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100 years of radio in Africa: from propaganda to people’s power

100 years of radio in Africa: from propaganda to people’s power

RADIO is thriving across Africa. Exact figures are difficult to come by because audience research differs across countries. However, studies estimate radio listenership to be between 60% and 80% of the continent’s 1.4 billion population. In contrast to many Western countries, where there has been a shift towards streaming and podcasts, traditional radio continues to be widely embraced in Africa. Because of poor literacy levels and uneven access to the internet and technological infrastructure, old-fashioned radio remains a reliable and inclusive medium. This year’s celebration of the 100-plus years of radio offers us an opportunity, as African media scholars, to…
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How apps on mobile phones are changing Zimbabwe’s talk radio

How apps on mobile phones are changing Zimbabwe’s talk radio

STANLEY TSARWE, Journalism Lecturer, University of Zimbabwe IN Africa, radio still has a wider geographical reach and higher audiences than any other information and communication technology, including television and newspapers. Like the rest of the world, African radio is breaking away from being an analogue communication tool that relies on top down information flows to one that relies on multiple feedback loops. The main driver of this is digital media technologies. It’s a trend I examine in a paper called Mobile Phones and a Million Chatter: Performed Inclusivity and Silenced Voices in Zimbabwean Talk Radio. I wanted to observe what…
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