Community radio

Within wealthy nations, where the use of new information and communication technologies seems ubiquitous, a different barrier exists: globalization and media consolidation have dramatically restricted and shaped the application and uses of the technologies. [...] Responding to the barriers of the dispersion of technology in poor nations, and the limits on the use of technology in rich nations, an older medium is gaining popularity as a means for 3    effective communication: low-power community radio stations. [...] In South Africa, the use of community radio is increasing because “it is owned by the community, relatively affordable, and enjoys a certain unique intimacy with its owners and audience, pertinent to the 4    illiterate and rural population, and local culture and tradition” (Megwa, 338). [...] However, in spite of the popularity of radio as a source of information, the number of those producing it is limited. [...] The supremacy of the medium is unchallenged in Africa, where 97 percent of the population relies on radio rather than television as a source of news and entertainment (562).