This research is both an investigation of how radio content is produced and an analysis of the content that is produced. The study mainly examines the possibility of having a single radio station representing more than 15 languages and it is of paramount importance to study the institution. Through an ethnographic approach, the research then analyses how the radio station produces radio content. The participants for the study are drawn from ZBC Mbare Studios in Harare and Montrose
Studios in Bulawayo. Although there are producers/presenters from other ZBC radio stations, only National FM personnel and ZBC technicians and librarians are participants in this study.
Entry into the radio station was cumbersome as the bureaucracy and security at ZBC does not allow easy access to the premises. The researcher started inquiring about permission to study National FM at PhD level in 2012 when she was gathering information for a conference paper. That is when she became familiar with the then station manager. For her to get an official documented permission the researcher had to ask for assistance from the then Corporate Communications Manager who granted her permission in writing and asked the researcher to complete and sign the ZBC confidentiality form. However, the researcher encountered problems when she wanted to get a temporary identity card for daily access to the station. The ZBC training officer was responsible for the issuance of identity cards and thought that the researcher was a Midlands State University student on work related learning. He questioned why he did not know about the student as he was in charge of all training at the institution. The training officer was given a letter of confirmation from University of Cape Town and he then authorised the issuance of a temporary identity card. National FM moved to Mbare Studios on 27 June 2015 and it took the researcher six monthts to get settled at the station. This was because the personnel at National FM had also not settled in.They had no offices and adequate resources in general.
Human rights organisations are lobbying for freedom of expression, media freedom and the freedom for people to use their own languages. United Nations Education Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), through the UN Declaration of Minorities advocates for the use of local languages globally. In Africa, the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights (1991), through the Cultural Charter for Africa, promotes calls for the use of indigenous languages. In Zimbabwe, Zimbabwe Indigenous Languages Promotion Association (ZIPLA), which comprises organisations like Tonga Language and Cultural Organisation (TOLACO), is very active in the promotion of the use of indigenous languages. In many countries the media are promoting the use of indigenous languages. Both locally and globally, the issue of language rights is being deliberated on a plethora of fora (Nyika, 2007). The Zimbabwean situation seems unique as the International Mother Language Day (21 February) goes unnoticed by the majority and is not celebrated on the exact date. Even the radio stations that mainly broadcast in indigenous languages seem to give little prominence to the day. Globally, local language activists are carrying out activities that are aimed at promoting the use of
indigenous languages (UNESCO, 1992; Comark, 2003; Batibo, 2005; Rubino, 2010; McMonagle, 2012). These activities include the formation of organisations that lobby for the use and preservation of indigenous languages in education, health, and the media, the political and economic fora. Locally, many organisations are lobbying for the preservation of indigenous languages (Nyika, 2007; Ndlovu, 2009, Magwa, 2008). Internationally indigenous language radio is commonly catered for by community radio stations. In Zimbabwe, only one radio station is broadcasting for more than 15 indigenous languages.
The economic context of the country also affected the research field work. Production of media content is influenced by many factors which range from formation of ideas to the application of technologies (Jensen, 2012). The situation at the radio station was very tense as most of the research subjects were uncertain about their jobs. Furthermore, the researcher encountered problems in listening to the radio station’s programmes due to transmission problems. It was the intention of the researcher to continuously listen to the radio station for a period of at least one year. This was made impossible by the disruptions in transmission which were caused by the process of migration from analogue to digital technology which was going on at ZBC. Listening to the radio station was then done periodically only when there was transmission. Longer listening sessions were only achieved when the researcher was at the broadcasting premises.
Except Radio Zimbabwe, all radio stations, ZBC management and the two ZTV television stations were originally based at Pockets Hill. The restructuring process, negatively affected the data collection process as the personnel had not settled in. The participants were not very cooperative in the first days and it took time for the researcher to start having interviews. Devereux (2003:120) argues, “Depending on the research question, media professionals and media organisations can sometimes be reticent in allowing themselves to be observed or questioned by academic researchers.” This could have been because the participants suspected that the research might influence the restructuring exercise or maybe they did not trust the researcher.
The primary methodology for this research was participant observation and interviews. The chief producer, the librarian, technicians, producers and presenters were all interviewed. The majority of participants were full-time producer/ presenters, part time presenters and those who were on contract. At the radio station the producers have a dual capacity as they present the programmes that they would
have produced. They also work as duty announcers and the tense work schedule which was caused by the restructuring exercise led to unforeseeable challenges in the field work such as access to records, failure to get adequate time for interviews and sometimes rescheduling appointments for meetings with participants. These producers/presenters were also observed as they performed their different duties. When the researcher started her field work most of the participants were very co-operative and willing to assist. The scenario changed when the restructuring8 exercise at the public broadcaster
commenced as most of them were unsure of their fate at their workplace. Most of the participants became unwilling to be observed and some said they were afraid that the research findings would lead to their dismissal.