Dervan Malcolm: A voice that taught Jamaica how to talk to itself

THE EDITOR, Madam:

I write with a heavy heart at the passing of the irrepressible and erudite Dervan Malcolm, a broadcaster whose voice shaped how thousands of Jamaicans, at home and across the diaspora, understood themselves and their country.

For 19 years, I had the privilege of joining him on Both Sides of the Story on Power 106 FM and, in that time ,I came to know not just a consummate professional but a man of rare integrity behind the microphone. At times, our discussions on air lasted an hour and were most interesting.

Dervan’s journey began humbly, as a schoolboy and head boy at Calabar High, whose talent in the performing arts opened the door to a newsroom he would never really leave. He read his first newscast in October 1993 and, over more than three decades with Power 106, moved through nearly every role broadcasting offers: news presenter, news editor, sportscaster, talk-show producer, and eventually executive producer of programming.

When he took the reins of Both Sides of the Story in March 2007, he transformed it into appointment listening, a space where politics, current affairs, and the social questions troubling ordinary Jamaicans could be debated seriously without ever losing warmth or accessibility.

What struck me most in our many exchanges was his poise. Whether the topic was a contentious piece of legislation, a natural disaster, an international crisis, or a dispute simmering in some quiet parish, Dervan never let the conversation descend into noise. He listened as intently as he spoke, and he pushed his guests, myself included, to reason rather than simply react. That discipline, paired with a voice colleagues rightly called silky and unmistakable, made him one of the defining figures of Jamaican talk radio.

His influence reached beyond the studio. Through The Jamaican Diaspora Live Online, he gave Jamaicans overseas a genuine sense of connection to home, work recognised by the City of Los Angeles, the Jamaica Awareness Association of California, the Union of Jamaican Alumni Associations’ Diaspora Ambassador in Media Award, and the Bickle Award from Team Jamaica Bickle. He also lent his platform tirelessly to road safety and child protection advocacy.

Jamaica has lost a broadcaster of the first rank, and I have lost a first-class radio talk-show host and friend whose counsel I valued deeply. His voice is silent now, but the standard he set for honest, thoughtful public discourse remains one every broadcaster in this country would do well to follow.

Rest well, Dervan Malcolm!

ROBERT DALLEY