14
|
the
channel
S
ince 9/11
, the media focus and
attention of those who pay for
transnational
government-
sponsored broadcasting clearly has
been on the Arab and Islamic
worlds. But in terms of direct contact with
listeners and viewers and the sheer size of
the audience, the real and seldom recognized
slumbering giant in international public
service broadcasting is sub-Sahara Africa.
Today, well more than 100 million Africans
hear the BBC, VoA and Radio France
Internationale at least once weekly, via
shortwave, medium wave, or local FM.
“Africa,” says Barry Langridge, head of BBC World
Service Africa and Middle East broadcasts, “is
undoubtedly hungry
for news of itself but
also for international
fare… It would be a
mistake to think that
Africans only listen
because their own
media is patchy. They
are big international
thinkers and many
radio listeners are
much better informed
on the big world
problems than many
Westerners.”
International broadcasters are reacting
creatively to the challenge. Listeners and
viewers in Africa are extraordinarily curious
about the world and their own countries. And
why not? While Africa has enormous cultural
richness and diversity, it is also beset by wars,
famine and disease. Its people are hungry
for solutions to daunting problems —
including a need for governments that work
— and disillusioned because in many African
countries, a better life seems far away.
Because of this, they are particularly
attracted to broadcasts from abroad which
permit them to participate, and to seek
answers directly relevant to their daily
concerns.
Forums in Many Formats
International broadcasters are partnering
with newly independent indigenous media to
enrich such exchanges of knowledge. More
and more, transnational media in Africa are
focusing on: 1) rebroadcasting and
placement, 2) call-ins and other interactive
programmes, and 3) tailored public service
television and radio offerings, including VoA
TV to Africa and the Voice’s expanded website
on African issues.
Rebroadcasting and placement
In 1990, there were only two independent
FM radio stations in all of sub-Sahara Africa.
Today, there are scores of radio outlets and
some newly independent television stations,
a highly competitive media market. The Big
Three international broadcasters — BBC, VOA
and RFI — have been in intense competition
since the early 90s to supplement traditional
shortwave with other delivery systems and
new programming techniques. The three have
nearly 170 around the clock relays or
affiliates, large and small, some in capital
cities, others in provincial “up country”
municipalities. The Voice of Nigeria, that
country’s state radio, for example, has
partnerships with BBC, VOA and RFI, as well
as Deutsche Welle, the South African
Broadcasting Corporation (SABC), Channel
Africa, and Radio Sudan. The World Service
lists 64 FM affiliates in Africa on its website,
and the VOA says it has more than 50 radio
and TV partners throughout the continent.
Call-ins and dialogue programmes
VOA Africa Division director Gwen Dillard says
that the Voice has been particularly active
in co-sponsoring and broadcasting live “town
meetings” in Nigeria this past year with local
and international non-governmental
organizations (NGOs), and is looking to
increase the activity to illuminate issues
International broadcasting:
serving Africa,
solving problems?
Alan Heil
surveys the work that
international broadcasters are carrying out
in Africa, helping to improve the
information flow and serve the immediate
needs of the population across the
The BBC’s
Barry Langridge
Gwen Dillard, chief
of VoA Africa Division
likely to be debated in national elections
there scheduled for next May. Dillard adds
that topics include states rights in a federal
system, health and education issues,
corruption in government, human rights, and
the economy. Special audience participation
programmes also are being created to assist
orphaned adolescents and former child
soldiers in the teeming refugee camps of east
and central Africa, to provide information on
how to head a family or earn a living.
In Kano in September 2001, VoA’s Hausa
Service rented a hotel ballroom for 200 town
hall participants. Four hundred citizens
showed up, many crowding into the foyer
outside. The topic: “Nigeria: Evolving a
Durable Democracy.” The event was broadcast
live for an hour on VOA shortwave and
medium wave and recorded for television. The
town meeting was co-sponsored by the
Network for Justice, a Nigerian NGO. Those
present wanted to keep talking. The session
continued for four hours. Several hundred
more Nigerians, radios cocked at their ears,
flocked to the street in front of the hall.
Dillard explains that in such cases, the entire
proceedings are recorded and serialized for
later playback. The Voice has conducted four
such town meetings in Hausa and English in
Nigeria, with similar outpourings of support.
RFI, in a program hosted by Juan Gomez
entitled
Appels sur l’actualite
, broadcasts
listener comment on international news.
The Interactive Internet
The BBC’s Barry Langridge recalls visiting the
president of the Democratic Republic of the
