Great Belize Productions is a Belize-based local production company and the parent company of Great Belize Television (Channel 5).
GBP was formed in 1982 as a video making company specialising in commercials for Belize's then-small television industry. It had a hand in the creation of several 1980s and 1990s motion pictures, including "Dogs of War" (1980), "The Mosquito Coast" (1986), "Caribe" (1987) and "Heart of Darkness" (1993).
Among the early proprietors of GBP was the late Emory King.
Great Belize Productions' first successful television series actually predates Channel 5. "Belize All Over", premiering in the late 1980s, featured stories on Belize told by local Belizean personalities. Clips from the show are still shown on Channel 5, particularly in the newscast.
In 1991, Great Belize received a license to broadcast on local television. Channel 5 began in December of that year and is Belize's most popular television station. With the rise of Channel 5, GBP has largely abandoned video production for outside sources, choosing instead to focus on building Channel 5 presentations.
On June 16, 2008 it was announced that Belize Telemedia had acquired Great Belize Productions. Telemedia is rumored to still be majority-owned by Lord Michael Ashcroft, a fact which rankled many Belizeans. Former PUP figure and government official Amalia Mai is the company's new CEO.
Amandala columnist Frankie Rhys announced shortly after the sale that he would stop watching Channel 5 in protest; KREM's Evan Mose Hyde has since frequently called GBP's Channel 5 "Ashcroft TV" in protest of the sale. For more, see Great Belize Television.
The People's United Party (PUP) is one of two major political parties in Belize. It is currently the governing party of Belize after success in the 2020 Belizean general election, winning a majority of 26 seats out of 31 in the Belizean House of Representatives. It is a centre-left Christian democratic party. The party leader is Johnny Briceño, who currently serves as the Prime Minister of Belize.
The 2005 protests in Belize are two separate but related incidents of civil unrest in the Central American nation, occurring in January and April.
Michael Anthony Ashcroft, Baron Ashcroft, is a British-Belizean businessman, pollster and politician. He is a former deputy chairman of the Conservative Party. Ashcroft founded Michael A. Ashcroft Associates in 1972 and is the 132nd richest person in the UK, as ranked by the Sunday Times Rich List 2021, with an estimated fortune of £1.257 billion.
Andy Vivian Palacio was a Belizean punta musician and government official. He was also a leading activist for the Garifuna people and their culture.
Dean Oliver Barrow, SC PC is a politician from Belize who served as the fourth prime minister of Belize from 2008 until 2020 and as leader of Belize's United Democratic Party.
Amandala is a Belizean tabloid newspaper. Published twice weekly, it is Belize's largest newspaper. Amandala was established in 1969 as the print organ of the now-defunct United Black Association for Development (UBAD), but has been politically independent since the mid-1970s. Its offices are located at 3304 Partridge Street in Belize City.
Great Belize Television, or as it is locally known, Channel 5, is a Belize City-based local television station established in December 1991. Channel 5 airs mostly American and Caribbean programs, as well as a variety of locally produced programs. It is a subsidiary of Great Belize Productions, a local production company established in 1982.
Tropical Vision Limited, or as it is locally known, Channel 7, is a Belize City based television station operating since 1981.
Speednet Communications Limited is a Belizean communications company established in 2003. It mostly deals with cellular services under the brand name "SMART" and other landline services.
Noh Matta Wat! is a Belizean dramatic television series. It airs on Great Belize Television, Tropical Vision Limited, and Krem Television (cable).
KREM Radio is a Belize City radio station operating on the F.M. band at 96.5, 91.1 and 101.1 MHz since November 17, 1989. Its headquarters are located at 3304 Partridge Street in Belize City, also the home of the Amandala newspaper and Krem Television. It brands itself the "first private radio station in Belize".
Belize Telemedia Limited (BTL), formerly Belize Telecommunications Limited, is a telecommunications company in Belize that runs telecommunication services under the Digi brand. Established in 1972 as the Telecommunications Authority, it rapidly became Belize's leading telecommunication provider in the 1980s and 1990s. In May 2007, it changed its name from Belize Telecommunications Limited to Belize Telemedia Limited.
The Broadcasting Corporation of Belize, otherwise known as Radio Belize, was a radio station in Belize that shut down in November 1998. Until the 1980s it was Belize's only radio station.
Stewart Krohn is a Belizean television executive and journalist. He is the general manager of Great Belize Television, a subsidiary of Great Belize Productions, Ltd.
The monarchy of Belize is a system of government in which a hereditary monarch is the sovereign and head of state of Belize. The current Belizean monarch and head of state since 8 September 2022, is King Charles III. As sovereign, he is the personal embodiment of the Belizean Crown. Although the person of the sovereign is shared with 14 other independent countries within the Commonwealth of Nations, each country's monarchy is separate and legally distinct. As a result, the current monarch is officially titled Kingof Belize and, in this capacity, he and other members of the royal family undertake public and private functions as representatives of the Belizean state. However, the King is the only member of the royal family with any constitutional role.
Education in Belize is governed by the Education Act.
Belize's social structure is marked by enduring differences in the distribution of wealth, power, and prestige. Because of the small size of Belize's population and the intimate scale of social relations, the social distance between the rich and the poor, while significant, is nowhere as vast as in other Caribbean and Central American societies, such as Jamaica and El Salvador. Belize lacks the violent class and racial conflict that has figured so prominently in the social life of its Central American people.
Anthony "Boots" Martinez is a Belizean politician. A member of the United Democratic Party, Martinez was first elected to the Belize House of Representatives from the Southside Belize City-based Port Loyola constituency in 2003 after an unsuccessful 1998 campaign. He served as Minister of Public Works from 2008 to 2012 under Prime Minister Dean Barrow. After the UDP government was re-elected in 2012 Martinez became Minister of Human Development, Social Transformation and Poverty Alleviation.
Jules Vasquez is a Belizean journalist and media executive. He is the current News Director and Chief Editor at Tropical Vision Limited, known locally as Channel 7 News, the longest operating broadcaster in Belize. He has developed a reputation in Belize because "his comments strike a chord and his questions leave burning marks when fired."