28th January 1981
Deputies meet to decide if they want BBC or an independent broadcaster
Both Jersey and Guernsey have their own BBC local radio stations, but it was by no means certain that either of them would allow the Corporation to use each Bailiwick’s airwaves.
Each island had been assigned a single medium wave (AM) frequency to use as required and, originally, there had been a push to use them to establish commercial stations, leaving no room for the national broadcaster.
An easy decision
Jersey decided fairly early on that this wasn’t the best course of action and, when the matter came up for discussion in the States, in January 1981, it was largely a formality. However, things were more complicated in Guernsey, where there was a stronger push to revisit the idea of commercial broadcasting. This was largely because the BBC had pared down what it was able to offer the islands from up to ten hours of Bailiwick-focused content each day to a single hour, with the stations simulcasting Radio 2 the rest of the time.
In the end, both islands decided the Beeb was best after all. BBC Radio Jersey went on the air the following year.
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Other events that occured in January
The genesis of the Société Jersiaise
- The Société Jersiaise is dedicated to preserving Jersey's culture. It had once argued that French should remain its official language.
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Conservationist Gerald Durrell dies
- Conservationist Gerald Durrell died, aged 70, and his ashes were buried at the zoo he established in Jersey.
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French sailors are arrested on an extradition request
- Three French sailors believed they were beyond French law when they fled to Jersey in 1902, charged with assaulting an old woman in Normandy.
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83rd Regiment of Foot is founded
- Although established in Glasgow, the 83rd Regiment of Foot moved to the Channel Islands and fought in the Battle of Jersey.
- Read more…