Community Radio And Information Needs: The Case Of Live Fm In Rehoboth (2013)

Abstract

This study was an explorative investigation that sought to examine the role Live FM radio plays in serving the information needs of the Rehoboth community. The study was motivated by the fact that community radios in Namibia mainly focus on music and entertainment, which do not contribute much to Namibia’s socio-economic development. Data was collected using focus group discussions, semi-structured interviews and self-administered questionnaires. The study used both qualitative and quantitative data analysis methods aided by ATLAS.ti and Microsoft Excel software to analyse data.

The study revealed that more than three quarters of presenters working at Live FM radio were men, confirming that gender imbalance is one of the problems in community participation. The results also showed that Live FM mostly broadcasts in Afrikaans. As a result, the Damara/Nama group in Rehoboth feels neglected. However, the results have shown that Live FM radio plays its role by providing the community it serves with a platform to air their concerns. The study further revealed that Live FM devotes 60% to music and 40% to non-music content in its current programme schedule. Live FM is working on a new programme schedule to address this. It was also revealed that one of the major challenges to community radios is financial sustainability. Nevertheless, Live FM radio has not closed down due to finances since it was established. The main conclusion from this study is that community radio has a strong development focus and serves as a voice of the voiceless in societal issues. It helps communities to transform themselves because it enables them to address their social problems.

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The main recommendation arising from this study is that stakeholders concerned with community development should use community radio stations more effectively to capture the information needs of a community.