serve the public."
I called Krohn at his home in Placencia and asked if congratulations were in order. He answered in the affirmative. Krohn was born in the U.S. and came to Belize in the early 1970s. He has dual citizenship, U.S. and Belize, and has been honored for his fair and balanced coverage of the news in Belize.
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BELIZE DIARY: Belize's Channel 5 Sold to Controversial British Peer
By David M. Kinchen
Special to Huntingtonnews.net
Belize City, Belize -- British billionaire Michael Ashcroft, owner of Belize Telemedia Ltd (BTL) took over Channel 5 TV on Tuesday, June 17, 2008. and Amalia Mai, former Belize Times editor and close friend of People's United Party leader Johnny Briceņo, is replacing Stewart Krohn as the company's Chief Executive Officer and news director.
In February, Belizeans voted out the PUP administration of Prime Minister Said Musa -- in power since 1998 -- electing Dean Barrow of the United Democratic Party as the nation's first black prime minister.
BTL, which has acquired majority ownership of Great Belize Productions Limited, the parent company of Channel 5, said in a news release that the transaction was in keeping with BTL's strategic objectives "to expand the current range of services develop partnerships, and expand beyond the national borders as opportunities present themselves."
It sounds like just another business acquisition, but 62-year-old Baron Ashcroft -- he was named a life peer in March 2000 and sits in the British House of Lords -- is controversial both in his native Britain and in his adopted nation of Belize. He grew to love the English speaking Central American country when his father served as a diplomat in the then British colony of British Honduras. Belize became independent in 1981 and is a member of the British Commonwealth.
On Wednesday, June 18, 2008, opponents of Ashcroft held a march against Ashcroft in Belize City. The midday march was organized by a group calling itself the Committee to Oust Lord Ashcroft (COLA). The march, which attracted about 300 protesters, was held in downtown Belize City, in front of Belize Bank headquarters.
Belize Bank, the country's oldest, is controlled by Ashcroft. The protest was covered extensively -- and fairly -- by Channel 5. It was directed at Belize Bank and a complex transaction involving a US $10 million transaction involving Venezuela, Taiwan, and the bank. In addition to Channel 5's coverage, competitor Channel 7 also devoted extensive resources to the protest:
http://www.7newsbelize.com/sstory.php?nid=11461
According to Belize Telemedia's Business Development Manager Karen Bevans, Channel 5 will be run as a separate and distinct entity.
Ambassador Mai has been named to replace Managing Director Stewart Krohn, who led the company since its inception in 1983.
Mai, the new Channel 5 CEO and news director, said the move presents new challenges and opportunities at Channel 5 that will expand viewership nationwide and provide a wider variety of local programming and more in-depth coverage of the issues affecting Belizeans.
Krohn, who founded Great Belize Enterprises in 1983, remains a consultant to the company. His high-end resort development on the Placencia Peninsula, CocoPlum, was not included in the transaction with BTL.
Krohn told Channel 5 staffers that he had full confidence that the combination of Ambassador Mai's energy and Telemedia's willingness to invest long-term resources in the growth of the station would produce great results.
In March 2000, Ashcroft was appointed as a life with the title Baron Ashcroft, of Chichester in the County of West Sussex. His appointment to the House of Lords was controversial at the time, particularly because of his business and political interests in Belize. He was nominated by Conservative party leader William Hague on the condition that he became a UK resident. Ashcroft then announced that he intended to take the title "Baron Ashcroft of Belize", a suggestion that infuriated his political opponents. He later claimed this had been a joke, and his title was created as simply Baron Ashcroft.
Krohn formed Great Belize Productions, a video and distribution company, in 1983. GBP would eventually grow to produce a number of informative documentaries about Belize. He applied for and received a television license in 1991, forming what is now Channel 5.
In an interview in the country's major newspaper, Amandala, Krohn told the newspaper's readers to have an open mind about the new ownership. "See what the television station puts out there. If you like it, watch it. If you don't to watch it, don't watch it. It won't survive if it doesn't serve the public."
I called Krohn at his home in Placencia and asked if congratulations were in order. He answered in the affirmative. Krohn was born in the U.S. and came to Belize in the early 1970s. He has dual citizenship, U.S. and Belize, and has been honored for his fair and balanced coverage of the news in Belize.
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