Radio in Africa: Publics, Cultures, Communities

Abstract

That radio is not a dying medium, but prospering and diversifying in Africa, is amply demonstrated in this collection, containing no less then 17 articles on a great variety of forms of radio. The book is the product of workshops and projects coordinated by Liz Gunner on radio, publics, and communities in Southern Africa between 2005 and 2007. However, the collection covers Africa much more broadly, including South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Angola, but also extending its attention to Ghana, Mali, Congo, Kenya, Uganda, and Somalia. Some of the chapters reflect on the ways in which radio was used and controlled by colonial and apartheid governments, including Liz Gunner's own essay on Zulu radio drama in the 1970s and Sekibakiba Lekgoathi's discussion of Northern Sotho radio – both of which examine government censorship and efforts to build up ‘Bantustan’ identities during apartheid in South Africa. But what is interesting here, more than censorship, is the popularity of programmes in local languages, and the ways in which these have been developed by broadcasters and appropriated by listeners. This is evident with regards to phone-in programmes and features that set out to discuss issues of cultural custom and interpretations of tradition. This highlights how radio programmes, in spite of restrictions, have been turned into something quite different in reception than was intended at the point of design or production.