Radio transmission in Kenya began in 1927 with the advent of the East African Broadcasting Corporation whose main use then was to relay news. The broadcasts targeted white settlers who monitored news from their home countries and other parts of the world. At that time, radio was purely audio, with a voice you couldn’t see. Deprived of a physical image, listeners had to rely on the power of the voice on the radio to immerse themselves in the story.
With time, Kenyans were introduced to the late Leonard Mambo Mbotela’s Je Huu ni Ungwana? and Fred Obachi Machoka’s music show, Roga Roga.
More forms of media have emerged over the years, but radio remains relevant despite being the oldest. So why is radio still popular?
The reason mainly lies in its affordability. It is a low-cost and popular medium that can reach the remotest areas. However, to remain relevant, radio also had to shift and include a visual element to meet the audience’s changing needs. Ghetto Radio was the first station in the country to introduce a visual component.
The move to audiovisual aimed to achieve several things, but the most imminent one was reach. “The reach for community radios goes to 19km of its radius, so we needed to livestream to be able to reach other regions in the country,” said Edgar Ogutu, radio host, Ghetto Radio.
The digital wave has also highly impacted radio’s shift to visual. “People have options as things grow with digitisation. You get more options for things, so people can also listen to other stuff, and they can listen at their leisure,” said Wanjira Longauer, radio host of The Hype, Capital FM.
Social media has also made radio shows more interactive, as audiences can comment live and even influence programming. “Using all these platforms, you can tell who is listening to you. Previously, on radio, you just depended on some pollster to go and do some math and come and tell you, your audience is approximately 1 million people between 7 am and 8 am, but then they increase to 5 million. With social media, you can quantify and see who is tuned in, how engaged they are and what their views are on what you’re giving them,” said Eric Latiff, host of Fixing the Nation, NTV.
As we celebrate World Radio Day, watch this video to learn why radio is becoming more visual and what opportunities this shift offers.
