Marco Teórico

As said earlier, radio has continued to develop together with technology and has managed to beat competition from the television and the computer. African media scholars have debated on how radio has assumed the role of the public sphere through convergence. The concept of the public sphere was propounded by German philosopher Jurgen Habermas in 1962 and the English version of this book

The Structural Transformation of the Public Sphere was published in 1989. The concept initially

related to the European Seventeenth and early Eighteenth century society where citizens would sit in public places like coffee shops and salons to discuss issues that concerned them. Expounding on the idea, Habermas further states that the public sphere can be considered as a realm where the public opinion can be created without people being forced to accept the dominant ideas. Generally, the idea of the public sphere pertains to a media structure that offers available space for the enunciation of lucid and critical debate and discussion by the community. Radio has proved to be a vital gadget in the enhancement of lively debates by the citizenry.

Scholars have debated how radio has turned into a ritual form of communication where audiences have ceased to be only receivers of information but also producers (Mytton, 1999; Hungbo, 2008; Myers, 2009). Hungbo (2008) examines the role of ‘clandestine’ radio in promoting the public sphere in Africa. He describes instances whereby ‘clandestine’ radio stations have been used as alternative voices for different groups of people who fight for emancipation. For Hungbo (2008), clandestine broadcasting can be in the form of an established global radio station that gives room to different

people to discuss issues that affect them. He gives an example of Voice of America (VOA) and British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) that have provisions for different countries to have domestic programmes in local languages. Clandestine radio can also be in the form of radio stations that would be broadcasting from outside the country and hosted by other countries. Hungbo (2008) gave examples of Cameroon, Ethiopia, Somalia, Nigeria, Angola, Sierra Leone, Cote d’Ivoire and Liberia. In the case of the last three countries Hungbo (2008) criticises the involvement of BBC in spreading propaganda for the rebel forces. What is striking about this kind of public sphere platform is that it is a means through which opposition political debates are discussed. As discussed earlier these clandestine radio stations were used in the colonial era and they are serving the same purpose in the post-independence era giving voice to the opposition.

Tettey (2011) looks at the Ghanaian situation, Odhiambo (2011) looks at Kenya, Bosch (2011) examines South Africa while Moyo (2010); Moyo (2011); Moyo (2012) and Chuma (2013) research on Zimbabwe. In the Ghanaian case, Tettey (2011) discusses how talk radio has opened up genuine debate to the Ghanaian public. Ghanaians now have the chance to continue discussing topical issues beyond news bulletins. New media platforms like the internet and mobile phones allow even people in the diaspora to be involved in discussing issues that are being debated back home. In the past the government used to disseminate information to the citizenry - a top-down form of communication but now talk radio has allowed people to debate issues that affect them even at national level. Tettey (2011) however, laments issues of manipulation and promotion whereby radio can be used to fulfil political or commercial interests.

Odhiambo (2011) describes how radio stations give audiences in Kenya a chance to debate and comment on issues of national interest. Audiences discuss current affairs, governance issues and matters arising from news stories. Like the Ghanaian case where audiences go further to discuss issues that emanate from news bulletins and other chat rooms, talk radio in Kenya also allows audiences to discuss and comment on topical issues. Odhiambo (2011) discusses how three Kenya radio stations:

Kiss FM, Easy FM and Citizen FM give radio listeners a chance to participate in radio programmes.

Audiences call and air their sentiments in matters that affect them including issues of governance. With Easy FM the presenter actually goes into the street to talk to the people directly while at the same

time talking to the co-presenter in the studio. The audiences then vote in order to establish the people’s opinions on controversial matters.

As in the Kenyan case, in Malawi, audiences are also active participants in radio production as established by Manda (2015). He discusses how Radio Listening Clubs (RLCs) have enhanced audience participation in developmental issues. These RLCs are also pivotal in the dissemination of information on agriculture in Malawi. In a similar case, Fortune and Chungong (2013) explore how Information Communication Technologies (especially mobile phones through smses) have engendered audiences’ participation in community radio. In a related research, Farm Radio International (FRI) (2011) investigated how ICTs have enhanced the use of radio in economic development. The study established that ICTs have really improved radio communication and audience participation. They chose radio stations in Mali, Uganda, Tanzania and Ghana. Participation is done through messages or emails on mobile phones. This is done after listening to the radio programmes. Communication takes place among programme producers, agricultural extension workers, farmers themselves and specialists or suppliers of farming inputs. The farmers formed organisations called Active Listeners Clubs (ACLs) whose members are involved in the formulation of radio programmes. These radio programmes are based on the ALCs’ farming patterns, radio listening habits and general life-styles. However, Musa (2018) talks of of the existence of listening clubs being as old as radio itself. He argues that when radio was invented it was very expensive, not portable and there were transmission problems. Listeners would go to one place where they would listen together and debate about the topical issues and news in general. Ndlovu (2017) also describes how PF ZAPU supporters gathered in schools and prisons to listen to the Voice of the people. In this case, it was not only about scarcity of radio receivers, it was about the restrictive media landscape that would not allow the reception of unlicenced radio stations. These radio stations also disseminated revolutionary content that led to the uprising of the Africans. Unlike early listeners who took long to give feedback to radio through letters and telephone, contemporary listeners give feedback in real time through the internet

Talk shows on radio have revived the concept of the public sphere even in the African context (Hungbo, 2008; Bosch, 2011; Moyo, 2011; Chuma, 2013). These scholars agree that new media have allowed and given audiences more opportunities to discuss issues that affect their lives. Like Hungbo

(2008), Tettey (2011) and Odhiambo (2011), Bosch (2011) realises how radio has empowered audiences as they are now able to participate in radio production through talk shows.

For Bosch (2011:2003) listeners are indispensable in talk radio stations as, “The callers to the programmes are what define the character of the station.” She examines how the radio station, 567 MW in Cape Town, is promoting democracy and enhancing the public sphere through talk shows. Like Chibita (2011) in the Ugandan case, Bosch (2011) laments how language can be a hindrance in participation in the radio programmes. According to Kijana (2012), most of the radio stations in Kenya allot the majority of their air time to talk shows. Fortune, Chungong and Kessinger (2011) realised that in seven West African countries 83 percent of the community radio stations’ listeners use smses to participate in radio programmes. These countries are Benin, Ghana, Sierra Leone, Burkina Faso, Niger, Senegal and Mali. The study by Fortune, Chungong and Kessinger (2011) concluded that women do not have a lot of issues to contribute to the radio programmes. This is because most of the issues that are aired do not concern women; they are rather more inclined to men’s interests. The same conclusion was reached by Fortune and Chungong (2013) in a later research that concentrated on Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea.

The concept of the public sphere is not only promoted by the mobile phone but generally new media enhances democratic participation through radio. There has been research on the relationship between radio and new media or Information Communication Technologies (ICTs) (Mytton, 1999; Hungbo, 2008; Myers, 2009; Moyo, 2010; Moyo, 2012; Chuma, 2013). Hungbo (2008) however, criticises how the West used ICTs and radio in many civil wars in Africa. He gave examples of BBC and Voice of America which acted as clandestine radio stations. Moyo (2010) and (2012), and Chuma (2013) all discuss how new media have been used for public debate in Zimbabwe. It should also be noted that the scholars mentioned above agree that clandestine radio stations act as alternative radio in many African countries where governments directly and indirectly own and control radio stations (Mbaine, 2003; Myres, 2009).

Though numerous academics support that radio has been pivotal in the promotion of public debates, Mohammed, (2013) laments the Ethiopian situation where the publics are not involved in radio broadcasting. In Ethiopia there are only a few people who possess radio receivers and Mohammed

(2013) complains that these people do not participate in radio programming. The majority of radio broadcasting done in this country is linear and audiences just listen without contributing anything. Unlike many scholars who advocate for community radio broadcasting that uses one language (UNESCO, 2001; Myers, 2009; Manda, 2015) and the use of local languages (Prah, 2004; Bosch, 2011), Mohammed (2013) advocates for the use of one language that is understood by all Ethiopians. This is not possible as Mohammed (2013) agrees that there are more than 40 languages in Ethiopia and the country is also very poor besides having a low literacy rate. Mabika and Salawu (2014) concur with Mohammed (2013) when they argue that National FM and Radio Zimbabwe should also broadcast in English since they are national radio stations. However, this position can be contested since Zimbabwe has other radio stations that mainly broadcast in English.

The Ethiopian case is similar to what was happening to many African broadcasters before current advances in technology. Many radio audiences only listened to radio programmes and did not fully participate. Letters were used to respond or to participate in radio programmes (Mano, 2004) but they were slow and considering the economic status of many African countries, some people could not afford to communicate through the letters. The telephone was even more expensive and inaccessible. Technological development has introduced the mobile phone and the internet which have enhanced audience participation not only in phone-ins but in programme production itself. However, radio’s ability to enhance the public sphere has been blamed for causing ethnic tensions in Kenya (Kijana, 2012). This is akin to how researchers have come to blame social media for the increase in the xenophobic attacks in South Africa and the world at large (Human Rights Council Report, 2014; Jubany and Roiha, 2016).