By Kwesi Gyan Apenteng
February 13 is World Radio Day. It was proclaimed as an International Day in 2011 by the Member States of UNESCO and adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 2012.
The day celebrates radio as a powerful medium of communication, which UNESCO describes as “a platform for democratic discourse”. Radio is the most consumed medium and reaches every corner of the world. It has shaped and continues to shape opinions, views, education, and culture more powerfully than any other medium.
For people who were born before television and the Internet age, radio was the main gateway into the world of news, entertainment, and the sharing of values about our country, continent, the world, and life in general.
Today, the communication scene is more complicated and fragmented, but radio still has advantages over other media and technologies, which is why it will continue to serve more of our communication needs even in the Internet age.
In Ghana, we have some 500+ FM radio stations, which is per capita one of the highest radio penetration anywhere in the world. But as we have seen over the years, in media content issues, quantity and quality are two completely different animals.
While our airwaves are dominated by FM stations, community radio has a hard time getting into the action. When I checked the website of the Community Radio Network , I counted only 22 partner stations, which means there are only that number of genuine community radio stations in the country.
By definition, community radio is not for profit, cannot be owned by one person or any number of individuals. It is owned by a community and operated by the members. It tends to be more inclusive and supportive of efforts by women and other “political minorities”, including poor farmers, fisher-folk and others who hardly get any notice from the commercial FM stations.
The theme of this year’s Radio Day is Radio and Peace. Around the world, radio content provides information on conflicts, and for refugees and people affected by violence, radio is often the only medium through which they get information and any link from home.
The theme explores the role of radio in managing conflict and building peace, and this is where community radio provides much value. In Ghana today, there are places—Bawku comes to mind—that are crying out for peace and initiatives to end longstanding conflicts. Most of the time, misinformation and disinformation play crucial roles in fanning conflicts, but organised and systematic peace interventions using the power of the media can help bring peace.
Community radio can be relied upon to play a leading and unified role in this regard, which is why we must all fight for community radio to be given more frequency to broadcast, especially in rural areas and places beset by conflict.
One fight for which community radio can be effective is the war against galamsay. This is because the voices speaking out would not be from Accra or the regional capitals. These would be voices of the people in the communities being ravaged by galamsay.
Galamsay is usually a local activity with global impact, and the fight against it can only be won if the voices against it begin at the local level. If for no other reason at all, for this cause and on this day, we must stand with community radio and ask for justice for the orphan broadcasting sector.
