Radio forums, a strategy for development

THE FUNCTION, PURPOSE, AND BASIC ELEMENTS OF RADIO FORUMS ARE DEFINED. THE BASIC ASSUMPTION OF MASS MEDIA FORUM SYSTEMS IS THAT MULTI-CHANNEL COMMUNICATION IS MORE EFFECTIVE THAN SINGLE-CHANNEL COMMUNICATION IN REACHING AN AUDIENCE WITH LESS COST. FINDINGS INDICATE THAT RADIO FORUMS HAVE A SIGNIFICANT IMPACT ON INCREASING THE KNOWLEDGE OF ILLITERATES. THE REPORT TRACES THE DEVELOPMENT OF RADIO FORUMS IN INDIA IN WHICH 40 VILLAGERS TOOK PART, THE GHANA RADIO FORUMS PROJECT, AND RADIO FORUM EXPERIMENTS IN ECUADOR, BRAZIL, NIGERIA, AND TANZANIA. IT GIVES 19 GUIDELINES ON THE USE OF RADIO FORUMS IN THE RURAL DEVELOPMENT OF LDCS. THESE INCLUDE: (1) THE FORUMS" EFFECTIVENESS IN USING LOCAL CONTENT IN MESSAGES AND THE IMPORTANCE OF A SMALL NUMBER OF HIGH-PRIORITY TOPICS: (2) THE NEED FOR FORUMS TO BE AWARE OF VILLAGERS" NEEDS, VOCABULARY, COMPREHENSIVE, AND CONCEPT FORMATION; AND (3) THE FUNCTIONS OF FEEDBACK FOR PROGRAM PRODUCERS ON THE USEFULNESS OF MESSAGES, THE STYLE OF PRESENTATION, AND THE LOGISTIC LIMITATIONS. IT ALSO DISCUSSES THE IMPORTANCE OF THE SIZE OF THE FORUM, THE TRAINED LEADERSHIP, AND THE CAUTION THAT MUST BE EXERCISED IN MOTIVATING AUDIENCES.