16390: (Hermantin)Miami-Herald-Haitian radio station fights for survival (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: leonie hermantin <lhermantin@hotmail.com>

Posted on Thu, Aug. 14, 2003


Haitian radio station fights for survival

BY JACQUELINE CHARLES
jcharles@herald.com

Radio Carnivale began with an ambitious plan to provide South Florida's
Haitian community with something it never had: 24 hours a day of up-to-date
breaking news live from Haiti, along with music, sports and other types of
programming in Creole, French and English.

Now, nearly two-and-a-half years later, that plan is in jeopardy.

On Saturday, New World Broadcasting, the company that owns the signal that
Radio Carnivale (WRHB-AM 1320) transmits on, pulled the plug.

Instead of hearing the usual Saturday lineup of Creole-language programming,
Radio Carnivale listeners heard Latin music.

''People actually wept,'' said Rudolph Moise, prominent Haitian-American
physician and Radio Carnivale founder. ``It did not feel good this weekend
when the plug was pulled.''

Radio Carnivale finally resumed programming Sunday afternoon after Moise
wrestled up the $57,000 in back rent for the signal. But the station remains
in jeopardy unless Moise can raise money to buy the signal.

For Moise, who has invested more than $1.2 million of his own money in
Carnivale, the weekend's shutdown exposes a reality that can no longer be
ignored: Despite big-name advertisers like Publix and Home Depot, and a
revenue stream that is 48 percent higher today than this time last year,
Carnivale continues to struggle financially.

''It's a very difficult situation,'' Moise said.

Since the beginning, Moise has been working to find investors to help him
purchase the signal and keep Carnivale afloat.

HIGH PRICE

New World Broadcasting is asking $12.5 million -- a price Moise says is too
high for this market.

And he also has to consider Carnivale's monthly overhead.

The current monthly expenditures are about $160,000, which includes a
$115,000 lease payment to New World.

Jim Ortega, a media broker from Denver who is working on an analysis for
Moise, free of charge, said the $12.5 million asking price is a ``tad on the
high side.''

''That is a big number,'' said Ortega, noting his most recent market
comparisons showed an AM station in Boston, which has a stronger signal than
Radio Carnivale, selling for $10 million.

``The Haitian market is comparable to Des Moines, Iowa, and AM stations in
that market aren't going for $12 million.''

Adib Eden, principal stockholder in New World, said the asking price is
fair.

''We think the price is very, very reasonable and a lot less than what they
had set in the contract,'' Eden said.

``Our number is an appraised value. There hasn't been an AM station sold in
this market for years . . . there are no more signals in this market.''

Eden, who is Cuban-American, said he's had several offers for the station,
including from Haitian Americans.

''I really see this effort as similar to the Cubans. I want to be able to
help the Haitian community have their own station, but I am a businessman,''
he said.

Though Moise has extended his lease with New World by another year, he says
the only solution is to find more investment partners.

He plans to meet with current and potential shareholders Sunday in hopes of
finding a solution.

''This is for the community. This is something we need,'' he said of Radio
Carnivale.

HOPES FOR CHANGE

Until Radio Carnivale, most Creole-language programming in South Florida was
provided by Haitian radio hosts buying time on other people's station.

Carnivale sought to change that by hiring paid staffers, including a slew of
journalists in Haiti who call in with breaking news reports.

Some critics in the community say it is biased against Haitian President
Jean-Bertrand Aristide. Moise says Carnivale is just trying to provide
objective news for the Haitian community.

The station has become a must-stop for local politicians, Haitian and
non-Haitians, including Democratic presidential candidate Bob Graham, who
first announced he was seriously considering a bid for the White House
during a December visit to Carnivale.

''It's more than a radio station. It's an institution that creates a
platform, a foundation for upward mobility and empowerment for Haitian
Americans,'' said Rock Anderson, the station's sales manager.

Anderson, who remains optimistic about Carnivale's future, sees its growing
pains as no different than those endured by many Spanish-language stations
in the market and that of WEDR-99 JAMZ, the popular black-oriented radio
station in South Florida.

Jerry Rushin, general manager of WEDR who serves as an advisor to Radio
Carnivale, said the station serves a market that neither his station nor
others address.

''The task they have is enormous and I don't have any great answers for
them,'' he said.

``I think [Moise] deserves a shot at a viable frequency. I would like to see
it work for that reason; he's courageous for investing his money in a
project like that.''

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