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Article: Africans Get the Word by Radio; Continent's Masses Rely on Broadcasts -- but Governments Rule the Waves
- Article from:
- The Washington Post
- Article date:
- October 25, 1995
- Author:
CopyrightThis material is published under license from the Washington Post. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Washington Post. (Hide copyright information)
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To speak of radio in Africa is to discuss life and death -- and a
good deal of everything else in between. Shortwave, FM, transistor,
battery, solar, clock, windup -- radio is the central nervous system
of this very nervous, decentralized continent.
Much of the rest of the world may be drowning in the flood of data
from the Information Superhighway. But in Africa, for hundreds of
millions of people, events over the next hill and beyond are known by
just two means: word of mouth as carried by travelers and word of
mouth as broadcast on radio.
Yes, Cable News Network reaches some big hotels in African
capitals, and newspapers flourish in cities. But on a continent that
is crushingly poor, ...