IT was never an easy road but for social activist Mark Benschop, establishing his own radio station –Benschop Radio 107.1FM- was the realisation of a dream, the fruition of a passion, one which gives the populace an opportunity to freely express their views.

“Our objective is to broadcast the views of every Guyanese, irrespective of their political views, sexual orientation, etc. Thus far, we have demonstrated that by having guests on “Straight Up” from members of the government, main opposition party, and others. Hence, by doing so, we are hoping to allow Guyanese to debate on issues in a respectable manner, without resorting to a big cuss out, or being suspicious of each other,” Benschop told the Guyana Chronicle recently.

The station, which broadcasts from downtown Georgetown, is managed by its Chief Executive Officer, Ryan Benschop , Mark’s son. According to his father, the young man is managing the station “quite well.” He said Ryan is currently working on introducing additional quality programmes to the station’s audience and these include a morning show, and other shows that would be of great importance to the entire country. Very soon, talented Guyanese singer Lisa Punch will start a mid-morning show addressing social issues affecting young people and joining the station is seen as a plus for its short time on air.

Straight Up
The station has already gained the attention of Guyanese at home and abroad , with the “Straight Up” programme , which captures the opinions of politicians , social and other public figures in hard-hitting interviews. Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo is among a host of public figures who have been interviewed on the programme thus far. This week, popular newspaper columnist Frederick Kissoon and Minister within the Ministry of Communities, Annette Ferguson will be interviewed by Benchcop on the programme which airs locally between 2000hrs and 2100hrs.

Benschop Radio commenced operation approximately one month ago, and according to him, the family was “ecstatic” as he recalled that his application for a radio license was ignored under the former regime. “So, yes it is a great feeling to finally have our license approved, and to begin broadcasting to folks on the ground. As many people would recall, the PPP government had locked me up for several nights on allegations of operating an ‘illegal’ radio station, and fortunately, the court dismissed the case. Hence, it wasn’t an easy road,” he said.

Objective of the station
He said that the objective of Benschop Radio 107.1FM is to ensure that Guyanese are given a platform to air their concerns about issues affecting them, whether political, social issues, or current affairs. “Thus, with such a platform, we do believe that it would be used to put governments in check, and at the same time, serve to strengthen Guyana’s democracy, freedom of the press, freedom of expression,” he said.

In addition, he said that a part of the objective of the station is to introduce a wider audience to Guyana, and to sell the nation’s culture to the rest of the world. “As a starter, we have been broadcasting our talk show “Straight Up” which is broadcast not only on the ground, but throughout the world, with a nightly audience consisting of thousands of listeners,” Mark said of his popular programme.

He said that the programmes on the radio “are most definitely going to be different in many ways from what Guyanese are accustom listening” even as he offered not to discredit the other radio stations currently on air.

However, he said Benschop Radio will be offering the populace programmes “that will leave them waiting and wanting more from 107.1 FM, and to inform them in ways that other stations would be reluctant to do.”

As regards the application process for the license, the elder Benschop said it was not an easy process.”The process was not a swift, and the road was not always a smooth one,” he said. He noted however, that after lengthy discussions, the company’s broadcast plans were submitted to the authorities and the broadcast license was finally approved.

Future plans

He said at the moment the focus is on the more positive things that would see 107.1 FM playing a major part in reshaping the radio industry here, and by extension, a better Guyana. Benschop noted that the future plans are to expand throughout Guyana, and within a rather short space of time to become the number one radio station here. “We can safely say that within the short space of time since we’ve started, 107.1, is giving all the other stations a serious wake up call,” he said as he noted that his son Ryan is setting the groundwork for the station to keep a balance. He said the station welcomes persons who may have ideas for programming , including young and upcoming radio DJs, persons interested in becoming news reporters and marketing executives among others. Listeners in the cyber world can tune in on the website www.benschopfm.com or listen to the stream live on Facebook at Benschop Radio 107.1FM. Contact can be with the station at benschopradio107.1fm@gmail.com.