Talk radio as the soundtrack of our lives: Participatory HIV/AIDS communication, public self-expression andPositive Talk

Abstract

Despite the many HIV/AIDS communication initiatives, combined with support and infrastructural support in South Africa, risky behaviour associated with the spread of the epidemic is increasing amongst many groups. This calls for a re-evaluation of endeavours aimed at curbing the spread of the epidemic. This article is only concerned with the communicational aspects of the epidemic, but does not negate the interaction of these with other measures taken to address the epidemic. As is the case with most health communication initiatives, HIV/AIDS communication initiatives have evolved to favour the participatory approach above one-directional transmission of information to the public. The participatory approach rests on the assumption that an HIV/AIDS communication initiative stands the best chance of resulting in behaviour change if members of the target community participate in the communication initiative. The assumption is that as many people as possible should be involved in the maximum number of phases of the communicative initiative (such as initial research, planning, implementation and evaluation of the project). Some research has recently started to explore new forms of community participation, including inviting community participation through, for example, internet-based platforms such as social media, and mobile phone platforms such as WhatsApp and BBM. However, the reality broadcast genre -more specifically, talk radio -has been neglected, as only a few research investigations focused on talk radio and most of these are not exclusively about HIV/AIDS communication but focus on other health topics. From a participatory communication perspective, two sets of critique against the existing HIV/AIDS communication projects hold water: firstly, they do not make the maximum use of participatory communication principles and, secondly, they are externally initiated projects and emanate from outside the target community. To address both of these concerns, this article explores a wider range of participatory principles and the potential workings of these in an internally initiated communication initiative aimed at addressing the epidemic. More specifically, this article investigates ways in which radio listeners experience the reality broadcast genre -the talk radio show, Positive Talk -as participatory communication. Positive Talk is not an externally initiated project, as it is not part of a pre-planned, goal-oriented project that is owned and controlled outside the target community. In contrast, it has been initiated by Criselda Kananda, an individual not linked to any of the existing initiatives outside the community. She started the show to earn a living. She became a well-known person, is fairly knowledgeable in the field and was granted this opportunity as she is HIV-positive. In order to investigate how radio listeners use the show to engage in HIV/AIDS communication, 20 in-depth interviews were held with avid listeners of the show. The respondents indicated that they appreciate ordinary people pho...

Interactive radio, social network sites and development in Africa: a literature review study

“…Technological advancements have provided opportunities for improving public health outcomes and knowledge, which influence development (Abdullahi and Abdulquadri, 2018;Burger, 2015;Fayoyin, 2016;Medeossi et al, 2014;Nyirenda et al, 2018;Tietaah et al, 2019). In their study, Fayoyin (2016) assessed the impact of social media on health communication in Africa.…”

“…According to Tietaah et al (2019), interactive radio supports the dissemination of information related to diabetes hypertension, family planning, HIV, AIDS, and the environmental population. Similarly, interactive radio supports the communication of HIV/AIDS-related information (Burger, 2015).…”

“…Different from Abdullahi and Abdulquadri (2018), Burger (2015), Fayoyin (2016), Medeossi et al (2014), Nyirenda et al (2018), and Tietaah et al (2019 who focused on infectious illnesses, Kutcher et al (2015) and Kutcher et al (2019) conducted studies on the impact of interactive radios on mental health. In sub-Saharan Africa, the lack of awareness and stigma significantly affect the ability of mentally ill individuals to seek psychiatric help.…”