THE following is a statement by the family of Jones P Madeira who passed away on Friday at the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex in Mt Hope:
The family of renowned journalist, Jones P. Madeira, is informing the national community of Trinidad and Tobago and the Caribbean, that their beloved husband and father passed on to another life today, Friday 10th January, 2025 at 3.33 p.m. Madeira, 80, died at the Mount Hope Medical Complex where he had been for the last week, after ailing for some time from a number of very serious medical conditions.
Mr. Madeira’s wife of 53 years, Melba, his daughters Melanie and Lorilee, and son Justin extend their thanks to the staff of the Mount Hope Hospital for the care and comfort extended to Jones during the last week of his life, making his final days as comfortable as was possible in his condition.
“Jones P.”, as he was popularly known, a native of Arima, had his finest hour as a journalist/public communicator when he turned his hostage condition, made so by Abu Bakr and his insurgents at the Trinidad and Tobago Television (TTT) building on that fateful day of July 27, 1990, into being a facilitator of communication between the Bakr insurgents and the Trinidad and Tobago Defence Force.
It was this series of communications that assisted in preventing a violent contest between the insurgents and the army which would have resulted instead of Bakr’s surrender to the army, led then by Colonel Joseph Theodore.
In recognition of his role in that life-saving episode, Jones P. Madeira was awarded the Chaconia Gold Medal, the second highest national award. He also received the Honorary Doctor of Letters PhD from the University of Trinidad and Tobago.
Jones started his career in the early 1960s as a young reporter, fishing around for stories at the old Piarco Airport, interviewing significant travellers as they departed and arrived in the country.
He entered the electronic media at the national radio station, NBS Radio 610, where he eventually graduated from day-to-day reporting of the news to being a member of the celebrated team of journalists, including the likes of Leon De Leon, Alfred Aguiton, Raoul Pantin, Dik Henderson, Ashton Chambers and others, to produce the very popular current affairs programme, the News Makers.
As a means of enhancing his skills and broadening his experience, Jones spent two years at the world- famous British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) in London, as a member of the Caribbean Service.
Over the decades of his journalistic career, Jones P. worked with Caribbean media institutions such as the Caribbean Broadcasting Union and at the Caricom Secretariat where he produced radio programmes for media stations across the region.
One of his most significant efforts with the funding and technical assistance of Michael Arbends of the German Friederick-Ebert-Stiftung (FES) was to link the English-Speaking Caribbean on a daily basis through the news and current affairs programmes, Carib Vision and Carib Scope, and this was long before the digital age of broadcasting.
In Trinidad and Tobago, Jones became the Head of News and Current Affairs at the Trinidad and Tobago Television (TTT) in the 1980s where he broadened and strengthened the range of news and current affairs programmes of the station. At TTT and when he moved to the Trinidad Broadcasting Network, Jones also produced and developed news and current affairs programming which included political, electoral multi-point coverage of major political, economic and cultural events.
His last two major positions as a journalist were as Editor-in-Chief at the Trinidad Guardian and the Trinidad Newsday.
Jones P. Madeira also had a distinguished career as Communications Director at the Caribbean Epidemiology Centre (CAREC) where he produced radio and television programmes and events to inform the region on how to reduce the spread of HIV and AIDS. Jones also had a stint as the Communications Manager of the Trinidad and Tobago Judiciary, operating under the direction of Chief Justice Ivor Archie. He also held the position of the Communications Manager of the Ministry of Health under ministers John Rahael and Jerry Narrace.
Through all of his journalistic positions, Jones worked with a few generations of experienced journalists and emerging reporters to keep Trinidad and Tobago and the region updated, informed and advised on the issues of the day, and how such matters impacted the lives of people.
As husband of Melba and father of Melanie, Lorrilee and Justin, Jones Madeira performed his duties with love, affection and devotion to his family. They, in turn, during the last few years of his life, affected by illness, returned that care and devotion that they shared over a period of 11 Years.
