Africa No. 1 and the Realities of Broadcasting in Africa in the 1980s

     When it started service, Africa No. 1 was a breath of fresh French air over the African continent for several reasons: it was not directly controlled by any government; it offered African listeners new, exciting music and cultural programming; and it broadcast uncensored, in-depth news and analyses of African and world issues. This was a dramatic departure from the boring, doctrinal, and paternalistic programming that was broadcast on tightly controlled government radio and television stations in Africa. In effect, Africa No. 1 was the first African radio station to break with the tenets of African-style development communication-a series of African government policies that required all organs of the mass media, which were for the most part controlled by the governments, to disseminate information and messages that would help improve agricultural production, health, education, national security, and other vital areas.

     When African countries gained independence in the late 1950s and early 1960s, their mass media policies originated from Western countries in general and from the United States in particular. As early as 1958, when most sub-Saharan African countries were still under colonial rule, the General Assembly of the United Nations called for the building of mass media facilities in countries that were in the process of economic and social development. This led to the United Nations' application, through its Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), of the concept of development communication.

     As formulated in its early stages by Western experts, the development communication perspective postulated that developing countries did not have the resources to indulge in the luxury of the liberal, watchdog journalistic model of the Western countries. Therefore, the mass media were to concentrate on the task of disseminating information and messages that would help improve agricultural production, health, education, and national security. It was believed that strategic use of information would lead to nation building and provide a "climate" for national development. Most African politicians argued that in situations of poverty, where the bare necessities were absent, having mass media that concentrated on checking government action and criticizing it was a misuse of resources. However, the consequence of this policy was that most governments, often one-party regimes, soon had a monopoly on information dissemination. In the name of development communication, the mass media reported only news that promoted the ideological positions and interests of the governments and ruling elite of the day. Dissenting journalists were either censored, censured, or worse. The arrival of Africa No. 1 on the broadcast scene provided an alternative voice to that of the

government.

Programming on Africa No. 1

      For a commercial station, Africa No. 1 has a unique program format that is a mix of music, sports, and cultural documentaries. The service broke the stranglehold of African governments on news and information. The station programs a lot of African popular music, to be sure, but it also broadcasts in­-depth news and information that is not heard on government radio stations. It also airs the views of dissident politicians and journalists and tells the world about the persecution of journalists and members of the opposition in African countries. Furthermore, its programming actively promotes African music, culture, and sports. The station plays mostly African music and has released compact disc compilations of the most influential music in post-independence Africa. It has also carried live broadcasts of Africa's major sporting events. Its well­ researched documentaries cover African political, cultural, and historical topics.

Africa No. 1 and Liberalization of the African Airwaves

     The fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 and the end of the Cold War triggered a hurricane of instability over the African continent. Popular uprisings, strikes, sit-ins, and demands for political freedom and better standards of living broke out all over the map. In response, leader after leader, seeing that their super­ power benefactors were no longer willing or able to provide unconditional support, legalized opposition parties and allowed the press more freedom. Portable transistor radios, satellites, and popular music had neutralized the power, if not the zeal, of the censor. The much-muzzled African mass media suddenly found their voices.

     One of the consequences of political liberalization was the opening up of the airwaves. Press laws have been liberalized across the continent, and private radio stations broadcasting in several African and European languages are springing up in most regions of the continent. By 2000, no fewer than. 21 African countries had allowed independent or alternative radio or television broadcasting facilities. This trend is quite a change from just five years earlier. Divergent voices are being heard, and many more people have access to the mass media.

     All this has meant competition for Africa No. 1 from Africa and abroad. In addition to competing with African commercial stations, Africa No. 1 is experiencing increasing competition from international broadcasters such as the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), the Voice of America, Radio France International (RFI), Radio Deutsche Welle (Voice of Germany), and others broadcasting in English, French, Arabic, Portuguese, and several African languages. Since the liberalization of the media began in Africa in the early 1990s, several of these international broadcasters, who used to broadcast only on shortwave radio to Africa, have been allowed by a number of countries to broadcast directly to African audiences on FM frequencies. In addition, many of them have expanded their African services to include direct broadcasting by satellites and have signed rebroadcast agreements with several private African radio stations. The African audience is now splintered.

     In the face of such stiff competition, Africa No. 1 has repo­sitioned itself as the only station that is African 24 hours a day. It has also diversified its broadcast outlets and acquired FM frequencies in at least 15 African countries. Furthermore, it has obtained broadcast licenses in France, where it broadcasts on two FM frequencies from Paris. Nevertheless, Africa No. 1's expansion into the African FM market has not been all that smooth. According to the Paris-based African magazine, Jeune Afrique, Africa No. 1's expansion into the competitive but lucrative FM market in Abidjan was held up by the lvorian government and by local shareholders who wanted to control the programming of the station. A compromise was reached whereby the station was not allowed to cover the local news in Abidjan. The news is broadcast from Libreville, Gabon, Africa No. r's home station. In effect, all local news from Abidjan has to be sent to Libreville, from where it is broadcast to Abidjan and the rest of the African continent.

     Besides its shortwave and FM frequencies, Africa No. 1 broadcasts on four direct broadcast satellite channels and on the internet. In addition to its broadcast activities, Africa No. 1 also serves as a rebroadcaster for such international broadcasters as RFI, the Japanese Broadcasting Corporation, and Radio Swiss International. These broadcasters send their programs to Africa No. 1's transmission center in Moyabi, Gabon, where it is rebroadcast to the rest of the continent, to South America, or to the Middle East.

Controversy

     Africa No. 1 has not been without controversy. Controversies have arisen over tobacco advertising on the station and over alleged political interference in its programming. As a commercial station, Africa No. 1 survives on advertising, mostly from multinational companies doing or wishing to do business in Africa. The station made a controversial decision to accept tobacco advertising. Even as the dangers of smoking became known and Western countries banned tobacco advertising on radio and television, multinational tobacco companies were buying airtime on Africa No. 1. The station soon became known as much for the slick Marlboro and Benson and Hedges cigarette advertisements punctuating its programs as for its music and documentaries.

     Despite its generally good track record, Africa No. 1, like government stations in Zaire and elsewhere, did not escape the violence that came with political liberalization in Africa in the 199os. Africa No. 1's studios in Libreville, Gabon, were attacked by mobs who accused the station of covering up the misdeeds and corruption of the government of Gabon. Some members of the African public claimed that Africa No. 1 was not as critical of the government of Gabon as it was of other governments, because president Omar Bongo was a shareholder of the station. Because the station is private, that claim cannot be confirmed. Nevertheless, it is true that Africa No. 1 has not given as much attention to Gabonese dissidents and members of the opposition as it has given to dissidents and members of the opposition of other African countries. In addition, dissident groups from Congo (Brazzaville) claimed, in 1999, that Africa No. 1 had given in to political pressure and fired three journalists of Congolese origin who had reported on ethnic massacres in Congo's civil war.

Conclusion

      Africa No. 1 is a pioneering radio station that has, in its 20 years of existence, greatly influenced Africa's political and media landscape. It has been an effective promoter of freedom of speech and expression. Its news and programming broke the monopoly of government-controlled stations over information in French-speaking Africa. Today, Africa No. 1 is the model upon which many new, independent African stations pattern their programming.