Abstract

Not only have radios been depicted as being the most popular way to communicate with the poor and illiterate, they can also be used for the direct and unabashed “manufacture” of public opinion. Having established themselves as entertainment, they can pass smoothly and almost imperceptibly into a propaganda and by means of carefully edited “news” and carefully contrived “talks” can do more than any other known agency to convey palatable doses of truth – or of untruth – to the public.Moreover, in many cases across the world, there has been a perversion of the value of radio as a medium of communication into a strictly commercial model. In constant search of profits, the radio stations have forgotten their main role in light of democratisation, social change, and community empowerment initiatives. An ‘alternative media’ platform has emerged in the form of community/grassroots radios which provide citizens with easy and cheap access to information, conduits to decision makers, opportunities to build local capacity, and can even promote social empowerment. However, has the voice of the less fortunate, normally referred to as the ‘voiceless’ being heard and their issues addressed via this platform?!Have our disempowered female counterparts being empowered via this medium?! Has an all- inclusive social panacea being unearthed through this vehicle?! We are yet to found out