By Jim Fisher-Thompson
Washington File Staff Writer

Washington -- Television may be the dominant form of mass media in developed nations, but radio is still the main window on the world for millions of Africans, who are increasingly using it as a tool to build democracy.

Radio certainly was a factor in Ghanaian politics last December, as Ghanaians not only tuned to FM radio for world news and entertainment, but also listened to progress reports on their presidential election, says George Ayittey, a Ghanaian professor who teaches economics at American University in Washington. Ayittey witnessed the election, and he said that "FM radio played a critical role" that allowed "democratic forces to triumph" in the presidential balloting.

Ayittey, who has authored several books on the importance of democratization for economic development in Africa, said the Ghanaian stations "would send armies of reporters to polling stations when irregularities by the government were charged and report on them immediately." This was especially important, he said, because the radio coverage encouraged people to go out and vote and to speak out when they saw polling officials or "government commandos" trying to interfere in the election process.

Millions listen to FM radio worldwide because it offers a clear sound unaffected by electronic interference caused by machinery or thunderstorms. It differs from short-wave radio, which bounces signals off the Earth's atmosphere and has a wider broadcast range. FM, in contrast, operates on direct line-of- sight, and since its radio signal stops at the horizon it has a limited broadcast range of about 80 kilometers.

In areas where electricity is less reliable -- as is the case with much of sub-Saharan Africa -- it is now possible to use portable radios that are powered by a carbon steel spring that, once wound up, drives an internal generator. A number of electronic companies manufacture such radios, which are durable, inexpensive, and able to operate for up to 30 minutes on one winding. The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) recently purchased 2,640 windup radios for election polling sites and community groups in Liberia.

Joan Mower, a former Associated Press reporter who now runs Africa programs for the Freedom Forum, one of the world's largest media foundations, agreed with Ayittey that Ghana's "independent FM radio stations were crucial" in the December election. "They opened their studios and telephone lines to debates and discussions with political candidates and government officials," she said. "They laid out [political] party programs for discussion and analysis. On election day, the stations devoted round-the-clock coverage to election results, a trend many thought prevented cheating and controversy."

Mower, who is preparing a report for the Freedom Forum on the impact of the media on politics in Ghana, also credited Ghana's state-owned media, which she said "worked hard to minimize bias for the incumbent government and its candidates. Journalists came up with guidelines for reporting elections fairly, and for giving equal access to all the parties in the run-up to the elections, as demanded by the country's constitution."

At the same time, she said, "the channels of the national television and radio organization, the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation, provided free and equal time slots for all the presidential candidates and other party campaign messages." Mower added that officials of the Ghana National Electoral Commission praised the media for contributing to the successful operation and the legitimacy of the polls, saying they were critical in ensuring the transparency of the elections.

In general, Mower said, stations like Accra's JOY-FM, while providing standard music entertainment, have also made a contribution to the political process in Ghana. "A distinguishing -- and popular -- feature of private radio is the plethora of call-in shows that allow people to voice their opinions on a range of subjects, frequently political. The result is that radio in Ghana has broadened the political debate around the country," she said.

The U.S. government has also recognized the growing importance of FM radio in Africa, and has accordingly made aid to the media an important part of its democracy programs there.

An example is the recent U.S. tour of 17 African radio station managers, producers, reporters, editors, and broadcasters sponsored by the State Department's International Visitors Program.

The group began its January 29 to February 16 tour of U.S. media operations in Washington, where it met with officials from the Federal Communications Commission and the Voice of America (VOA), and with journalists at public and commercial radio stations.

Godfrey Chitalu, a district agriculture information officer with the Chikaya Community Radio Station in Undazi, Zambia, told the Washington File that he was especially interested in seeing how local U.S. stations handled health issues.

So far, he said, "the trip has been an eye-opener for me. We are concentrating on reproductive health; talking about malaria, which is one of the biggest killers in our country; and tackling HIV/AIDS issues at our station." Chitalu was interested to discover that VOA had recently developed a CD-ROM (a computer-disk that contains text, audio, and video data) as an instructional guide for journalists who cover health issues such as HIV/AIDS, which can be purchased for about 50 cents.

Agnes Tamba, a newsreader and producer for KISS 104-FM radio in Sierra Leone, said that her station, which receives programming support from VOA, has operated in the southern part of the war-torn nation in the city of Bo since 1993. She said, "We have an agreement with VOA where we broadcast their programs via a satellite transceiver to rural populations" that normally have trouble receiving clear short-wave and AM radio signals.

Tamba said her station promoted democracy during the elections of 1996 when the city of Bo was attacked by rebels seeking to prevent the election. "We went on the air sensitizing people that it is their right to vote and that they should defy the guns and come out in their numbers and vote. The rebels hoped to create panic, but on the radio we kept telling the people to keep the faith and work towards the democratic process, and it gave them courage. In the end, we had our democratic elections."

The Sierra Leonean broadcaster said: "I'm looking to get some experience as a journalist, and one thing that I'm really interested in is the theme of the trip: 'Community Radio: Promoting an Engaged and Informed Civil Society.' You see, I think that whatever has happened in our country has happened because the people were not enlightened. But if I get some knowledge here, I'll go home and put it into practice and somehow battle the apathy that overcomes people in crisis."

Several other media programs in Africa are sponsored by USAID's Office of Transition Initiatives (OTI), including:

-- in Liberia, Talking Drum Studio, a local media production facility that produces human rights programming for radio emphasizing reconciliation and the protection of minorities' rights. Talking Drum also produced voter information and civic education programs aired on eight Liberian radio stations. STAR Radio, an independent radio station, also received monetary help;

-- in Angola, VOA programming that provided balanced news reports and featured programs focusing on conflict management, local governance, and general democracy building. The agency also paid for the training of Angolan journalists in the United States;

-- in Sierra Leone, a media and communications program that aids in the demobilization, reconciliation, and reintegration of former rebel soldiers, many of them children, back into society; and

-- the Southern African Media Development Fund (Samdef Fund), headquartered in Botswana, which began operations in 1998. It provides loans to independent media outlets in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region that normally have trouble getting bank loans. The idea is to upgrade media business skills and infrastructure while creating an enabling environment for media development.

(The Washington File is a product of the Office of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)

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