Eleutheran Shenique Miller - Journalist and Broadcaster

Ms. Shenique Brioni Miller.

You may read one of her articles, listen to her voice on radio or see her poised professional presentation on an evening newscast, but this month we offer an up close and personal profile following a candid conversation with Shenique Miller - national journalist and broadcaster, from South Eleuthera.

“Eleuthera is where I'm from.  It's somewhere that holds a wonderful place in my heart - that I would like to make proud. I'd like the residents of the entire Eleuthera who look at or read about me to say, that's Shenique Miller who has roots here and makes us proud - she's done great for our island… and our country.  That's what Eleuthera means to me.  I'm very proud of it, I love Eleuthera".  - Ms. Shenique Brioni Miller. 

Ms. Miller is the daughter of Mr. Cloyd Miller of Green Castle and Mrs. Tericita Miller of Bannerman Town. She has an uncle who currently resides in Bannerman Town and an aunt living in Weymss Bight.

After the completion of grade one (1) in Green Castle Primary she was moved to Nassau and later, upon completion of her collegiate studies overseas, returned to work with media houses in the Capital. She is currently Weekend Supervisor, Manager and Producer in addition to being a newscaster at ZNS - The national broadcasting corporation.   

Schooling summary:
Green Castle All Age School
Sandilands Primary School
CH Reeves Junior High School
Government High School
Florida Miami Dade Community College - Associates of Arts in Journalism

  Shenique attributes her venture into Journalism to a suggestion of "broadcasting" as a major in College during her freshman year at Miami Dade, coming from her Aunt. She says she had originally planned to study fashion design but made the switch to radio and television broadcasting.  During this time, one of her professors secured an internship with NBC 6 for 8 months affording her the opportunity to assist in the structuring of a junior broadcasting program.

Will Shephard, Jackie Nespral and other NBC personalities are remembered very fondly by her as a great group of professionals to have had the experience with.  She particularly paid close attention to how they worked and observed how they were regarded in the community. 

In addition to the internship with NBC 6, Shenique also volunteered at radio station WMBM AM 1490 in South Beach as well as others during her time of study.

The Return Home:
Upon completion of her Associate's degree, Shenique wanted to transfer to FSU to complete her studies but financial difficulties led her to make the decision to return to the Bahamas to work.  She received a favourable response to an application to the Tribune Newspaper and went to work there as an assignment reporter, a move that initiated a thriving career.

Thrown in the ocean - Sink or Swim:
Shenique recalls with a smile her very first day at the Tribune when her editor, Mrs. Damianos, asked her to cover a major breaking story - with no experience, no history or background on the story and an imposing high profile personality at the heart of the story. She recalls going to conduct the interview - not understanding a thing and "the well known personality" taking her aside to further explain the issue. She returned to the Tribune and with the assistance of her editor and other seasoned reporters, wrote the article.  To her great surprise, her story was given the top front page spot in the Tribune's afternoon paper that day.

“First day I had a top story! She threw me in the ocean, sink or swim and I swam…And it's been great from that point on.  I grew as a writer and now I realize how important that is as having the writing background helps to "round-out" a newscaster.

Entry into Broadcasting:

Shenique's first real opportunity in broadcasting came at the invitation of Kirk Smith of 100 Jamz, who while at the Tribune Organization, offered her the chance to work with him in the news department and to sit in for him when necessary. In addition she was given her own entertainment spot after a time. It all started when Smith called her about a story she had done about the plight of a lady living on the Nassau dump with her children. He recorded the conversation for 100 Jamz radio news and liked what he heard, saying she had something special - with her voice and presentation.
After two years at the Tribune she joined the broadcasting team at ZNS and made the move into television broadcast journalism.

The Future - Women's Magazine / Talk Show Host:
Shenique is pleased with her current career, but does see herself in the future progressing to being her own boss in media. She would like to encompass the entire industry, with the catalyst being her Magazine Format - Talk Show, which she is currently interested in getting off the ground. She hopes that the show will impact how women see themselves, where they are, where they are going, their mistakes and how to recover from them. To know that there is life after a mistake, after a bad experience or relationship and to just celebrate who we are. To be both satisfied with that and to continue to reach higher as well as to be inspired by stories about our courage and understanding - how we value ourselves, our love, our loss, our weights, our issues and our life. 

Her ultimate goal with the show is to empower women and for them to be victorious.  She believes the show will raise the standard of what's in the Bahamas currently and in addition will provide additional much needed local programme content for native television stations.  "I will also shop the show to regional and international markets and I'm confident it will go a long way in attracting viewers young and old, regardless of skin color, age or levels of success - we all share similar issues."  says Shenique.

The Individual:  Shenique loves to eat out with close friends, attend social functions, go to the beach or quietly read at home - inspirational stories are her favorites.  She loves the "rush" that the unpredictability of her position now affords - with the opportunity to cover the Prime Minister today and a crime scene the next or a high profile celebrity the following day.  However, she still desires the predictable, where she can fully focus her energies, then have the opportunity to socialize with friends, or travel, just for the enjoyment of it.