OVER THE AIRWAYS: THE IMPACT OF RADIO

Celebrating World Radio Day

In 2012, February 13th was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly as World Radio Day. The Assembly’s desire was to heighten our awareness of the importance of radio communication. I have been given permission by Farm Radio International’s Executive Director, Kevin Perkins, to cite information from its fall newsletter, Tuning In.

In the publication, I learned how modern technology is helping Farm Radio better target their programming to where their listeners live and ensure that their programs remain relevant. Thus, they efficiently determine who is listening by using information such as the location, height and power of a station’s transmitter to gauge a station’s broadcast area.

The information gained on the station’s geographic reach is overlaid on population maps to determine the number of listeners within the station’s broadcast zone. With this information, Farm Radio states that on average, 40-60 percent of potential listeners in a broadcast zone typically tune in to Farm Radio programs regularly. In addition, these statistics on location and numbers of listeners facilitates better marketing to potential sponsors as well as increased revenue for the station’s operation.

One specific example of Farm Radio’s success is highlighted by its impact during COVID. It was instrumental in changing minds and reaping positive results by ensuring that millions of people across Africa have access to information about life saving vaccines.

Achata Traore, a regular listener to Farm Radio broadcasts shares how radio programming changed her mind about being vaccinated against COVID. She explained, “When they came to vaccinate us, I was really worried. But I remembered the advice on the radio programs. I got vaccinated. I passed the information on to them in the fields when we were there for work, saying they wouldn’t lie to us.”

Let us applaud the 58-year success of Farm Radio International, the wonderful brainchild of Canadian broadcaster, George Atkins.

To learn more about the important work of Farm Radio International visit https://farmradio.org/

Sister Nancy Wales, CSJ

World Radio Day - February 13, 2022

WORLD RADIO DAY FEBRUARY 13, 2022 - Theme:  TRUST 

The theme “trust” is one I would not expect to see adapted by a UNESCO World Radio Day, and yet this is obviously the message they want to highlight and reinforce on the global landscape.  It is encouraging to see a positive value such as “trust”, being promoted by the media, because the phrase “fake news” lingers in the air long after it was first uttered.   Those words send waves of suspicion across all media, communication, and has weakened the rafters of my own mind. 

While that is the view of reality through my lens, a broader more accurate picture of radio offers fresh light.   I have learned that 80 years after the founding of the first radio station, radio continues to thrive currently in this Internet era.  From a global perspective, radio is accessible, affordable, especially in developing countries, and essential in times of climate disasters. An overwhelming majority of people around the world continue to stay tuned.   

One of the goals of World Radio Day is to celebrate humanity in all its diversity.   As example, in 2014 the theme was Gender Equality and Women Empowerment, while in 2019 the theme was Dialogue, Tolerance and Peace, in 2020 it was Radio Diversity, while in 2021 it was Evolution, Innovation and Connection.  I find this impressive. 

I would be remiss not to single out John Fetzer of Kalamazoo Mi who made a fortune in the broadcasting business of radio, television, cable and closed-circuit music transmission. Greater than all that was his quiet curiosity about meditation, prayer, philosophy, other ways of healing and positive thinking that sets him apart long after his death in 1991.  With his wealth he created a huge endowment known as the Fetzer Institute, to support spiritual/wellness pursuits, to provide education/opportunities for others currently and for years to come.   

I believe Fetzer would approve of this year’s theme of “trust” for World Radio Day and in closing, pose a question from the website of the Fetzer Institute: “How can the entrepreneurial spirit and financial resources gained from the American business sector be used in the service of creating a better world”? Fetzer, in his own passionate way, created a model for us to examine and enrich life.   For more information about the Fetzer Institute go to fetzer.org/work and explore the many programs/themes plus free offerings listed under resources. 

 -Sister Patricia St. Louis csj 

Listening in Community: The Relevancy of Radio

Every Thursday night, Diabou Wandia and a number of women — and men — from her community gather around a radio.

They tune in to a program on Radio Djimara, broadcast from nearby in southern Senegal. The program is specifically tailored to the needs of women in the community and communities nearby. They discuss nutrition, breastfeeding, and hygiene.

After the program ends, the conversation starts.

“We listen as a community,” says Diabou. “When we listen together, we support each other, we understand better.”

In Diabou’s group they discuss how they can deal with waste as a community, or how they are starting a vegetable nursery to help with their kitchen gardens and to ensure the health of their children. They ask questions of each other, they phone in new questions to the radio station to address in the next program.

It’s a scene that is echoed in many communities across sub-Saharan Africa — though the topics of the radio programs change.

Farm Radio International is the non-profit that promotes this approach. By working with radio stations to design compelling, informative radio programs, they encourage communities to take up new practices, change attitudes and try new things — all the while knowing that the radio programs will support them as they do this.

Many ask why radio is so important, especially as the internet and smartphones grow ever more popular. For Farm Radio, the answer is evident: in rural sub-Saharan Africa, radio is widespread and inexpensive. Broadcasters speak the local language, meaning listeners get information in the language they are most comfortable in, and don’t have to be literate. Radio is also nimble — broadcasters can change the topic of the program immediately, as new events happen. Farm Radio’s partner broadcasters in Ethiopia, for example, when they learned of drought, changed the whole course of a program to directly meet the needs of farmers facing the crisis.

Radio is also interactive. Just because it’s a medium that has been around for more than 100 years, doesn’t mean it can’t adapt. Using mobile phones, even smart phones, Farm Radio works with their partner broadcasters to make sure their programs are participatory. Farmers and rural people call into the shows to ask questions; interactive voice response systems augment the programming, meaning listeners can call in and hear more tips; broadcasters can use phones to conduct polls that determine their next show.

Above all, this means that the voices that matter, those of rural people like Diabou Wandia can have a say, voice their concerns, and hear their voices amplified in a way that matters, and a way that will bring change to her own community.

Farm Radio International, alongside their partner radio stations, and stations around the world, is celebrating World Radio Day this Thursday, Feb. 13! This year’s theme is pluralism, representation and diversity. Amplifying the diverse voices of rural people like Diabou and ensuring their voices are represented on a powerful stage makes it possible to spark change across Africa and around the world.

For more information about Farm Radio International, visit them on their website at farmradio.org.

The Sisters of St. Joseph are proud supporters of Farm Radio International.

 - Submission by Tara Sprickerhoff, Farm Radio International Communications Officer