Audience listenership of FM radio: A case study of rural development in Northern Ghana

Abstract

The quest for effective strategies for rural development continues to be a challenge for policymakers in sub-Saharan Africa and their development partners. Communication development strategies executed using FM stations have emerged as a promising tool as a result of the medium being the most popular source of information among rural dwellers in the region. Thus, this research explores the efficacy of FM radio in rural development by examining the listening patterns of residents and the benefits of such listenership to the lives of inhabitants of the Tamale metropolitan area. This is achieved via a quantitative analysis of surveys of about 400 residents of the Tamale metropolis. The study rejects the perception that FM radio programs in Ghana are mostly entertainment driven and are purveyors of light news. By putting searchlight on the motivations of radio listeners, the study finds that FM radio is the most reliable and trusted source of development information because of the ease, convenience and low cost of listening for listeners, and because programming is mostly in local languages. The study establishes that FM radio is the main source of information on agriculture, education and health in rural communities thereby contributing to rural development. Listeners’ participations in radio phone-in programs were highly rated for fostering audience motivation and agency. However, some challenges emerged. Listenership of FM stations was disproportionately male; there were complaints that radio programs were too “urban”; programming lacked innovation; and the timing of programs was poor. Based on these findings, the study recommends that FM radio stations should employ media professionals to conduct effective audience analysis to gain a grounded understanding of audience radio use if they are to develop the right programming timing to reach a greater audience of rural residents.

Keywords:

• rural development
• development communication
• northern Ghana
• uses and gratifications
• radio listeners

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

The authors received no direct funding for this research.

Notes on contributors

Osman Antwi-Boateng

Osman Antwi-Boateng serves as an Associate Professor of Political Science and International Relations at United Arab Emirates University. He earned his Ph.D. in Political Science and International Relations from the University of Delaware and holds two Masters’ degrees in International Security from Georgetown University and in International Affairs (communication and development) from Ohio University-Athens, respectively. His research interests are in international relations, international development, international security and comparative political institutions.

Muhammed Danladi Musa

Muhammed Danladi Musa is an Associate Professor of Communication at the Department of Media and Creative Industries, United Arab Emirates University. He has previously taught at the University Canterbury in New Zealand. Muhammed has authored dozens of book chapters and journal articles and serves on the editorial boards of scholarly journals. He has supervised and examined several Masters and Ph.D. theses. His teaching and research interests are in the Political economy of the media, journalism studies and media and social change in developing societies.

Mu-Azu Iddirisu Andani

Mu-Azu Iddirisu Andani, is a communication development expert who serves as a Senior Assistant Registrar at University for Development Studies, Tamale in Ghana. He holds a PHD degree in Mass communication and Journalism from Mangalore University, India. He also has a Master’s degree in Library Studies from University of Ghana. He has extensive professional experience in rural development in northern Ghana and has research interests in communication and development, rural development and community radio.