Position Paper 2 - Radio

 Radio: Africa and India

Around World War II, individuals purchased radios to receive immediate news regarding the war and the homefront. For years after, radio was the only way citizens received news and entertainment. In America, families gather around the television together; however, many remote areas still heavily rely on the radio. 

There are several places around the globe where radio is used to reach people. For example, a small miner's town in the Australian Outback called Roxby Downs has a population of 4,702. There, the local radio station RoxFM broadcasts to the community. There are many other rural communities like Roxby Downs, but two areas I was to focus on are Africa and India. 

Africa

During the COVID-19 pandemic, schools across America used online learning to educate children from their homes. Of course, COVID-19 stretched across the globe, infecting every town, village, and city. Which ignites the question, how did children in rural areas learn during this time? Interestingly enough, they learned through the radio! In February of 2021, the Media Alliance in Zimbabwe reported that communities in Mazowe recommended that the government use radio as a source of e-learning. 

The Africa Educational Trust has a project regarding radio education. The African Educational Trust states that many Africans are too poor to attend a school or get an education. To fix this issue, the Trust has created a project to allow children, and adults, the free chance of education through radio. According to the Trust's website: 

"With overworked teachers struggling to provide formal education, we have developed innovative approaches that use radio broadcasts and recorded lessons on CDs and MP3s as the foundation for our lessons."

In America, misinformation about COVID-19 was a constant subject. Because radio was the only medium for information in rural countries, there was a fear of transmitting misinformation. To counteract this issue, many women took action to clear the air about misinformation. Many rumors were being spread about the virus due to the minimal access to information. For example, many lies about spicy food killing the virus or the existence of the virus itself was evident.  
 
According to LifeLine Energy, radio is essential in Africa for nine reasons. One of these reasons is that it is trustworthy. The BBC broadcasts information in Africa every day. Many African citizens refer to the voices through the medium as "friends." Radio is vital to the people of Africa, and it is essential to many other continents and countries. 

India

Similar to Africa, India relies heavily on the radio in rural areas. There are approximately 104 million homes that have radios in India. According to the United for Human Rights, radio empowers youth in India to bring social change: 

"Indian youth are learning human rights through innovative online radio programs, not as listeners but as content producers, creating and sharing their voices with the world."

Students create their own broadcasts. The students use What Human Rights Are booklets to curate their content for talk shows and programs. 

Similar to Africa's radio use during the pandemic, the radio played a significant part in India for the same reason. A farmer from New Delhi, Ram Lakhi, stated that he would be dead without the radio during the pandemic. He explains that by listening to the radio, he decided to get tested for COVID-19. Even without having any notable symptoms, he tested positive. He says, "thankfully, with timely intervention, and age on my side, I've recovered fully now. The radio was my savior."

Again, radio helped many people in rural communities during the pandemic. From an American standpoint, we received information immediately regarding statistics and confirmed cases. The people of India waited in front of their radios to hear drastic news. Without radio, they may not have heard of the pandemic at all. 

Conclusion 

Throughout time we have seen changes in the way we communicate. From the telegraph, the radio, television, and smartphones, we are always looking towards the future and inventing the next big thing. However, in America, we seem to forget that many countries are less fortunate than us in technology. Smartphones and broadcasting are expensive, and many of these mediums aren't available to purchase in these rural areas. As we rely on our smartphones for news, countries in Africa and India do not have the luxury of immediate information or entertainment. This is the importance of different ministries and businesses helping curate these mediums for the citizens who need them, giving them greater access to the rest of the world.