Radio Metropole: Haiti's Pioneering Voice Since 1970

Radio Metropole has been on the air in Port-au-Prince since March 8, 1970, when it was founded by Herbert Widmaier. Over more than five decades, it has built a reputation as one of the most influential French-language private radio stations in Haiti, providing news updates and information to a broad national audience.

Metropole's history is woven into the history of Haitian broadcasting itself. It was the first Haitian station to broadcast in FM, starting that same founding year in 1970, well ahead of the rest of the country's radio landscape. It went on to become the first station to broadcast in stereo, in 1975, and the first to play music from CDs, in 1980, a string of firsts that reflects a station that consistently pushed the technical edge of Haitian radio.

That long history hasn't been without hardship. After the devastating January 2010 earthquake, Radio Metropole's own staff lost their homes, and the station itself lost the vast majority of its advertisers overnight, forcing it to broadcast over the internet for two weeks before resuming its normal programming from a tent set up in its studio's garden. The station weathered that crisis and continued operating, a testament to its standing as one of the country's most established broadcasters.

Today, Radio Metropole continues to deliver daily news, political coverage, economic updates, and cultural programming on 100.1 FM from Port-au-Prince, remaining one of the most trusted names in Haitian radio.