Radio for Development

This post and slideshow is a follow-up to an earlier article about the partnership between Birmingham City University and the Press Union of Liberia.

Peter Quaqua, the President of the Press Union, visited the University and met with myself and Liberian radio student Douglas Farngalo – and we had the chance to talk about the state of radio in Liberia and the media in general…

Douglas also discussed a scheme to send the University’s decommissioned portable audio recorders – along with new microphones / cables / batteries / training manuals etc. – to the Press Union in Liberia so they could be distributed to Community Radio Stations.

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Addis Ababa: Ethiopia
This entry features the Dean of the Faculty of Journalism and Communication, at Addis Ababa University.

The interview discusses the University’s various radio and media courses – as well as the Dean’s thoughts on Journalism in general in Ethiopia…

A country well known for its poor reputation for free press…
And for the Govts. harsh treatment of reporters.

Addis Ababa University is the oldest institution of higher education in Ethiopia – and their radio classes are proving to be very popular.

They aim to develop their radio courses in the future by establishing a “real world” community radio station on campus.

This interview was recorded in July, 2010.

Thanks to the British Council in Addis for their assistance in arranging the meeting.

The Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN) is Nigeria’s publicly-funded radio broadcaster.

Their subsidiaries include;

The Voice of Nigeria international service

Radio Nigeria domestic network.
In this clip, Philips Robinson Adefioye takes you on a tour of Radio Nigeria and Voice of Nigeria in Lagos, introducing staff behind the scenes and discussing various aspects of the FRCN operation.

Radio Nigeria is part of the FRCN’s mediumwave service. In 2007, FRCN began introducing FM transmitters in some locations, and plans to upgrade and modernise its shortwave and medium wave transmitters in the near future.

Funke-Treasure Durodola is a radio presenter at Metro FM, Lagos, Nigeria. In this clip she discusses the diversity of Nigerian radio, gender equality in presenting staff, training issues and the enduring popularity of radio in everyday life – amongst other things.

Metro FM is one of the 5 nationwide stations run by the FRCN (Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria) acrosss Nigeria. The network’s mission is to be;

“An impartial, credible, proactive broadcast medium in the forefront of Nigeria’s national development, unity and progress”

Their vision is:

“To create and maintain a broadcast outfit that will serve as a model in Nigeria and Africa in terms of standards, professionalism and character.”

Their mandate is:

“To uplift the people and unite the nation.”

Pamoja Radio99.9 FM is a community radio station formed in 2007 to empower youth of Kibera and its surrounding area through education and information. In this clip, station founder and manager Adam Hussein, along with key staff, talk about the goals of Pamoja, the support of USAID and it’s training policies.

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