Dunn reappointed Broadcasting Commission chairman

PROFESSOR HOPETON Dunn has been reappointed chairman of the Broadcasting Commission of Jamaica (BCJ) for another five-year term.

According to a release from the Broadcasting Commission, Dunn's appointment took effect on November 1. Two new commissioners have also been named alongside six returning appointees.

The chairman and BCJ commissioners are appointed by the Governor General Sir Patrick Allen after consultation with the prime minister and the leader of the Opposition.

Professor Dunn is the director of the Telecommunications Policy and Management programme at the Mona School of Business, University of the West Indies (UWI). He is professor of Communications Policy and Digital Media at the UWI and also serves as secretary general of the International Association for Media and Communication Research (IAMCR). The IAMCR is the largest global association of research scholars in media, communication and development.

The two newly appointed commissioners are Sheena Johnson-Brown and Maxim Rochester. Johnson-Brown holds a master's degree in media and communication studies from the University of the West Indies and is currently a lecturer in Communication Arts & Technology at the University of Technology. She previously worked in the areas of entertainment management and culture.

Maxim Rochester is an eminent chartered accountant who, until recently, headed the audit and accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers as senior partner in Jamaica. He is a member of the Chartered Association of Certified Accountants and a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Jamaica.

Also returning to serve another five-year term are six of the seven commissioners whose terms of office had officially expired on October 31.

The are: Elaine Foster-Allen, educator; Hyacinth Lindsay, attorney-at-law; Rosemarie Vernon, educator; Dr Elaine Wallace, communications lecturer and administrator; the Reverend Canon Peter Mullings, cleric; and Neville James, communications consultant. Claude Robinson, senior journalist and lecturer, indicated that he was unavailable for reappointment.

The Broadcasting Commission is the regulatory body for radio, television, and cable TV in Jamaica.