VETERAN Guyanese broadcaster Bobby Vieira will be celebrating 40 years as a broadcaster this week which will also coincide with the launch of his new radio station, Guyana Lite 104.1 FM.

The new station is located at lot 41 United Nations Place, Georgetown.
In an interview with this publication, Vieira said the station will commence operations on Wednesday, April 4, 2018 with “Bobby in the morning” from 07:00 – 9:00hrs.
He noted that Guyana Lite will be an alternative to the regular programming heard on radio in Guyana daily.

“Our concept of soft, relaxing music can also be considered as ‘Music to unwind with’. We bring you music to add flavour to your day and send good vibes to your house, car, work space or that early-morning jog. Guyana Lite Radio is the place to make things happen to your soul, so please sit back, relax and listen to the sounds of the lite days of Guyana,” Vieira said.

He continued: “If you listen to people across the board, you would recognise that the younger people also need to find something, especially students [who] need to find something to listen to what is relaxing and comforting, so that they can do their work quietly, so it will be 24 hours of soft, relaxing and light music.”

Noting that there will be a significant amount of Guyanese music on the station, the broadcaster said the parent company of Lite FM is about multicultural broadcasting and there will also be programmes with such flavour.

“Guyana is a potpourri of different ethnicities and so we cannot run away from that; and it’s not about being politically correct, it’s just that it’s the right thing to do, because we must recognise that there are other groups with other cultural aspirations, so we want to make certain that everybody is comfortable,” he said.
He said in the evenings such as on Mondays, there will be pan music, Tuesdays will be instrumental, Wednesdays,oldies and goldies, Thursdays, jazz, followed by Caribbean Fridays.

Meanwhile, on Saturdays there will be a three-hour youth programme titled ‘Generation Next’. Additionally, Vieira said that he intends to partner with other stalwarts to train young broadcasters.

“I plan to invite people like Margaret Lawrence and Ron Robinson to assist with training… we have a problem now with people on the radio who cannot announce, pronounce words, their grammar bad, using another dialect from another country and that is frustrating to many people,” the broadcaster said.

Underscoring his passion for training, Vieira said in the US where he studied, no one can just go on air without passing an approved test set out by the Federal Communications Commission that the person has reached the criteria.
Noting that he is the holder of an FCC broadcasting licence, which allows him to broadcast in any of the states in the US, Vieira said only persons who fulfil certain broadcasting criteria will be allowed to operate on Lite 104.1 FM.

Another aspect of the radio station would be community affairs; the broadcaster said this will give citizens the opportunity to call into the station to speak on various issues to educate society.
He said the station also plans to have on Wednesdays an ‘International Link-Up’ with persons in the Guyanese diaspora.
“Generally it’s education, entertainment and information, but music will be our theme and [our] tagline [is] songs of ‘yesterday, today and forever,” he said.
He said persons can download the Lite Radio app in the play store or visit and stream on http://www.guyanalite.com/.

In radio-broadcasting operations, Vieira said “we seek to promote the full distribution of public information; to obtain access to sources of news not commonly brought together in the same medium; and to employ such varied sources in the public presentation of accurate, objective, comprehensive news on all matters vitally affecting the community.”
Vieira started as a broadcaster in the days of “Radio Demerara” under the tutelage of Pat Cameron, James Sydney and Ron Robinson.

He later migrated to New York where he pursued a career in broadcasting at the New York College of broadcasters. There he learned to produce for both radio and television.
After graduating, he started off working at a station in Miami called 1080KM. Years later, he then returned to New York where he worked with 103.9 WNBM-FM. He finally moved on and was also partial owner of One Caribbean Radio 97.9 HD2, which was the last broadcasting outfit with which he worked in New York until he returned to Guyana in 2015.
Vieira said prior to that, he had spent 20 consecutive years visiting Guyana every Christmas to air the Christmas Morning Show.

“During that period, we also did the Christmas Day greetings from New York, where persons sent greetings to their relatives,” he said.