Ghana joined the rest of the world on Sunday, 13th February 2022 to celebrate World Radio Day, a day set aside to raise awareness on the importance of radio and increase networking among broadcasters and listeners.
Celebrating the day, Lecturer and Business Manager for Darling FM, Mr. Jimmy Kutin emphasized that radio has played a significant role in society.
Speaking to ATL FM NEWS, He believes the radio landscape in Ghana has grown in terms of number, content, management, and quality of delivery even though the growing influence of politics cannot be overlooked.
Mr. Kutin further notes that “there have been serious cases of misinformation within the public domain that has not been helpful…these are things that I think we should look at critically and try to resolve as the years go on”.
Speaking on the theme for the celebration, “Radio and Trust, Manager of the Campus Broadcasting Service (CBS) at the University of Cape Coast, Mr. Kwabena Antwi-Konadu said this year’s theme is timely as it seeks to drive home the fact that radio and for that matter, the media must strive to broadcast credible information.
He said, “the pretense in our media landscape is just too much, we pretend to know everything, to have knowledge more than the people we interview, and that creates a lot of mistrust.”
According to Mr. Antwi-Konadu, journalists must be professional and keep to the ethics of the profession to ensure the right information is churned out at all times.
World Radio Day
This year commemorates the 11th year of World Radio Day which was instituted by UNESCO’s General Conference, at its 36th Session. The day, proposed by the Director-General of UNESCO coincides with the anniversary of the UN’s international broadcasting service, established on February 13, 1946. During its 67th Session, the United Nations General Assembly formally endorsed UNESCO’s proclamation of February 13 as World Radio Day.
In Ghana, radio was introduced in 1935 when the colonial governor set up a small wired relay station, ZOY, to transmit BBC programs to some three hundred colonial residents and privileged native elites.
Radio was the first true and most accessible mass medium of communication, reaching millions of people instantly and altering social attitudes, family relationships, and how people relate to their environment.
Since its invention, it has served as a platform for democratic discourse where factual information can be accessed and where people can be educated and entertained.
Reactions to the Day
An ardent radio listener in Cape Coast sharing his thoughts said though radio has helped him, he believes most of it is scripted.
Another also said, “I value every content on the radio because radio goes through a lot of processes and makes the information that they broadcast authentic and in recent times we blend both passion and profession”.
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Source: Emmanuella Ama Gyamfi/ATLFMNEWS
