By Steven Vickerie
Stan Gouveia is considered a veteran broadcaster who has, in his own unique way, deepened our decades long relationship with radio. With more than 30 years of media experience, Gouveia believes his love for broadcasting surely opened numerous doors for development while allowing him the space to be an advocate for several causes.
The broadcaster is known for his show, “The Hot Seat” on HJ 94.1, where he interviews some of the most influential people in politics and wider society. His contributions to the field have ensured that his voice is etched into the memories of even the youngest of listeners. But he was not always the man with the sterling voice.
Throughout his career he endured several challenges which made him see life differently. In an exclusive interview with Guyana Standard, the current Deputy Director of the Police’s Public Communications Unit unpacked many of the life changing moments of a rewarding career that began in 1992 when he was just 18.
FROM A BET TO A CAREER
Back in 1992, Gouviea said that during a conversation with his late best friend, Ugendranauth Narine, there was an advertisement, calling for people to audition for a chance to be a Radio Presenter. But he did not immediately jump at the opportunity, as his potential was not yet realized by himself. Gouveia was also awaiting his CXC results, as he had recently completed school.
But things took an interesting turn, as that close friend made Gouveia a bet that he would land a job at the Guyana Broadcasting Corporation. To make it more compelling, that friend betted “a case of beers” that he would land the job. Gouveia however doubled on the bet, perceiving that he did not stand a chance. His doubts were derived from an incident that occurred in his school the previous year.
“The year before, when I was in Fourth form, our music teacher at the time ended up kicking me out of the choir. I think I was at that age where my voice started to crack and mature and she felt like my voice didn’t cut it for that smooth rhythm of music she wanted. So when that opportunity came to audition for radio I said no, because I was basically dismissed from a choir for my voice,” Gouveia said.
But what turned out to be a mess in high school, later became a message, as Gouveia was called in for an interview/audition for the role of a presenter. “I took the audition file and I read what I had to do. Strangely enough, they gave you these hard names to pronounce from past death announcements and some news packages and I assumed for sure that I was not going to be picked or was I going to be hearing back from them,” Gouveia said.
He noted that after some amount of time, GBC finally returned a call, but his late best friend was the one who answered, since his number was listed as a secondary contact on the application. Narine received the shocking news on behalf of Gouveia.
He recounted that, “I was not home at the time so when they called my home number they didn’t get me. When I saw him later that day he said ‘You owe me, buy my beer,’ and I said ‘What!’ Because I felt he was kidding, and then he gave me a number and said one Phillis Jackson called and said I should turn up for training and I could not believe it.”
ADVOCACY FOR HIV/AIDS AWARENESS AND AUTISM
Apart from becoming a popular Broadcaster, Gouveia spent several years working with the National Aids Programme in their fight to end HIV/AIDS in Guyana. During that time, the sexually transmitted virus killed literally thousands, as the organisation worked feverishly to educate the populace about the ABC method of preventing the spread of the virus.
But it took a very uncomfortable situation for Gouveia to join the fight against HIV/AIDS. He told Guyana Standard that a visit to a clinic turned into a nightmare after he went to do a test to ascertain his HIV status. He noted that at that time, there were claims about the lack of confidentiality that existed within the health sector. He noted too that this kind of behavior turned away many from finding out their status, which encouraged the transmission of the virus.
“I used to hear about these things but at the time I never wanted to believe it to be true until one day when I left the same health center, a very prominent person contacted me and said ‘hey, I see you went to find out if you got the thing in your blood’. I felt so embarrassed, disappointed and at the same time angry because at that time you had to wait a week for the results and during that time all sorts of things went through your mind,” He said.
Gouveia continued, “When that week ended, that same individual called me back to tell me that I was lucky, the results came back negative. I didn’t even meet at the Health center to collect my results and that person knew my status. I was so upset and I decided to do my part to ensure that no one else felt the same way I did.”
But after working with the NAPS, Gouveia was also an advocate for Autism awareness. He told this news entity that after realizing what many autistic persons endure, he decided to become an advocate by extending of voice for autistic children. He would later work for there for several years before he reentered the media fraternity.
CHALLENGES AND THE MOST MEMORABLE MOMENT ON AIR
According to Gouveia, there was a common misconception about his race, especially since persons only recognised his voice. While throughout his career, he was constantly complimented for his sterling tone, he said he was strangely assumed to be Portuguese, because his last name.
This was just one of several hurdles he faced as a broadcaster. But nothing changed his life more than when he met and interviewed a young boy who had won a Mother’s Day essay competition. He noted that when the young man entered the studio of 94.1, he was left speechless. This turned into one of his most memorable moments on radio.
“I learned that he had advanced cancer and he had lost one of his legs. In his letter he wrote that all he wanted was one chance to run around and play like other children. He wanted one day so that his mother did not have to feel the burden of carrying him around because she could not afford a wheelchair or prosthetics at that time. This was a young man, despite his condition, was full of life and he recognised that it was hard for his mom. That moment I think reminded me and many others of how lucky we are to have life and the simple things we take for granted,” Gouveia said.
He also recounted the time he traveled to Wakenaam, as the voice behind the then popular ‘Upward Onward Show’. “Uncle Stan” as he was referred to on Radio, allowed him the opportunity to converse with many children about their day and even school. He quickly garnered a fan base that extended to remote locations.
“I was sent there to do radio coverage. But when I got there I got a hero’s welcome from the children. They came out to reach the boat that I traveled to go with, and I was wowed. This is when you realize that what you’re doing on radio really impacts people. We did tell them that Uncle Stan was coming to visit their school but they made arrangements to meet me as soon as I came off the boat,” Gouveia said.
WORDS FROM UNCLE STAN TO OTHER JOURNALISTS
In conclusion, Gouveia said that the media landscape has changed exponentially with the introduction of social media, ushering a new way of disseminating information to the public. He noted too that with the advent of social media, there is now the reluctance to fact check before publishing information. He reminded the media fraternity that while information is important, it is also fragile and can cause major impacts on people’s lives.
Another important aspect of the media that is lacking according to Gouveia is research. He implored that many journalists are not doing sufficient research before attending press conferences or even conducting interviews. He implored those in the profession and those desirous of joining to do extensive research that will guide questions and provide expert knowledge of the area being highlighted in various reports.
He also wants media practitioners to remain humble when doing their jobs. “You have to develop the type of maturity that allows you to learn everyday. Being a Journalist means that you are never where you want to be. Don’t ever think that you’ve arrived or become too powerful that you can’t take corrections and criticisms. You have to be humble enough that if someone calls and informs you that you misspelled or mispronounced a word, that you would use that advice better next time,” Gouveia said.
