Thiven Reddy offers an important and new analysis in understanding post-Apartheid South African politics. Although South Africa attained democracy in 1994, the country remains a ‘society driven by ...

South Africa, Settler Colonialism and the Failures of Liberal Democracy

Development communication and community radio media outlets have been described as the most effective way of ensuring political inclusion and political engagement in emerging democracies such as Gh...

Achieving Active Political Pluralism and Participation through Development Communication: The Role of Local and Community Radio Media Outlets in Northern Ghana

Although there is scant audience research in media studies, audiences continue to be key drivers in the political economy of media in Africa and elsewhere. The study explores the dynamics of indige...

Pɔhim Zuɣu: Understanding Indigenous Language News Audiences in Ghana

Research in the areas of audio and radio is as dynamic as ever, and we’re excited to continue to receive and publish new and relevant studies from scholars uncovering new information about radio, podcasting and other forms of audio communication, allowing the Journal of Radio and Audio Media (JRAM) to be a premiere international publisher of radio and audio research. We’re also excited to announce that we are beginning a process in this issue of the journal of ‘catching up’ on articles recently published online with which we were a bit behind in getting into a print edition. As you may know, we focus on publishing articles connected to symposium issues in print at the same time they are available online, but for regular articles, we usually publish online first. With so much good research being submitted to JRAM, that procedure has given authors a bit longer than we wanted before the article went into a print edition. With this and upcoming issues, we will work to remedy this situation. The silver lining benefit for the reader is a bigger article count in this outstanding issue, including some podcastrelated studies, some insights into college radio and a continued number of international studies. We start this issue with Joshua M. Bentley’s Analysis of Public Radio Fundraising (Bentley, 2022). It is likely that many professors who read JRAM also work in an academic environment where a public radio station is operated, making this study relevant and useful in multiple ways. Bentley’s study focuses on reasons for listener financial support and finds that the dominant appeal for supporting the station was self-interest. Hirschmeier, Beule, and Tilly (2022) follow with an intriguing analysis of streamed radio content designed to identify sequences using pattern mining techniques. How people listen to ‘radio’ has changed from a completely linear process to now a mostly nonlinear process. As this research points out, however, this new model has not solved broadcasters’ problem of effectively matching content delivery style with audience reception preferences in a manner that keeps them engaged and makes the experience interactive. This study recognizes how current process changes are placing innovation pressure on radio broadcasters. Mary E. Myers provides a historical accounting of Dr. Clarence M. Morgan and his contributions to the broadcasting program at what is JOURNAL OF RADIO & AUDIO MEDIA 2022, VOL. 29, NO. 2, 181–185 https://doi.org/10.1080/19376529.2022.2125176

Editor’s Remarks: Radio, Audio and Podcasting in Dynamic Times


Purpose
Community radio attempts to place the power of communication in the hands of community members, particularly the youth, so that they can create and broadcast materials that address local community issues. The purpose of the study is therefore to look into the potential impacts of community radio and the function it plays in youth development.


Design/methodology/approach
This study employed a qualitative research approach to investigate the role of community radio in information dissemination towards youth development in Ghana. Two community radio stations were selected for the study, and through the use of semi-structured interview, qualitative data were collected from 42 participants comprising two programme managers, four radio producers and 36 youth. The qualitative research approach enabled in-depth understanding of the phenomenon of the study.


Findings
This study found that both community radio stations aired youth-centred programmes that were beneficial to the development of the youth within the stations’ coverage communities. The results further reveal that community radio offers the opportunity and platform for the youth to engage the political authorities for development and also entertain themselves.


Originality/value
The authors consider this study original both in conceptualization and design. The main question being interrogated stems from identified gaps in the literature, and this study intends to fill these knowledge gaps. This study’s originality also stems from the fact that there is a paucity of information on the subject of study in the context of Ghana.


The role of community radio in information dissemination towards youth development in Ghana

We used on-site interviews and roundtable conversations with practitioners to uncover original evidence of ways in which two variant South African communities activated citizens’ involvement in rad...

Sarah Moore

Papers

Community Radio in Contemporary South Africa – Deconstructing Complexities in Demarginalization