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This is the second post to feature Prof. Franz Krüger.

Krüger is the director of the Wits Radio Academy, the centre for learning, research and public engagement around radio based in the University’s journalism programme.

In this clip he talks about the launch of “VOW Radio 90.5” (Voice of Wits) – the campus radio station for the University of the Witwatersrand.

It is located in central Johannesburg, on the 9th floor of University Corner in the heart of Braamfontein.

Mike Smurthwaite, the station manager says;

“We are young, energetic, experimental and engaging.”

“Our goal is to provide a pertinent high quality broadcasting service,”

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In this entry clip – Prof. Franz Krüger from the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, discusses various aspects of radio in South Africa – with a focus on the importance of Community Radio. Krüger is the director of the Wits Radio Academy, the centre for learning, research and public engagement around radio based in the University’s journalism programme.

As well as being an extremely nice guy – he has 25 years of experience as a journalist and edits the website www.journalism.co.za. Prof. Krüger’s first book “Black, white and grey: journalism ethics in South Africa” was published in 2004 and his highly recommended second book “The Radio Journalism Toolkit” was published in 2006.

In this clip, Ben Osere discusses radio useage in Kenya – and how it’s being influenced by the advance of mobile phone technology.

I’m currently travelling in Africa – researching radio issues across the continent… and there’ll be more video on this subject (and others) as I get the chance to upload content – obviously net connections here aren’t the best so it’s taking a while. It’s been a fascinating trip so far, which has allowed me to visit some great radio stations – and to meet some interesting characters… Including Ben, who kindly showed me around the slums of Kibera… But more about that later…

Recorded in June, 2010, Nairobi Kenya.

I opened yesterday’s (13.5.10) Guardian newspaper to find another bout of Bono-bashing – this time slagging off his skills as a financial analist.

I’ll come clean straight off – and confess to being a U2 fan (even ‘though John Peel loathed them).

I grew up with U2 and saw them as “my band” – distinct from my older brothers musical tastes. Although they may have strayed from the path from time to time –they least managed to stick around in their original form (a miracle of inter-band relations) and still produce some interesting tracks.

But back to the bashing… I’ve been meaning to conclude this series of postings about celebrity / aid with a reference to St. Bono – and reading the Guardian article prompted me to get around to it. View full article »

Poor bastard… First, Craig David’s singing career is turned into a joke by “Bo Selecta” – and then, when he tries to turn things around by signing up as a UN Ambassador, Russell Howard comes along and sticks the boot in…

Funny though…

News just in: Seems David’s had the last laugh – having just been named in the UK.s top “rich list”. Read on…

According to the Sunday Times;

“Charlotte Church, Leona Lewis and Katherine Jenkins are joint number one, with an estimated £11 million in the bank.

The list was dominated by women with Joss Stone and Cheryl’s Girls Aloud bandmates also making the top 10. Craig David also made the cut with a reported £8 million in the bank”.

It’s well known that fame and stardom attract attention. So it’s not surprising that many aid organisations utilise celebrity to promote their cause. Gerry Halliwell as UN Ambassador, Geldof’s Live Aid, U2 and friends on Amnesty’s Conspiracy Of Hope tour in 1986 (more about St. Bono later) – and more recently… Lindsay Lohan travelling to India to film an expose of child labour and trafficking of women – which broadcast in April ’10 on BBC3.

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These pictures were taken in Addis Ababa and Southern Ethiopia in 2008. They show the constant persuasive presence of advertising from major international pharmaceutical companies in everyday Ethiopian life.


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Douglas Farnkalo / BCU Press Release;

During the Christmas holidays of 2008, I travelled to Liberia in order research my BCU dissertation in media and communicattion – and to be reunited with family members whom I have not seen for 13 years. During my visit, I presented some professional marantz recorders I recieved from the Birmingham School of Media to the Press Union of Liberia.

Please find details of the story in the following Press release:

“A Liberian journalist residing in the UK has donated four tape recorders to the Press Union of Liberia (PUL), for the use of the electronic media in the country.

Journalist Douglas Farnkalo, a former Radio Announcer of ELCM Radio, said the gesture was made possible from a request he made to the authority of the Birmingham City University in the UK where he is studying as a student of communication.

Douglas Farnkalo (left) and Peter Quaqu
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What, if anything, can the world of development learn from western advertising? Are there parallels between the two that can be exploited by NGO’s to help create more effective ways of reaching listeners?

Ever since the world’s first radio commercial was broadcast in 1922, broadcasters have searched for innovative techniques to successfully deliver sales messages to carefully defined target audiences. In order to try and define the various strengths and weaknesses of radio advertising – and whether they could be harnessed for development broadcasting – I investigated a cross section of advertising related literature.

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