The Caribbean captures you entirely the minute you set your eyes on its breathtaking beauty – the beauty that is omnipresent in its cultural diversity, emerald rainforests, the vast blue veil of the ocean, and the rusty mountains. Wildlife is further proof of the region’s immeasurable potential to grab the world’s attention. Its magic, beauty, and culture make the Caribbean almost synonymous with paradise on earth.
These and many other things make the Caribbean a place to visit at least once in a lifetime. While this region, however, has always been a leading destination, it needs to be pointed out that the world is much more aware of these gems because of Frederick A. Morton, Jr. and his brainchild, TEMPO Networks – a television channel capturing and presenting the essence of the heavenly place.
TEMPO Networks is a trailblazer when it comes to reporting and covering the Caribbean. Before its advent, the region was deprived of proper representation in the international media, but after Frederick founded the channel, it not only allowed the skilled artists of the region to showcase their talent, but the local travel also increased.
But has it always been an incredible journey for the channel? Frederick replies in the negative.
“Running a channel that covers, say, a good half of a continent is never bereft of challenges,” responds Frederick. “It has rather been an adventurous journey carried out in curves, sometimes touching the bottom of the line and sometimes rising from the depths.”
Frederick achieved TEMPO’s launch after advocating for it for two years while working at MTV as head of the litigation department. The idea had been around since 2003 when Frederick had shared it with Tom Freston, one of the founders of MTV over lunch. But the challenges were aplenty and needed a resilient spirit and creative mindset to resolve them all. Luckily, Frederick had both along with patience over the two years that followed.
In 2005, all his efforts resulted in the emergence of the Caribbean-centric TEMPO that currently has over 5M viewership across South and North America. Nevertheless, it would be naive to believe Mr. TEMPO (Frederick’s nick) was able to steer the ship smoothly after the inauguration.
Challenges were still waiting around every corner, and one such challenge came forward when TEMPO Networks turned three. The network was holding a celebration event in Nevis (Frederick’s maternal/paternal town). The payments were disbursed, preparations were underway, and all arrangements made… but then a strong storm unleashed itself on the town and wiped out the original venue, leaving Mr. TEMPO with quite a situation to tackle.
But then, just as they say, leaders are made by the situations they are confronted with, the storm was a perfect opportunity for Frederick to shine and lead from the front. Hence, instead of disappointing fans by delaying or canceling the event, he went on with the show and said, “rain or shine, ‘TEMPO Turns 3’ will be celebrated at any cost!”
As a result, despite the storm forcing a change of venue, ‘TEMPO Turns 3’ transpired to be a blockbuster event in the history of Nevis. Now on, whenever you wonder how TEMPO Networks has bagged immense success, just remind yourself of this event and you’ll have everything to know!