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SENEGAL-MEDIA: Telling it as it
is on the Airwaves

By Gilles Eric Foadey
DAKAR, Mar 5 (IPS) -- Jean Diop and Moussa Sy come from
different segments of Senegalese society. The former is a public
servant and the latter unemployed. But they have at least one
thing in common: they both eagerly await the weekend.

That's when they listen and, above all, participate in the radio talk shows
that have gained in popularity since the state released its hold on
broadcasting a little more than two years ago.

Diop prefers 'For or Against' run by 'Sud FM-Sen Radio', on which the
interviewer invites two personalities with opposing views to discuss a
topical social or political issue. Callers phone in to give their views,
which the presenter then asks the invitees to comment on.

''This type of programme helps develop a democratic culture and gives
the voiceless an opportunity to express themselves,'' says Diop.

Moussa Sy's preference goes to 'It's not normal' aired by Dunya FM.
Unlike other talk shows, the announcer does not propose a theme.
Callers simply phone in to speak out against anything they don't like,
from corruption and lackadaisical civil servants to muggings, poor
transport and unemployment.

''It's like group therapy,'' says Sy. ''It allows everybody to say what is
going wrong in the country. Even if it doesn't solve anything, it's a way
for everyone to just let themselves go, a sort of collective release.''

Over the past two years, talk shows have changed the face of the
airwaves here. What taxi chauffeur Abdou Gueye says about Sud FM
applies to other private stations. He puts it this way: ''Sud FM has turned
the whole radio scene around. It's a station that enables us to talk about
issues. We phone in and say freely what we think about politics, the
economy, social issues. It's a real revolution.''

A revolution that took a long time to come. Before it happened,
Senegalese professionals and their partners had been chomping at the
bit for a long time. In 1992, while private radios already existed in
neighbouring Mali and Burkina Faso, they were still waiting for the state
to scrap its monopoly and award them frequencies.

But the government gave first preference to foreign stations -- Radio
France Internationale' and 'Africa No. 1', which is based in Gabon -- and
to 'Dakar FM', a commercial station run by the state- owned Senegal
Radio and TV Service (RTS).

It is only in 1993 that the state decided to award frequencies to local
private stations. The first, 'Sud FM', came on the air in July 1994,
followed a few months later by 'Dunya FM' - a joint venture involving a
local media outfit and 'Voice of America'.

A third followed in 1995 -- 'Radio Nostalgie', also a joint venture, this
time between a French radio station and private Senegalese interests.

The advent of the private stations has created stimulating competition,
according to S.M. Camara, an RTS journalist. ''It sounded the death
knell for the one-track thinking in the state media,'' he says.

Sud FM director Cherif Elvalide Seye agrees. ''Not just the radio, but the
state media in general have changed, both with regard to what is
presented on the airwaves and in their behaviour.''

However, there are limits, as presenters at 'DAKAR FM' have found out.
The station had been running a three-hour programme called 'Slow
Music Night'. Against a background of soft music, listeners -- mostly
young women -- phoned in to give their opinions on topics like abortion,
contraceptives and AIDS, sensitive issues in overwhelming Muslim
Senegal.

However, 'Slow Music Night' came under pressure from conservative
groups and was recently taken off the air because of remarks made by
some of its contributors. In one case, a listener insulted President
Abdou Diouf by telling the presenter that his programme was s--t, ''just
like your president''.

Cherif Elvalide Seye of SUD F.M. admits that ''there have been
slip-ups'', including at his station, but explains that ''when the floodgates
are opened, the water that had been trapped behind them for a long
time simply rushes out, but it has been much less violent than I had
feared''.

He said that, at SUD FM, when contributors overstep the limits of
propriety, other listeners phone in to criticise them even before the
presenter does so.

''Even if the excesses are regrettable, that's no reason to block such
people's access to the airwaves,'' he argues. ''They are Senegalese
who share their society's shortcomings. You have to be able to listen to
them and not censure them.''

El Hadj Babacar Kebe, head of the High Council for Radio and
Television (HCRT), a state organ that monitors the public broadcasting
media, sees things differently.

''It's unthinkable that, under the pretext of preserving freedom of
expression, people are allowed to attack the dignity of others with
impunity,'' said Kebe, who stressed that he was giving his opinion as a
simple citizen since his organ had not yet been mandated to oversee
private radio stations.

''I think such interactive talk shows must continue,'' he said,'' but, like the
people responsible for the radio stations, citizens must have a sense of
responsibility.''

In the meantime, the talk shows are a boon to the many small private
telephone centres in Dakar and other main towns, since home
telephones are still a luxury here -- there were just eight telephone
mainlines for every 1,000 people in 1992.

''People flock to my telephone centre whenever there is a talk show on,''
says Yamar Toure, who operates one such cabin in Dakar. ''I am now
making much more money than before the private radio stations started
operating.''(END/IPS/GEF/KB/96)
________________________________________________________
Bruce Girard
AMARC - Pulsar
Email: bgirard@pulsar.org.ec
http://www.web.apc.org/amarc/pulsar.html
Tel: +(593-2) 525-521    Fax/Tel: +(593-2) 542-818
Avenida America 3584, Casilla 17-01-1171, Quito, Ecuador