Richard Widmaier, president of the National Association of Haitian Media (ANMH), looked back on his family's decades in broadcasting on Thursday, October 29, during an appearance on Magik 9's program “Panel Magik,” Le Nouvelliste reported as part of its series on the centenary of radio in Haiti.

He recalled November 28, 1980, a turning point in his career at Radio Télé Métropole, when the Duvalier regime cracked down on radio stations and freedom of expression was under threat. He described how the station kept working and adapted its programs to stay on the air through the difficult years that followed, up to 1986.

Widmaier spoke of a passion for broadcasting “passed down from father to son.” To keep pace with a changing media landscape, he said, the family invested in television and launched Télé Métropole in February 2009, opening a new chapter for Radio Métropole.

He also discussed the challenges of the shift to digital television, according to Le Nouvelliste.