Communities must take ownership of radio airwaves by establishing an agenda for the types of programmes that will benefit them, veteran broadcaster and media personality Norah Appolus has said.

She shared these sentiments with Nampa on Thursday, ahead of the annual World Radio Day (WRD), to be observed on 13 February under the theme ‘Radio and Trust.’

Appolus stated that while radio has been one of the first mediums of mass communication to reach the masses for many years, it “has become the dependable and loyal means of disseminating and receiving information and keeping abreast of developments affecting our communities.”

She went on to say that, even in the face of social media and evolving technology, radio is still head and shoulders above any other medium, and that, particularly on the African continent, where infrastructure is lacking, radio is the number one medium for connecting people with information.

“With the amount of fake news, false information, and disinformation that we hear every day, radio has truly become the trusted disseminator of factual information, and this is something that radio must guard very carefully,” she said.

Regarding the calibre of radio presenters in Namibia, Appolus stated that Namibians do not have a reading culture, which can only be improved through training and exposure to other well-established radio stations.

Namibia has approximately 30 radio stations spread throughout the country.

World Radio Day was proclaimed by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (Unesco) Member States in 2011 and adopted by the United Nations General Assembly as an international day in 2012.

Source: Namibia Press News Agency