Western radio memories and narrative construction on Africa

Abstract

Three historical milestones allow a reflection on the narratives of transnational radio stations in Africa: the expansion of transnational channels in Africa, after the Second World War and the beginning of the Cold War; the holding of the “Conference of non-aligned countries” in Bandung, 1955, which expressed the will of sovereignty of the countries of Africa and Asia; the “Media and development forum” held in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, which expressed the desire to “decolonize information”. These great events aroused a certain interest in the field of Radio Studies in Africa. The present reflection aims to analyze the narratives of Western radio stations in Africa, which it focuses on the historical review of the role of radio as a mean of expanding Western imperialism. From a different perspective, the reflection tries to capture the latest trends in ideological and discursive changes in international radio in Africa: internationalized participation, the promotion of democracy awareness, and the awakening of human rights. The emergence of the new narratives of Africans radio stations, mediated by web radios on the platforms of social networks on the internet and their potential, are other points of reflection. In an analysis of this historical information, the study opted for an interpretative approach to the documentation, conference statements, and literature produced on international radio in Africa, what comes close to the topological analysis developed by sociologist Max Weber on the ideal types, an interpretative and explanatory hermeneutic, in which texts, ideologies, culture and historical periods must be understood as symbols that must be elucidated within their systems of signification. This analysis model extracts typical elements from the bibliographic material and describes them in detail.