The participants were drawn amongst others from Ethiopia, Zimbabwe and South Africa.

Alastair Teeling-Smith, the programme manager of the station 702 Talk Radio, which predominantly broadcasts talk and news programs, explained how their station continues to gain audiences. The station engages in campaigns, e.g. against sexual harassment of women, and uses new media to keep in touch with audiences on an interactive way.

During the discussion with the regulatory body ICASA (Independent Communications Authority of South Africa) it manifested the significancy of democracy deficits in the media field of some countries. One participant told how the granting of a licence to broadcast depends on how positive one’s report is about government representatives.

Differences between countries were obvious on ethical issues. One example: How does one accurately behave if an election candidate calls in a live broadcast and makes accusations about a rival candidate? According to participants from Uganda and Zimbabwe, the called would be cut off immediately. Justification: It would be unfair for the accused person as he would not be able to get the opportunity to take a stand to these allegations before broadcast. Other participants advocated for a more diplomatic approach: to ask for the existence of evidences and to inform that these facts have to be varified.

At the end of the workshop, the participants agreed that they had gained a lot of useful knowledge and they would use it in their home countries to improve the quality of their respective broadcasting stations.

The Radio Management Course was arranged by the Media Programme in co-operation with the University of Witwatersrand’s Radio Academy in Johannesburg.