Locally produced entertainment is facing an uphill battle getting on the Island's airwaves because of flagging financial support from the business and advertising community.

At this week's forum on the need for local content regulations which would require broadcasters to air a minimum amount of local content, members of the Broadcast Commission were told that even a proposed programme on the Buy Bermuda campaign was having difficulty finding corporate sponsors.

"We have very difficult challenges trying to get commercial support" for local programming, said Bermuda Broadcasting programme director Darlene Ming.

She added that "Buy Bermuda, Why Bermuda", a programme scheduled to air next week had been endorsed by the Chamber of Commerce but had received "zero support" from advertisers and potential sponsors.

Besides highlighting complex issues faced by the Island's community of musicians, the forum brought into sharp relief the economic realities of local broadcasting.

"Corporate Bermuda makes millions but how much do they give back?" asked dub poet Ras Mykkal.

"The bottom line is they are not obligated to give something back. When you have national pride you are glad to give something back."

Said Ms Ming: "It's a little bit more complex than that."

VSB programme manager, Mike Bishop spoke of a "stigma" attached to promoting local product on the airwaves.

He said VSB did have an all local music radio station which ran for about three years in the mid to late eighties and received "zero support" from the local advertising industry.

Ms Ming later told The Royal Gazette: "I wanted people like Ras to understand that this is a wealthy Country but there is a reality."

Many companies are approaching the end of their fiscal year and the season lends itself to more requests for funding.

But the Buy Bermuda campaign was heralded by the entire business community and given financial support by the Government.

"We're examining the very thing this Country is concerned about," said Ms Ming. "Up until last night we did not have corporate sponsorship."

She added that the show which was meant to air Tuesday was postponed for a week to make way for a tribute to late musician Hubert Smith and to allow more time to seek sponsorship but will go ahead anyway as a community service.

"Remember too we're hitting them for a number of different projects for the pre Christmas product. So it's hard to say why they haven't supported it," continued Ms Ming.

The programme will focus on the objectives of the Buy Bermuda campaign and whether locals are actually heeding the call to do their shopping on the island.

Panelists include Chamber of Commerce president Charles Gosling, economist Craig Simmons, Glen Smith, CEO of ZipX and "concerned consumer" Suzie Wainwright, said Ms Ming.

"Whose to say why there's difficulty in attracting sponsorship?" Ms Ming said. "I think its pure economics." She cited increased competition for advertising dollars as the main cause.

"I remember the days when this was never an issue - the advertising dollar went a lot further but the whole market has shifted entirely."

Bermuda Broadcasting is rising to the challenge of producing better product as a result, she added.

A recent programme featuring a Bermudian woman's account of surviving the September 11 attack on the World Trade Center did get full corporate sponsorship, Ms Ming revealed.

"It was a compelling story which received good commercial support. And it was very well produced. So we can produce the product - if the product is well produced and has a good story to tell one would like to think we'd get the support as well."