Radio and its impact on Africa
Radio in Africa is doing an outstanding job of keeping people informed and engaged in different aspects of life including governance, development, social integration and peace.
Radio has been important in the implementation of a new set of global goals — Sustainable Development Goals that world leaders adopted in September 2015 at the United Nations General Assembly. These SDGs establish the framework for joint global action on poverty, inequality and climate change until 2030.
Since its birth (in 1925), whether underground or official, radio has always been an extremely effective vector of disseminating information but also sometimes a propaganda tool in the service of political leaders, even more so when they are charismatic (Dorna, 1998). Many authors who have studied mass media share the view that radio can "win the hearts and minds" of the audience and make them a target.
Cultural accessibility designates the social capital necessary for an individual to use a medium. This question rarely arises outside of Africa. However, it is rich in lessons in this continent. It turns out again that according to this criteria, radio is the most accessible medium. First of all because of two elements that are often put forward and will constantly be developed: its orality and its greater use of indigenous languages. Literacy rates are improving globally, but in terms of raw numbers, there are more people who suffer from illiteracy than there were 20 years ago (UNESCO Institute for Statistics, 2014).?
These figures are important to know, yet they are not enough to understand why radio has become so widespread. I would like to go beyond the arguments of orality and illiteracy that are often put forward to explain the place of radio in Africa. A good observation of the media practices in progress as well as of the audiences leads to the conclusion that the radio, because of its incomparable accessibility, has been able to find an original and dominating place because it is the only medium around which people can find for themselves. Moreover, it is gradually emerging as a crossroads between the different media.?
Crossroads between populations
Radio manages to be a crossroads medium between populations mainly because of its “accessibility”. However, this term should be clarified. With regard to the way in which the media are structured in parts of Africa, I will approach the question of accessibility through three dimensions: territorial accessibility, cultural accessibility and economic accessibility. However, through the prism of these three dimensions, the "radio" medium turns out to be by far the most accessible medium, capable of partially overcoming the divisions that are nevertheless significant in African society: rural/urban; literate/illiterate; English speaker/speaker of indigenous languages.
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Territorial accessibility
Territorial accessibility indicates the material possibilities of accessing a medium. Unlike in Europe or developed parts of the world for example, where it is rare not to be able to find the desired media, in certain parts of Africa, material access to a media platform is often a problem. To this delay and this urban irregularity, there is also a shortage of newspapers in rural areas. In the countryside, the lack of electricity and low incomes make television inaccessible for the vast majority of the population. The question of territorial accessibility is important because it reintegrates the real context of access to the media and makes it possible to re-examine the question of pluralism. Radiophonic pluralism, when it comes to it, is real. The radio offers an incomparable geographical distribution.
Cultural accessibility
Due to the literacy issue, for a significant population, audiovisual media are the only ones they can access without intermediaries. This situation inevitably gives the audiovisual media, and in particular the radio, spread over the whole territory, a strategic place. In addition to this literacy criterion, there is a linguistic criterion. Although English is the official language in most African countries and therefore the language of instruction, it is spoken and understood by a minority of the population. Although many understand English without having gone to school, the fact remains that school remains the main place for learning English. However, the continent's low enrolment rates lead one to think that the use of English is still the prerogative of a minority. Compared to this situation, the radios are by far the most accessible media in linguistic terms. They pursue an active policy of linguistic pluralism. When it comes to broadcasting in indigenous languages, community radio gets the lion’s share. I will add a third element on the cultural accessibility of radio stations, which is less often mentioned, and that is the participatory and utilitarian aspect of radio. Indeed, most local radio stations are very well established in the environment in which they broadcast, especially community radio stations. They thus render great services to their listeners. Press releases are a good illustration of this.?
Affordability
Finally, radio is the medium that requires the least financial resources. Without electricity, it can be picked up by battery-powered transistors. Compared to other media, radio remains the most economically accessible.
Radio is therefore the most accessible medium in Africa, whether at the territorial, cultural or economic level. The deepening of the notion of accessibility, made possible by taking current media practices into account, explains a little better how and why radio occupies a preponderant place in the African media field. It builds a bridge between very diverse populations that usually rarely meet. It also turns out that it is emerging more and more as a crossroads between the different media. I might elaborate on that further in the future but for now all I can say is that Twitter has given radio an unbelievable lifeline.?