one-man business servicing household electrical goods.

1968-70: Mr. DeFontes enters the TV/radio retail business.

1981: VSB Radio-1450 country music station is launched.

July 1984: VSB Radio becomes Island's only broadast outlet for short period when Bermuda Broadcasting Company is closed after a strike.

Sept. 1990 VSB Television launched on Channel 11. Two weeks later, transmitter is hit by lightning.

June 1991: VSB TV comes back on the air.

Feb. 1993: Scandal night club, in which Mr. DeFontes is the majority shareholder, is closed by bailiffs.

Aug. 1993: VSB signs affiliate deal with NBC International. Mr. Kenneth DeFontes' elevation from a humble television servicing engineer to local broadcasting mogul may have the makings of a latter-day cautionary tale.

The entrepreneur, who saw his businesses flourish in the 1980s, says they have taken a turn for the worse since the advent of the recession.

Mr. DeFontes, who confesses he is "having a bad day'', opened his interview with The Royal Gazette this week with an admission that he "doesn't like talking about himself''.

His sketchy career description reveals that he began a one-man operation, servicing household electrical goods in May, 1960.

"Eight or ten years later, I went into the retail business, opening a television and radio store,'' he said.

The next benchmark in his career was opening a store at the site of the present DeFontes Broadcasting headquarters on April 7, 1978.

"In 1981, I went into the broadcast business, with one radio station, which has now expanded to four,'' said Mr. DeFontes.

"But anyone who opens up a television station when I did, needs their head examined, because the economy went bad, and then, in September 1990, our transmitter and studio were hit by lightning two weeks after we went on air.

"We didn't get back on air until June 1991 and since then it has been disastrous in the advertising business,'' he said.

The failing economy has been " a nightmare financially'' for his news and information television station, VSB, he said.

As a result, he has taken painstaking efforts to cut back costs at the company and expects all expenses to be justified by his staff.

"The television station is struggling, but things are looking up. We are streamlining and operating very efficiently.

And is the much-touted end to the recession apparent in the broadcast industry? "The industry is coming up, but it is not a fast process.

"Bermuda is a fabulous place as we always seem to pull out of bad situations.

However, I take the view that things could always get worse.'' Advertising rates are so low now, that there would be no question of discounting competitor, Bermuda Broadcasting.

"We are billing out between six p.m. and 12 p.m. weekdays and at certain times at weekend. The rest is basically all giveaway, unless there is a special event. The Bermuda public is very fortunate to have TV on 24 hours.'' His television and video retail business, in the showroom at the entrance to the broadcast studios, is "terrible'' and beyond that he will not comment on its future.

He agrees that consumer durables are frequently purchased overseas, but said this is a habit that affects all consumer goods in Bermuda, not just his market.

Programming at the television station is set for a shake-up. Mr. DeFontes takes pride in the news aspect of broadcasting and is hopeful that when satellite connection is made over the US, the BBC World Service television news will be on air in Bermuda. "British news is refreshing. I think we could sell it.'' In the meantime, the station has negotiated programming rights with NBC International, the division of US network NBC that provides licenses for overseas programmes.

VSB TV-11 station manager Mr. Mike Bishop said "We have the sports rights to NBC International, which means 150 hours a year of sports programmes. We will have a variety of movies, documentaries and special interest programmes through NBC International.

"Every night of the week, we will carry NBC news. We have an excellent news product with the option of expanding entertainment.

"CNN, which was dropped in June, appealed to a large cross-section of the population, but because of the high news content, it did not appeal to the majority,'' said Mr. Bishop.

On October 4, DeFontes will introduce a new 30 minutes show at 8 p.m. on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays called Sunset Bermuda, appealing to the audience that watched VSB's morning TV, Bermuda Sunrise.

"There will be a variety of lifestyle features and one-on-one interviews with news makers,'' said Bishop. A new cookery show will also run on Tuesdays.

"The only way a local TV station will make it is with news and local events,'' said Mr. DeFontes. Formerly a significant shareholder in Bermuda Broadcasting, Mr. DeFontes describes his competitor as "a very strong, good company, but they are feeling the pinch in these hard times''. His shareholding in Bermuda Broadcasting is now down to two shares.

The four DeFontes radio stations are given a good bill of health by their owner. "There are too many radio and TV stations for the size of the Island,'' said Mr. DeFontes. "The only way we will survive is to operate more efficiently than the other operations.

"Bermuda Broadcasting has many overheads as it combined two companies. We also have too many overheads for what we are doing, but I can see light at the end of the tunnel.'' However, other less buoyant business interests cloud Mr. DeFontes' financial future. Mention of his majority stake in the defunct nightclub Scandal obviously appalls him.

"The club has been closed since February,'' said Mr. DeFontes. "I will not talk about it.'' The club's history is a melodramatic story, reaching its climax when a club director, Mr. Michael Haegele, fled Bermuda, leaving allegations of stealing for Scandal unanswered and unproven.

Bailiffs finally boarded up Scandal club in February this year when refinancing attempts failed. Mr. Haegele, who owned 40 percent of the club, called The Royal Gazette in February, pleading innocence.

A woeful Mr. DeFontes admits that judgments he made about buying into property company Warwick Hotel Company and about Scandal "weren't some of my best business decisions''.

"I didn't research the Warwick Hotel Company properly before I got into it,'' said Mr. DeFontes, who has a 50.6 percent stake in the company. "But Warwick Hotel Company is not being wound up.

"Everything has been settled. The company was a disaster, but we will try to develop properties owned by it and get it into a good financial position.

Anything is possible.

"Bermuda was booming and probably overheated,'' said Mr. DeFontes. "The recession has hit, particularly in real estate, with prices falling by 20-25 percent.'' Warwick Hotel Company owns four unsold apartments at Harbour House, at Cobbs Hill, Paget; 1.8 acres of land at Mount Royal, opposite Fourways Inn, in Paget; and the pool wing across The Palm Reef Hotel, where condominiums have been renovated to make 12 apartments. Nine out of 12 are said to be sold.

NEWS CHIEF -- Mr. Kenneth DeFontes, owner of DeFontes Broadcasting Company.