By Rachel Kakraba
Ghana joins the rest of the world today, February 13, to observe World Radio Day.
The day was proclaimed in 2011, and adopted by UNESCO member states in 2012.
Believed to be a powerful medium for celebrating humanity in all its diversity, Radio provides a platform for Odemocratic discourse.
This year’s World Radio Day is being commemorated under the theme, Radio and Trust.
On this occasion, GBC News finds out from some listeners what keeps them glued to their Radio sets.
Radio remains one of the most trusted and widely used media throughout the years, radio has provided affordable access to information in real time and professional coverage about matters of public interest, as well as guaranteed distance learning and entertainment.
Bridging the gap between traditional and state-of-the art technologies, radio now offers a variety of content through different devices and formats, such as podcasts and multimedia websites.
Broadcasting began in Ghana with radio ZOY now GBC Radio on July 31, 1935. With the liberalization of the airwaves there are more than fifty radio stations in Ghana today.
Until recently when some commercial vehicles, shifted to fitting televisionsets in their vehicles, radio was the most preferred choice.
With passengers coming from different backgrounds, drivers sometimes came under heavy criticism, for the loud music or discussions on the car radio sets.
Drivers on World Radio Day
I engaged some drivers at the Kwame Nkrumah Circle in Accra, to ascertain why radio continues to be their most reliable companion.
“As a driver, I listen to radio broadcast for eligible news and also to entertain myself during boring drives. I do listen to it to stay on track of politics.”
Another Driver said, “It makes me get information or news maybe an outbreak of a fire or maybe an incident of an accident.”
“It may happen that as I’m journeying I may be approaching danger so listening to radio informs me ahead,” this driver stated.
“Things may be happening that we don’t know, but with listening to radio we are alerted immediately,” another driver noted.
The contribution of Radio to shaping the democratization processes of Ghana and the West African sub-region, as a whole, cannot be down played.
On the occasion of World Radio Day, we can only hope radio continues to be thatplatform to provide credible information, networking and entertainment to the public.
