Converged Radio, Youth and Urbanity

in Africa: Emerging trends and

perspectives Stanley Tsarwe
Visit to download the full and correct content document:
https://ebookmass.com/product/converged-radio-youth-and-urbanity-in-africa-emergin
g-trends-and-perspectives-stanley-tsarwe/
Converged Radio,
Youth and
Urbanity in Africa
Emerging trends and perspectives

Edited by
Stanley Tsarwe · Sarah Chiumbu
Converged Radio, Youth and Urbanity in Africa
 Stanley Tsarwe • Sarah Chiumbu
Editors

Converged Radio,
Youth and Urbanity
in Africa
Emerging trends and perspectives
Editors
Stanley Tsarwe Sarah Chiumbu
Department of Journalism and School of Communication
Media Studies University of Johannesburg
University of Zimbabwe Johannesburg, South Africa
Harare, Zimbabwe

ISBN 978-3-031-19416-0    ISBN 978-3-031-19417-7 (eBook)

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-19417-7

© The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer
Nature Switzerland AG 2023
This work is subject to copyright. All rights are solely and exclusively licensed by the
Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of
translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on
microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval,
electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now
known or hereafter developed.
The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this
publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are
exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use.
The publisher, the authors, and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information
in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the
publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, expressed or implied, with respect
to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made.
The publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and
institutional affiliations.

This Palgrave Macmillan imprint is published by the registered company Springer Nature
Switzerland AG.
The registered company address is: Gewerbestrasse 11, 6330 Cham, Switzerland
 This book is dedicated to researchers, policy makers, and students
interested in understanding the state of radio in Africa in
an era of convergence, but most importantly, in an era where youth in the
continent find radio attractive because of the interactivity enabled by
digital media technologies. We also give special mention to Palgrave
Macmillan for accepting to publish our book, and seeing us through the
various peer-review processes.
 Foreword

We are particularly intrigued by African radio, and we are blessed to have

the opportunity to actually assemble a set of empirical chapters not only
telling the story of African radio in a converged era, but also how this
convergence (together with its contradictions spanning unevenly across
the continent) is happening in an era when the continent is also rapidly
urbanising, with young people being at the driving seat of these develop-
ments. We are aware that our readers—within and outside the continent—
are keen to know what has changed since the increased use of digital media
devices in the production, distribution, and consumption of radio, and
how have these developments set new trends in African radio. In this vol-
ume, we take you through a journey of discovery of what lies at the inter-
section of radio, convergence, youth, and urbanity in Africa.

Journalism and Media Studies Stanley Tsarwe

University of Zimbabwe,
Harare, Zimbabwe
Department of Communication and Media Sarah Chiumbu
in the School of Communication
University of Johannesburg
Johannesburg, South Africa

vii
 Preface

This book volume came as a result of deep soul searching into the some-
times taken-for-granted fact that radio still remains one of the forceful
channels of mass communication in Africa. We have both written exten-
sively about how mobile phones and the Internet are giving a new lease of
life to African radio, but we also became aware that even though Africa is
experiencing an almost similar transition in its mass communication ecol-
ogy, there are various sheds and tints colouring this transition, and that
there was a need to produce a more comprehensive, empirical collection
of chapters discussing these various sheds of ‘African experiences’.

Harare, Zimbabwe Stanley Tsarwe

Johannesburg, South Africa  Sarah Chiumbu

ix
 Acknowledgements

We acknowledge and recognise the effort and dedication given by the vari-
ous researchers who trusted us with their chapters in this book volume.
They painstakingly worked during a pandemic that claimed close to 6.5
million lives worldwide between 2020 and 2022. This book project com-
menced just before the world was forced to shut down due to the
Coronavirus (Covid-19)—an infectious disease caused by the SARS-­
CoV-­2 virus known for the following symptoms: fever, dry cough, tired-
ness, loss of taste or smell, sore throat, headache, aches and pains, and
many more. As a result of the pandemic, our chapter contributors were
differently but severely affected; some directly and others indirectly. The
effect was that most chapters never made it for publication in this volume.
What a sad loss of rich scholarly insights on converged African radio.
Initially, our book volume was structured thematically in four parts, with
the following exciting themes: Structure, Agency and Power: Production
and Reception of Converged Radio; Agents of Change: Civic Engagement
and Political Participation, Identity, Belonging, and Cultural Expressions
as well as Commercial Imperatives. After we lost a lot of chapters along the
way, the book was forced to content with a collection of loose, but deeply
insightful, empirical, and representative chapters that are a ground-­
breaking tale on converged radio, urbanity, and youth across Africa.
Special mention also goes to Prof Sarah Hellen Chiumbu who—an
esteemed radio scholar, co-editor in this volume, and an Associate
Professor of Communication at the University of Johannesburg—drove
the book project throughout a very tumultuous journey of mentorship,
insights, and guidance. We frankly admit that without her easy-going and
warm guidance, this book may have suffered. We are greatly indebted to her.

xi
 Contents

1 Radio
 Convergence and Youth: An Overview on African
Perspectives  1
Stanley Tsarwe and Sarah Chiumbu

2 Converged
 Radio, Youth, and Participatory Politics in
Harare, Zimbabwe 15
Lazarus Sauti and Tendai Makaripe

3 An
 Alternative Arena for “Communities of Resistance”?
Podcasting, Democratic Spaces, and Counterpublics in
Zimbabwe 37
Makhosi Nkanyiso Sibanda and Mphathisi Ndlovu

4 ‘Mobile
 Radio’ and Youth Identity Formation on the
Streets of Harare 55
Stanley Tsarwe

5 Strategic
 Diversion and Commercial Exploitation: The
Dumbing Down of Converged Youth Radio
Programming in Zimbabwe 71
Pedzisai Ruhanya and Wellington Gadzikwa

xiii
xiv Contents

6 Mis(Understanding)
 Youth Engagement: Role of
Commercial Youth Radio in Promoting Political
Engagement in South Africa 93
Sarah Chiumbu and Allen Munoriyarwa

7 Radio
 as Self-expression and the Limits of Public Debate109
Thabo Godfrey Mokgosi

8 Youth
 Audiences and Social Media Integration
in Community Radio Stations in South Africa:
A Case Study of Zibonele FM and Bush Radio123
Trust Matsilele, Blessing Makwambeni, Sisanda Nkoala, and
Gqibile John Bulani

9 Social
 Media Use and Maturity in a Youth-­Orientated
Community Radio Station: The Case of Rhodes Music
Radio155
Mudiwa A. Gavaza and Noel J. Pearse

10 The
 Language of Audience Engagement in Converged
Radio Through Facebook and Twitter: The Case
of NRG Radio and Ghetto Radio in Nairobi, Kenya185
Benson Oduor Ojwang

11 Audience
 Participation in Information Dissemination for
National Renaissance: Nigerian Youths’ Engagement of
Radio Contents Via Social Media Platforms209
Adeola Obafemi Mobolaji, Dickson Oluwasina Ogunkunle,
Stephen Damilola Odebiyi, and Babatunde Raphael Ojebuyi

12 Campus
 Radio in the Digital Era: A Case Study
of UNESWA FM229
Rosemary K. Musvipwa and Carolyne M. Lunga

Index247
 Notes on Contributors

Gqibile John Bulani is a lecturer and Work Integrated Learning (WIL)

coordinator in the Media Department of the Cape Peninsula University of
Technology, Cape Town. He serves as an Editorial Coordinator for a local
community newspaper, Khwezi Times News, and his research interests
include community media, service learning, and citizen journalism.
Sarah Chiumbu is Associate Professor of Communication at the
University of Johannesburg, South Africa. Before joining the University of
Johannesburg, she was Senior Research Specialist in the Human and Social
Development Research Programme at the Human Sciences Research
Council (HSRC). She also spent 7 years the University of Witwatersrand
where she was a senior lecturer in media and communication studies. She
holds a PhD and MA in media studies from the University of Oslo,
Norway. Her research interests include media, democracy and citizenship,
digital and alternative media, policy studies, and social movements. Recent
book publications include a book on media and decoloniality co-edited
with Mehita Iqani (Media Studies: Critical African and Decolonial
Approaches. Oxford University Press, 2019), Radio, Public Life and
Citizen Deliberation in South Africa (Routledge, 2021), and Television in
the Digital Age: Disjuncture, Continuities and Prospects (Palgrave
Macmillan, 2021) both co-edited with Gilbert Motsaathebe.
Wellington Gadzikwa is a Senior Lecturer, Journalism and Media Studies
at Africa University. His research and publication interests are in journalism
standards and practice, media framing, tabloids, and tabloidization.

xv
xvi NOTES ON CONTRIBUTORS

Mudiwa A. Gavaza is a business writer for the Business Day and Financial
Mail publications, covering technology, media, and telecommunications
companies. In addition, he is a broadcaster, currently hosting the Business
Day Spotlight podcast and the Business Buzz Show on Voice of Wits Radio.
He is also a contributor on Power FM. An alumnus of Rhodes Business
School and GIBS Business School, Mudiwa has qualifications in economics,
information systems, business administration, and financial journalism.
Carolyne M. Lunga has 10 years’ experience as a journalism lecturer and
previously worked as a print journalist. She teaches international journal-
ism to Master’s students and conflict and humanitarian journalism to BA
Journalism students. She is a Digital Assistant at City’s Learning and
Enhancement Development Department (LEaD) and researches collab-
orative journalism.
Tendai Makaripe holds an MSc degree in Politics and International
Relations and a BSc degree in Political Science from the University of
Zimbabwe. He also holds a Diploma in Journalism and Communications
from the Christian College of Southern Africa (CCOSA). Makaripe is a
practising journalist, and a Politics and International Relations researcher.
His work focuses on Zimbabwean politics, governance, political commu-
nication, alternative media and conflict management, insurgency, and ter-
rorism in Africa.
Blessing Makwambeni is a senior lecturer and acting Head of
Department of Media Studies at the Cape Peninsula University of
Technology in South Africa. He also serves as the Chair of the Faculty of
Informatics and Design Research Ethics Committee. Blessing holds a PhD
in Communication from the University of Fort Hare and has previously
taught journalism at the National University of Science and Technology in
Zimbabwe.
Trust Matsilele is a senior lecturer in the Department of Media Studies
at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology, South Africa. He
researches on changing journalism ecologies, the intersection of social
media and society and protest cultures in Africa. His first book published
by Palgrave Macmillan, Social Media and Digital Dissidence in Zimbabwe,
theorises social media protest cultures in Africa.
Adeola Obafemi Mobolaji is a Doctoral student in the Department of
Communication and Language Arts, University of Ibadan, Nigeria. His
 NOTES ON CONTRIBUTORS xvii

research interest is in the aspects of media studies, new media, indigenous

communication, and applied communication. He has a number of schol-
arly publications in reputed local and international outlets.
Thabo Godfrey Mokgosi is a Lecturer in the Department of
Communication Science at University of Zululand. He holds PhD from
North-West University focusing on radio broadcasting and the quest for
democratic participation on Motsweding FM. His research interest broadly
explores the intersection of radio and democratic political debate in
South Africa.
Allen Munoriyarwa is a Senior Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the
Department of Media and Communication at the University of
Johannesburg in South Africa. His research interests are in journalism and
news production practices. He also researches big data and digital surveil-
lance. He has published widely in these areas. He is currently coordinating
a research exploring the growth of digital surveillance practices in Southern
Africa under the auspices of the Media Policy and Democracy Project
(MPDP). This is a University of Johannesburg research project.
Rosemary K. Musvipwa is a Journalism and Mass Communication lec-
turer at the University of Eswatini teaching courses in broadcasting, public
relations, and development communication. She has an interest in research
about communication and media studies as well as sustainable development.
Mphathisi Ndlovu is a research fellow at Stellenbosch University, South
Africa. He is also a Senior Lecturer in the department of Journalism and
Media Studies at the National University of Science and Technology
(Zimbabwe). Mphathisi holds a PhD in Journalism from Stellenbosch
University.
Sisanda Nkoala is a senior lecturer at the Cape Peninsula University of
Technology’s Media Studies Department. She holds a PhD in Rhetoric studies
from the University of Cape Town. Her research interests are the intersection
of rhetoric, media, and language. She is a former award-­winning journalist.
Stephen Damilola Odebiyi had his BA and MA in the Department of
Communication and Language Arts, University of Ibadan, Nigeria. His
research interest lies in the aspects of media studies and applied communi-
cation. He has a number of scholarly publications in reputable local and
international outlets.
xviii NOTES ON CONTRIBUTORS

Dickson Oluwasina Ogunkunle is a Doctoral student in the Department

of Communication and Language Arts, University of Ibadan, Nigeria. His
research interest lies in the aspects of media studies and development com-
munication. He has some scholarly publications in reputable international
outlets.
Babatunde Raphael Ojebuyi is a Senior Lecturer at the Department of
Communication and Language Arts, University of Ibadan, Nigeria.
Ojebuyi’s teaching and research focus include communication and media
studies, journalism, health communication, media theories and ethics,
communication research methods, and new media. Babatunde Ojebuyi
has written books and published well-researched articles in reputed local
and international academic journals. He has served as a peer reviewer for
some reputable journals. He is a member of the International Association
for Media and Communication Research (IAMCR) among other profes-
sional associations.
Benson Oduor Ojwang is Associate Professor of Linguistics and English
and Director of Graduate Studies at Kaimosi Friends University College,
Kenya. He holds a Bachelor of Education and Master of Arts degrees from
the University of Nairobi and a PhD in Linguistics from Maseno University,
Kenya. He has published several articles in international refereed journals
besides book chapters. He has also supervised Masters and PhD students to
completion. He is a peer reviewer and consultant editor for several refereed
journals. His research interests are in African language description, endan-
gered language studies, semantics, pragmatics, and applied linguistics.
Noel J. Pearse is a Professor in the Rhodes Business School at Rhodes
University. He lectures in Leadership, People Management, Strategy
Implementation, Change Management, and Research Design. His current
research interest is in the application of qualitative research methods to
analysing leadership behaviour, as well as organisational and leadership
development processes.
Pedzisai Ruhanya is a lecturer at the University of Zimbabwe’s Creative
Media and Communication Department. His research interests include
media and democracy, political economy, human rights law, transition
politics, and politics in transition. He has published several peer-reviewed
journals and a book on post-Mugabe Zimbabwe.
 NOTES ON CONTRIBUTORS xix

Lazarus Sauti holds an MA degree in Communication and Media

Studies from the University of Zimbabwe (UZ) and a MSc degree in
International Relations from the Bindura University of Science Education
(BUSE). He has published book chapters and research papers. His research
interests focus on media and communication, with specific concentration
on media, conflict resolution, and transformation; digital media cultures;
political communication; health and communication; and cultural produc-
tions, human rights, democracy, peace, and governance.
Makhosi Nkanyiso Sibanda is a PhD candidate at the Centre for Film
and Media Studies at the University of Cape Town, South Africa.
Stanley Tsarwe is Lecturer of Journalism and Media Studies at the
University of Zimbabwe and an expert consultant on media development
in Zimbabwe. He graduated with a PhD and MA in Journalism and Media
Studies from Rhodes University, South Africa. His research interests are at
the intersection between smart phones, the Internet and talk radio, as well
as media, conflict, and peace. Selected publications include: Mobile phones
and a million chatter performed inclusivity and silenced voices in
Zimbabwean talk radio; Implications of gatekeeping on talk radio; Voice,
alienation, and the struggle to be heard: a case study of community radio
programming in South Africa; Journalistic Framing of Electoral Conflict
in a Politically Fragile Society: A Comparative Study of the Zimbabwean
Weekly Press; Mobile phones, informal markets, and young urban entre-
preneurs in Zimbabwe: An Exploratory Study.
 List of Figures

Fig. 8.1 Twitter post from @ZiboneleFM98_2 Twitter account 142

Fig. 8.2 Paid partnership post on @ZiboneleFM98_2 Twitter account 143
Fig. 8.3 Facebook post from Zibonele FM 98.2 144
Fig. 8.4 Facebook post from Zibonele FM 98.2 145
Fig. 8.5 Facebook post from Zibonele FM 98.2 146
Fig. 8.6 Facebook post from Zibonele FM 98.2 147
Fig. 8.7 Post from Bush Radio 89.5 FM Facebook page 149
Fig. 8.8 Post from @bushradio Instagram account 150

xxi
 List of Tables

Table 9.1 SMMM rating scale for a community radio station 164
Table 9.2 Organisational spheres and level characteristics 166
Table 9.3 Elements investigated in each departmental-level operational
sphere169
Table 9.4 Assessment of RMR’s social media maturity 173
Table 11.1 Nigerian youth’s preferences in radio programmes 217
Table 11.2 Nigerian youth’s most preferred platforms for consuming
radio programmes 218
Table 11.3 Respondents’ perception of the extant importance of radio
broadcasting to national development in Nigeria 221

xxiii
 CHAPTER 1

Radio Convergence and Youth: An Overview

on African Perspectives

Stanley Tsarwe and Sarah Chiumbu

Introduction
The chapters in this book are empirical case studies on how the African
radio is converging with contemporary digital media technologies such as
mobile phones, computers and the internet in radio production, distribu-
tion and consumption. The profound effect of the coming together of
these technologies has a decisive and simultaneous impact on re-­calibrating
the African public sphere on the one hand and, on the other, reconfigur-
ing the relationship between radio audiences and producers towards
increased collaboration. As audiences—particularly the youth

S. Tsarwe (*)
Department of Creative Media and Communication, University of Zimbabwe,
Harare, Zimbabwe
e-mail: stsarwe@arts.uz.ac.zw
S. Chiumbu
Department of Communication and Media, School of Communication,
University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg, South Africa
e-mail: sarahc@uj.ac.za

© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature 1

Switzerland AG 2023
S. Tsarwe, S. Chiumbu (eds.), Converged Radio, Youth and
Urbanity in Africa,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-19417-7_1
2 S. TSARWE AND S. CHIUMBU

audiences—increasingly participate in the co-production of content,

media institutions will have to be content with the fact that the balance of
power is shifting and that even though they may still leverage their power
by merging, co-opting, converging and synergising their brands and intel-
lectual properties across channels (Jenkins & Dauze, 2008), the emerging
highly digital media ecology is disrupting this traditional model and that
power may not necessarily reside with these media institutions all the times.
Owing to these changes, this book is again a reminder that as research-
ers, we must work across the historical divide in academic research between
work on media industries and media audiences. The case studies in this
book demonstrate that African media companies can no longer be mean-
ingfully studied without understanding how they relate to their consum-
ers, particularly youth audiences. This is particularly true given the role
that young people play in Africa’s digital cultures and how they shape the
production, circulation and consumption of media content in a “hybrid
media ecology” (see Jenkins & Dauze, 2008). The invocation of the
phrase “hybrid media ecology” is in recognition that the power to pro-
duce and distribute content now lies in the hands of multiple hybrids of
actors and that traditionally distinct platforms are coming together to
form an architectural network of relationships.
This book also appraises how the traditional business models for the
broadcast media—notably radio broadcast—are breaking up and reshap-
ing within the context of the emerging architecture enabled by digital
media technologies driven by youth consumption cultures. As Jenkins
puts it, rather than us talking about media producers and consumers as
occupying distinct and separate poles, convergence has resulted in the
blurring of what used to be a clear boundary between producers and con-
sumers because digital media technologies now enable consumers to co-­
create content without necessarily deserting their role of end-users. This
convergence between old and new media has led to a situation “where old
and new media collide, where grassroots and corporate media intersect,
where the power of the media producer and the power of the media con-
sumer interact in unpredictable ways” (Jenkins, 2006: 2). Convergence
has also led to re-examining the role and place of Africa’s young people,
given extant literature that bemoans their exclusion and disenfranchise-
ment from contributing their voice in national discourses.
 1 RADIO CONVERGENCE AND YOUTH: AN OVERVIEW ON AFRICAN… 3

The Youth Factor in African Converged Radio

Young people are on the cusp of the media transition into a broadly net-
worked and converged radio in Africa. They are an essential constituent
for the talk radio format, which has been flowering in most African democ-
racies following the liberalisation of the airwaves in the early and mid-
1990s. It is also these young people whose generation grew up during the
digital turn of everyday life, enabling them to interact with peers in ways
unprecedented to the older generation. Africa’s demographic profile is
youth dominated. Given the rapid urban sprawl attractive to youth and
enables rapid internet rollout and connectivity, young people are key in
determining the configuration of converged radio. As the collection of
chapters in this book shows, young people are driving the production and
consumption of urban radio. At the same time, advertisers are exploring
ways of monetising the dividends presented by the continent’s youthful
population.
The relationship between African youths and radio requires a detailed
elaboration, at least to some extent. To begin with, youth literature ordi-
narily presents them as either actively deviant or passively at risk, and in
some cases, as both concurrently. This lack of a clear place and role in
society follows the view that youthhood is a delicate liminal period of tran-
sition from childhood to adulthood. They struggle to find and develop a
preferred identity and life choices. However, in Africa, many socialising
institutions help young people develop their identities, including the fam-
ily, the community, religion, the school and the media, among other pow-
erful structuring institutions. While most of these institutions still play a
significant role in shaping young people’s identities, contemporary devel-
opments of a largely converged, ubiquitous and pervasive digital media
seem to bear considerable influence in shaping young people’s identities
and tastes. Young people live in an era where their daily routines are satu-
rated with different media platforms competing for their attention. Such
media include traditional FM radio, online radio and television, networked
social media and smartphones. These media platforms are crucial creative
learning spaces for developing young people’s identities outside a more
formal school environment.
Given that radio is one of the dominant communication mediums on
the continent, its rapid convergence with the smartphone presents young
people with space for self-expression. The convergence between the
mobile phone and radio has created a hybrid platform for youth voice, and
4 S. TSARWE AND S. CHIUMBU

talk radio has the potential to enable the social inclusion of young people
through participation. As mentioned above, most literature on youth
voices concerns how they are disenfranchised or disadvantaged commu-
nity members. But what is the state of affairs regarding African youth and
converged radio in the continent? How are young people using digital
media technologies to shape talk radio, and to what extent do these devel-
opments shape narratives around youth participation in the context of a
long documented history of disenfranchisement and exclusion? These are
some of the issues that chapters in the book deal with.

History of Broadcasting in Africa

The history of radio broadcasting in Africa is primarily dominated by case
studies in the analogue era, except for the following ground-breaking
studies (see Gunner et al., 2011; Tsarwe, 2018; Moyo, 2013). These stud-
ies broadly tackle the question: how is African radio managing the transi-
tion from analogue to digital? They have a limited scope on the role of
youth in all these developments. However, this book moves away from
this by foregrounding the youth factor. It broadly answers the question of
what role young people play in an era where radio is rapidly converging
with digital media technologies such as the mobile phone and internet? It
focuses on radio, youth and urbanity in the African context.
This book was written in the aftermath of the democratisation wave
that swept across Africa in the early 1990s into the 2000s, which witnessed
a call for the liberalisation of the mass media and the internet for the mass
market. Following this episode, a few African countries liberalised the
broadcasting sector. Most countries retained centralised policies in which
the government strictly regulated and controlled respective broadcasting
sectors to control ideological perspectives and narratives. The media’s par-
tial liberalisation, which followed in the early 2000s, was characterised by
a mixed bag of progressive and non-progressive media policies. Increased
calls for the liberalisation of the media, particularly the broadcast media,
have grown from strength to strength. This recognises the information
deficiencies that characterise most underdeveloped and unconnected
African communities.
In a continent where governments own and control the largest share of
the broadcasting institutions and where ordinary citizens—including
youth—struggle to be heard, the unprecedented penetration of digital
media technologies signals the “democratisation” of access to information
 1 RADIO CONVERGENCE AND YOUTH: AN OVERVIEW ON AFRICAN… 5

by the broadening of opportunities for individuals and grassroots com-

munities to tell stories and access stories others are telling. Curiously, the
integration of radio and other digital media technologies—broadly known
as convergence—is a very complex and contradictory process that affects
both producers and consumers of radio in dialectical ways in Africa. On
the one hand, convergence can be understood in a technological sense
where media convergence is all about integration and interoperability; that
is, the coming together of computing networks, information and com-
munication technologies, and digital forms of information that are inher-
ently adaptable, delivered via “intelligent” platforms, applications and
devices. On the other hand, media convergence can be understood as a
process characterised by a paced marketisation and concentration of global
media conglomerates into the hands of a few global players.
In the digital media era, such conglomeration mainly occurs among
media technology giants such as Facebook (now Meta), Google, Snapchat,
Instagram, LinkedIn and so on. Users are learning how to master these
different media technologies to bring the flow of media under their con-
trol and interact (and co-create) with other users. Sometimes, these two
forces reinforce each other, creating closer, more rewarding relations
between media producers and consumers (Jenkins, 2006). Sometimes the
two forces conflict, resulting in constant renegotiations of power between
these competing pressures on the new media ecology.
However, caution is needed when describing the outcome of media
convergence in Africa. We run the risk of glossing over digital media con-
vergence as solely a beneficial process when in fact, what is needed is a
balanced scale analysis between what could or is already going wrong as a
result of digital technology convergence. To what extent is digital media
convergence giving power to audiences, particularly youths who have tra-
ditionally been disenfranchised from participation and inclusion in
decision-­making? Do youth now find voice via digital media, and how is
this happening? Are there no instances—perhaps even greater—where
digital media technology convergence is simply a consolidation of capital-
ism where global media conglomerates are solidifying their monopoly
over ownership and control and claiming the largest advertising market
share? In some case studies of the convergence between mobile phones
and commercial radio in Africa, emerging research has already raised this
concern about what could be viewed as furtherance of commercial exploi-
tation of mass media audiences, particularly youth who have been reduced
to commercial bait for consumer goods advertised by media companies
6 S. TSARWE AND S. CHIUMBU

(see Gunner et al., 2011). Some have even raised concerns about how
media organisations, including radio stations, harness consumer biograph-
ical data from SMSes and WhatsApp messages sent via digital media tech-
nologies (Tsarwe, 2018). Therefore, in some ways, this has concentrated
the power of traditional gatekeepers and agenda setters, and in other ways,
it has disintegrated their tight control over our culture.
In their seminal research, Jenkins and Dauze (2008) argued that con-
vergence must also be understood as both a top-down corporate-driven
process and a bottom-up consumer-driven process, implying that the out-
come of digital media convergence is a dual and complex process which
should never be simplified. Media companies are learning to accelerate the
flow of media content across delivery channels to expand revenue oppor-
tunities, broaden markets and reinforce consumer loyalties and commit-
ments (Jenkins & Dauze, 2008; Jenkins, 2006). At the same time,
advertisers continue to search for new ways of monetising these dividends
with the net effect of not only dumping down the quality of programming
but also creating a mass consumer market devoid of agency. In fact, and as
Willem aptly puts it, “there is a need to situate these practices within a
broader corporate logic in which participation is not merely about adding
more voices but also feeds into radio stations’ commercial strategies of
increasing revenue and accessing personal data of listeners through SMS
and social media”.

Mapping Digitisation in Africa

Admittedly, the massive rollout of the internet in Africa, which began in
the early 2000s and continues in the present day, remains rather sluggish,
uneven and, in some instances, characterised by both low investment and
a strong imprint of state censorship. What is apparent, though, is that the
continent’s entrance into the converged world may be shaping and foster-
ing improved audience participation of some sort in democratic processes
through radio (Gunner et al., 2011), and this has varying implications on
young people’s agency and involvement in matters affecting everyday
Africa. For example, the talk radio format has flowered in most African
democracies, fostering some “participatory cultures” (Moyo, 2013;
Gunner et al., 2011). Chapters in this volume deal with these issues
at length.
Most worrying, though, is the mismatch, on the one hand, between the
popularity of radio as “the medium of the masses” in Africa and, on the
 1 RADIO CONVERGENCE AND YOUTH: AN OVERVIEW ON AFRICAN… 7

other hand, the rate at which African governments have heeded calls for
the liberalisation of information flows, particularly by licensing more com-
munity radios in the hardest to reach rural pockets in Africa. Given that
some parts of Africa remain disconnected from the information super-
highway, there exist some notable pockets of information gaps that, if not
addressed, will continue to be albatross to democratisation and literacy
within the continent. A brief history of how African countries entered the
convergence period—particularly in the context of broadcast media and
internet access and liberalisation—is critical in bridging the continent’s
transition from analogue to digital and how radio became part and parcel
of these processes.
In Africa, the early 2000s witnessed an almost universal trend towards
the market liberalisation of the media, massive internet rollout and
increased forward push towards digitisation. This followed well in the sil-
houettes of technological advancements, including direct satellite broad-
casting (DBS), the deregulation and privatisation of telecommunications
in the industrialised countries of North America and Western Europe,
more robust and stronger regional economic integration, concentration
and consolidation of media ownership in a few oligopolies from the West
and North America. However, in Africa, these processes were never pre-
dictable and straightforward. They primarily unfolded against a fair share
of resistance from several African governments whose political careers
faced unprecedented pressure from an emerging liberal media that is
increasingly giving audiences some leverage of “power” to express them-
selves outside of the limitations of a controlled press, but also allowing
multiple options to access alternative sources of information outside of
government propaganda.
For example, while in the era of analogue media, civic societies and
media freedom activists had already been pushing for a liberalised and
pluralised media which would provide a buffer against the preponderance
of state hegemony, this did not yield enough dividends. This is because
most African governments continue to supervise and tighten the grip on
the media through “legal and extra-legal measures” (Moyo, 2009), such
as repressive legislation, online surveillance of activists and arbitrary arrests
of journalists and activists. Even though the continent is a signatory to
several international and regional treaties and conventions calling for an
independent, plural press protected from government interference, most
of the continent’s regulatory regimes remain intolerant to press freedom
and journalistic autonomy.
8 S. TSARWE AND S. CHIUMBU

Unsurprisingly, the increased heavy-handed onslaught against the

media has traditionally manifested and become amplified during moments
of intense political contestation, such as during elections. During these
moments, most media freedom violations have been committed, with
African governments blocking the internet and Short Text Messaging
(SMS) by invoking the argument that this helps maintain security and
order, while activists and advocates of media freedom claim that is censor-
ship. To effect internet shutdowns, authorities may order internet service
providers (ISPs) to block commonly used social media sites. In extreme
cases, they can order service providers to block all internet access. Another
method is called throttling, which severely limits traffic to specific sites,
giving the impression that the service is slow, thereby discouraging access.
This method is more subtle because it is difficult to know whether sites are
actively restricted or poor broadband infrastructure is to blame.
Cases of internet shutdowns in Africa have been rising. During elec-
tions in October 2020, Tanzania restricted access to the internet and social
media applications. In June 2020, Ethiopia imposed an internet shutdown
that lasted for close to a month after the unrest, followed by the killing of
a prominent Oromo singer and activist, Hachalu Hundessa. In January
2021, on the eve of the presidential election, Uganda ordered an internet
blackout across the country. Zimbabwe has also seen this kind of mass
censorship following mass unrest in the capital city during the aftermath
of the 2018 elections and in 2021. Togo, Burundi, Chad, Mali and Guinea
will also restrict access to the internet or social media applications some-
time in 2020. Uganda and some other states now tax social media to
control them and perhaps limit their use by members of the general public
who are usually starved by the traditional legacy media, which the govern-
ment has significant control over. However, Africa is not alone in attempts
at either controlling or muzzling the internet. During America’s 2020
presidential race, Donald Trump. We have also witnessed increased
authoritarian tendencies in Russia and the United Kingdom. Despite these
varying levels of manoeuvres against the press, the internet and related
digital media technologies and online social media platforms have been
driving towards the convergence of different media.
 1 RADIO CONVERGENCE AND YOUTH: AN OVERVIEW ON AFRICAN… 9

The Structure of This Book

The book covers four countries—Eswatini, Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa
and Zimbabwe. The chapters are organised under country clusters. The
first cluster focuses on Zimbabwe (Chaps. 2–5), followed by South Africa
(Chaps. 6–9). The last cluster has chapters on Kenya (Chap. 10), Nigeria
(Chap. 11) and, lastly, Eswatini (Chap. 12). In Chap. 2, Sauti and Makaripe
argue that converged radio has brought a colossal shift in Zimbabwe,
which has ushered in youth participation in politics and broadened an
understanding of their responsibilities as political actors, access to partici-
pate in political processes via converged radio is not accessible for all.
There are still glaring restrictive impediments such as high data costs,
ownership of technology and digital illiteracies. Accordingly, and beyond
technology, there is a need to create political, physical and structural spaces
that allow for meaningful political participation by young people.
Podcasting is perhaps the little researched technology-driven broad-
casting phenomenon in Africa. The paucity of research in this area is evi-
dent because podcasting has not grown in Africa compared to developments
in North America and Western Europe. This is surprising given that pod-
casting, like conventional radio, closely follows Africa’s oral storytelling
tradition. However, as a new form of storytelling, podcasting is beginning
to shape the production, dissemination and consumption of knowledge
about Africa as it enables Africans to produce their own stories. Although
podcasting is transforming the mediated public sphere, it is also “inti-
mate,” “individualised” and “unpublic”. In Chap. 3, Sibanda and Ndlovu
examine how content creators, community reporters and citizen journal-
ists in Zimbabwe are utilising the opportunities offered by podcasting
technologies and platforms to participate and tell the stories of margin-
alised groups, specifically the youth. Given the repressive political environ-
ment in Zimbabwe and the muzzling of the mainstream media, the
emergence of podcasting is widening democratic spaces in the country,
leveraging on the increasing internet penetration in Zimbabwe.
It is also interesting to note that digital media technologies are re-­
calibrating how young people are modelling their identities creatively
beyond their functional uses. The emergence of mobile phone-based
wearable devices such as headphones and earphones, as well as these
devices’ affordances for consuming radio “on the go,” is being exploited
by young people to project certain personalities and ways of being, par-
ticularly in urban environments where physical mobility is high. Fashion
10 S. TSARWE AND S. CHIUMBU

trends are the hallmark of urban youth self-presentation. In Chap. 4,

Tsarwe discusses how young people are consuming FM radio through
mobile telephony gadgets such as earphones and headphones and in-built
mobile phone applications capable of receiving an FM signal. This chapter
shows that these technologies enable the emergence of new FM radio
consumption cultures tied to self-identity and the recreation of personal
space. In Zimbabwe, young urbanites involved in various forms of infor-
mal trading engage with mobile technologies to consume FM’ mobile
radio’ in ways that reflect self-conscious attempts to recreate and model
space boundaries in shared public spaces. As a result, their perception and
experience with FM radio are radically different from that of the genera-
tion that grew in analogue legacy media when radio was capable of foster-
ing what could be referred to as “imagined communities” drawn together
by a simultaneity of experience with the co-present. However, FM radio
received via mobile gadgets may foster a different type of audience that is
primarily disaggregated, atomised and removed from the real face-to-face
communities.
While sustainability issues continue to be the central talking point
among those interested, digital media platforms destroy the traditional
model of broadcast media. On the one hand, the same digital media plat-
forms seem to be helping media institutions consolidate their power. In
Chap. 5, Ruhanya and Gadzikwa examine how commercial radio in
Zimbabwe—like any other communications medium like television and
newspapers—predisposes the programming to dictation by commercial
imperatives—the bedrock of the survival of radio stations. The need to
stay afloat means that programming may be more susceptible to sustain-
ability than promoting a platform for debate on important issues affecting
society. This chapter argues that with the youth constituting the majority
of the population and a ready market for goods and services, there are
fears that programming meant for youth is being manipulated for com-
mercial and political hegemonic ends. They argue that in Zimbabwe, it
seems to be the case that youth are treated more like a market and subjects
and not as citizens who should participate in critical development and
governance matters. They are relegated to less important issues akin to
dumbing down content towards escapist genres that distract the youths
from serious programming. This kind of programming is in stark contrast
with the vicious contest for the youth vote among political parties, espe-
cially in student leadership in higher education institutions in Zimbabwe.
 1 RADIO CONVERGENCE AND YOUTH: AN OVERVIEW ON AFRICAN… 11

In South Africa, radio occupies a central role in the mediation of public

life. There are 40 commercial and public broadcast stations and 284 com-
munity stations in the country; people have more access to radio than
television. On an average day, close to 23 million people listen to a sta-
tion.1 In Chap. 6, Chiumbu and Munoriyarwa focus on one of the com-
mercial radio stations targeting the youth, Y (formerly YFM). They argue
that despite its commercial imperatives, it offers youth a space to partici-
pate in political debates and practise citizenship. Contrary to the belief
that youth have disengaged from political deliberation, the authors argue
that it is within popular culture (music and entertainment) that citizenship
is being created, contested and reimagined by the youth. In between
music and light banter, the presenters and listeners introduce political and
social issues for discussion and debate. Like other public broadcasters
worldwide, the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) had to
redefine the way broadcasters interact with the public by incorporating
digital media technologies, which are prevalent in the commercial radio
market, to increase the opportunities for the audience engagement. This
was also in recognition that the country’s demographic profile is youth
dominated—and indeed, this is the case across the continent. These young
people are at the forefront of driving digital media use in the context of
convergence with the more traditional platforms such as radio, television
and newspapers. In Chap. 7, Mokgosi interrogates Motsweding FM news
and current affairs programmes’—Boresetse and Tsele Le Tsele—to under-
stand how they use digital media technologies to enhance subaltern
youth’s democratic participation through the mediated public sphere. The
chapter argues that Africa’s subaltern youths’ demographic profile is an
attractive constituency targeted by public radio broadcasting services.
South Africa’s community broadcasting model is far ahead of its
Southern African counterparts. While this sector has attracted some excel-
lent research, such research has predominantly focused on how commu-
nity radio is enhancing local democracy and local participation. The use of
digital media technologies over the years has reconfigured South African
community radio broadcasting. In Chap. 8, Matsilele and others examine
the appropriation of digital media technologies in micro spaces of com-
munity radio stations in South Africa and how it is reshaping the
production of programmes aimed at South African youths. The Chapter
focuses on two community radio stations in the Western Cape province of

1
Jeremy Maggs (2021) Radio is as popular as ever. Financial Mail, 11 November 2021.
12 S. TSARWE AND S. CHIUMBU

South Africa: Zibonele FM and Bush Radio. The study concludes that com-
munity radio stations in the Western Cape have embraced Twitter and
Facebook in the news production. This has enhanced participatory jour-
nalism by allowing youth audiences to influence news production in the
community media space in South Africa.
There is a paucity of research examining the level at which radio broad-
casting institutions use social media. From the perspective of business
models, there is no research benchmarking social media use in broadcast-
ing in Southern Africa. In the final chapter of this book, Gavaza and Pearce
use a case study of Rhodes Music Radio—a community radio station
owned by Rhodes University—to describe how in South Africa, digital
media technology, the internet and social media platforms have developed
over time, particularly with regards to their use in community radio pro-
gramming. Initially, social media use and focus in radio were on Facebook,
Twitter and Instagram, and these platforms were used to display content,
with engagement being driven through comments. However, the media
sector has evolved, and radio personalities in particular now incorporate
live video streaming through Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and other
social media platforms as part of their broadcasts. In addition, newer plat-
forms like TikTok and Clubhouse are receiving increased attention and a
growing cut in advertising revenues. Given these recent developments, the
question arises about how youth-oriented community radio stations are
keeping up with these changes. Almost five years after the initial research,
the researchers followed up to determine how RMR had progressed in its
social media and online platform implementation journey. This study used
a social media maturity model developed from available literature to assess
the social media maturity of a South African community radio station,
Rhodes Music Radio. The study showed that Rhodes Music Radio had a
level 3 rating on a five-level maturity scale, indicating that it was not yet
fully matured in its social media use.
One of the key strengths of radio is its amenability to local languages.
Unlike other media technologies, the talk radio format has been exploited
by local populations in Africa as a channel for community dialogues where
members of the community feel the simultaneity of experience of feeling
the experience of being together as an imagined community also con-
nected via local languages and idioms. In Chap. 10, Ojwang argues that
converged radio formats in Kenya have made audiences in Kenya more
assertive, responsive, collaborative and demanding. Ojwang argues that as
the tech-savvy urban youth audiences are dynamic, volatile and trendy,
Another random document with
no related content on Scribd:
Sabbath
Sabderat
Sabine
Saburo
sac
sacerdotal
sache
Sacher
Saclemente
sacrament
sacraments
Sacred
sacredness
sacrifice
sacrificed
sacrifices
sacrificial
sacrilege
sad
saddened
sadder
saddled
saddler
saddles
Sadiki
sadly
Sadok
Saenz
safe
safeguard
safeguarded
safeguards
safely
safer
safest
safety
sag
sagacity
SAGASTA
Sage
SAGHALIEN
Sagua
Saham
Sahara
said
Saigo
Saigon
sail
sailed
Sailing
sailor
sailors
sails
Saint
saints
Saionji
saith
sak
sake
SAKHALIN
Sala
salaamed
Salaga
Salamon
Salaria
salaried
salaries
salary
sale
saleable
Salem
sales
salesmen
Salic
salient
Salim
Salinas
Salisbury
salivary
Salles
sallow
Salonica
Saloon
saloons
salt
Salter
saltpeter
salutary
Salutations
salute
saluted
salutes
saluting
Salvador
Salvadorean
salvage
Salvago
Salvation
Sam
Samal
Samar
Samara
Samaria
same
Samekh
Sammun
SAMOA
SAMOAN
Samoans
Samos
samples
SAMPSON
Samuel
San
sanatorium
Sanciano
Sancta
Sancti
sanction
sanctioned
sanctity
sanctuaries
sanctuary
SAND
Sandaken
sandbags
sandbank
Sandeco
Sandherr
sands
sandstone
Sandusky
Sandwith
sandy
Sanford
SANG
sanguinary
sanguine
sanguinis
Sanial
Sanitary
sanitation
sank
Sannikoff
Sans
Sansing
Sant
Santa
Santandar
Santiago
Santo
Santos
Saracco
Sarajevo
Saranguani
Sarawakian
Sarcey
Sargent
Sargon
Sargonic
sarra
Sartain
Sartinski
Sarzec
Sassaks
Sassoun
Sassun
sat
satin
satins
satire
satirical
satirically
satisfaction
satisfactorily
satisfactory
satisfied
satisfy
satisfying
Satolli
Satow
Satrustegui
Satsuma
saturated
Saturday
saturnalia
sauntering
sausage
sausages
Sauter
sauve
savage
savagely
savagery
savages
Save
saved
Savile
saving
Savings
Saviour
Savornin
savour
Savoy
saw
sawed
Sawyer
Saxe
Saxon
Saxony
say
Sayce
saying
sayings
says
Scadding
scaffolding
scale
scaled
scaling
scalping
scamped
Scandal
scandalized
scandalous
scandals
Scandinavia
Scandinavian
scant
scanty
scar
scarce
scarcely
scarcity
scare
scarlatina
scarlet
scathing
scats
scatter
scattered
scattereth
scattering
scatters
scene
scenery
scenes
scenic
scent
scepticism
sceptics
sceptre
Schaeffer
Schalk
Schedule
schedules
Scheil
scheme
schemes
scheming
Schenectady
Scheurer
Schillingsfürst
Schleswig
Schley
Schliemann
scholar
scholarly
scholars
scholarship
scholastic
Schomburgk
Schonborn
school
schoolboys
schoolfellows
schoolhouse
schoolhouses
schooling
schoolmaster
schoolroom
schoolrooms
schools
schooner
Schrader
SCHREINER
Schumann
Schurman
Schuur
Schwan
Schwarzkoppen
Schwerin
Schönerer
sciemment
science
sciences
SCIENTIFIC
scientifically
Scientifique
scientist
scientists
Scimetar
Scoble
scoldings
Scope
scorching
score
scores
scorn
scorned
Scotch
scotched
Scotia
Scotland
Scott
Scottish
scoured
scourge
scourged
scouring
scouts
scramble
scrambling
scrap
scraper
scratch
screen
screened
screw
Scribner
script
scripts
scrolls
scrupled
scrupulous
scrupulously
scrutinize
sculptor
sculptors
sculptural
sculpture
sculptures
scum
scuttered
Scythian
Se
sea
seaboard
seaboards
seacoast
seacoasts
Seagoing
seal
sealed
sealer
sealers
sealing
seals
sealskins
seamed
Seamen
seams
seaport
seaports
sear
search
searched
searches
searching
seas
seashore
season
seasons
Seat
seated
seating
seats
Seattle
Seaver
seaward
seawards
Sebastian
seceded
Secession
secessions
seclusion
Second
secondary
seconder
Secondly
secrecy
Secret
Secretariate
secretaries
Secretary
Secretaryship
secretion
secretly
secrets
secrète
sect
sectarian
sectarianism
Section
sectional
Sectionalism
Sections
sects
secular
Secularist
Secularists
secundus
secure
secured
securely
secures
securing
securities
security
Sedalia
Sedan
Seddon
sedentary
Sedition
seditionary
seditious
seduce
seduction
seductive
sedulously
see
Seebohm
seed
seeds
Seeing
seek
seekers
seeking
seeks
Seeley
seem
seemed
seeming
seems
seen
sees
seething
Segan
segment
segregated
segregation
Seguin
Seidl
Seine
seised
Seiyu
Seiyukai
seize
seized
seizing
seizure
seizures
Selborne
seldom
select
Selected
selecting
selection
selections
selector
selects
self
selfish
selfishness
Selkirk
sell
seller
Sellers
selling
sells
semblance
Semerara
semi
semibarbarous
semicircle
seminaries
seminary
Seminole
SEMINOLES
Semite
SEMITES
Semitic
Semitised
Semitism
senate
senator
senatorial
Senators
sence
send
sending
sends
Seneca
Senefern
SENEGAL
Senegalese
Senegambia
Senior
seniority
Sennacherib
Senor
SENOUSSI
sensation
Sensational
sensations
sense
senseless
sensibilities
sensible
sensibly
sensitive
sensitiveness
sent
sentence
sentenced
sentences
sentiment
sentimental
sentimentality
sentiments
sentinel
sentinelled
sentinels
sentries
sentry
Seoul
separate
separated
separately
separates
Separating
Separation
Sephardists
September
sepulchers
sepulchre
sequel
sequence
sequences
Sequeros
Serapeion
Serbs
Serene
serenity
serfdom
serfs
Sergeant
sergeants
series
Serious
seriously
seriousness
Serjeant
Serjeants
sermon
Serpa
serried
serum
servant
servants
serve
served
serves
Servia
Servian
SERVICE
serviceable
services
serving
servir
servitude
servitudes
serviçal
Seslien
session
Sessions
set
Seth
Sethos
Seti
sets
setting
settings
settle
settled
settlement
settlements
settler
settlers
settles
settling
Seven
seventeen
seventeenth
Seventh
Seventhly
seventies
seventieth
seventy
sever
Several
severally
SEVERALTY
severance
Severe
severed
severely
severest
severing
severity
Sevilla
Seville
sewage
Sewall
Seward
sewed
Sewerage
sewered
sewers
sewing
sex
Sexennate
sexes
Sextant
Sexton
sexually
Seymour
Seyyidieh
Señor
Señorita
Señors
Sfax
sha
shabbiness
shackle
shade
shades
shadow
shadowed
shadows
shaft
Shafter
shafts
Shah
Shahuo
shake
shaken
Shakespeare
shaking
Shakir
shall
shallow
shallowness
shallows
shalt
sham
shambles
shame
shamed
Shameful
shamefully
Shamrock
Shan
Shang
Shanghae
Shanghai
Shanghaikuan
Shanhai
Shanhaikuan
Shanhaikwan
Shankaikuan
Shansi
Shantung
Shao
shape
shaped
shaping
sharaki
share
shared
shareholders
shares
sharing
Sharon
sharp
Sharpe
sharper
sharpest
sharply
sharpshooters
Shashih
Shatt
shattered
Shattuck
Shaw
Shawneetown
shaykhs
She
shear
shed
shedding
sheds
sheep
sheer
sheet
sheets
Sheik
Sheikh
Sheiks
Shelby
Sheldon
Shell
Shelled
shelling
shells
shelter
sheltered
shelters
shelved
shelves
shelving
Shen
Sheng
Shenking
Shensi
shepherds
Sher
Sheriff
sheriffs
Sherman