Establishing The Relationship Between Listening To Vernacular Radio Broadcasts and Positive Ethnicity Among The Youth in Kinangop District: A Study Of Inooro Fm
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Date
2010-04
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Publisher
Daystar University, School of Communication
Abstract
This research project sought to establish the relationship between Inooro FM broadcasts and positive ethnicity among its youth audience in Kinangop district. It also sought to determine how this relationship influenced the way the youth audience interacted with people from other ethnic communities and whether this had any influence on Kenya’s national unity. The findings would enable vernacular radio audiences, media owners and government policy makers, to understand the contribution of vernacular broadcasts to ethnicity and national cohesion. This could assist them in making informed decisions on important issues related to vernacular broadcasting and the media in general.The research targeted 19-29 years age bracket because this group was in a transition stage from childhood to integration into the wider society and to the challenges of adulthood. Its members were often groping for identity (Jessor & Jessor, 1977) and were easily influenced by the media and other change agents. In fact, the group was identified as having participated in the ethnic clashes in Kenya in 2008 (Waki, 2008). The research design was cross-sectional, which was ideal for social studies (Kumar, 2005). Open-ended and closed-ended questionnaires were used as well as an interview schedule for the focus group discussion to collect primary data. Secondary data was collected from books, journals and other relevant publications. After analysing the data, the research concluded that the youth audience in Kinangop district had a marked preference for radio broadcasts that were in their vernacular Gikuyu language. This had contributed to positive ethnicity among them particularly through the station’s use of vernacular to broadcast programs containing the history, music, culture and traditions of the Kikuyu ethnic group. This had also given the youth a greater sense of ethnic identity, security and unity. This research also concluded that Inooro FM’s broadcasts did not contribute to the way its youth audience interacted with people from different ethnic communities, neither were the programs a threat to national unity. However, the station needed to be, at all times, alert and cautious of people who were likely to make ethnically negative statements that could cause national disunity. Many such statements have been aired on the station in the past.This research recommended that the government should set specific guidelines for vernacular radio broadcasters to prevent the use of materials containing negative ethnicity. This could also be achieved through relevant training of its staff on professional production and presentation of radio programs which were in tandem with the needs of Kenya’s multi-racial society.
Description
MASTER OF ARTS in Communication
Keywords
British Broadcasting Corporation, Kenya Broadcasting Corporation, Media Council of Kenya
Citation
Mungai, P. W. (2010). Establishing The Relationship Between Listening To Vernacular Radio Broadcasts and Positive Ethnicity Among The Youth in Kinangop District: A Study Of Inooro Fm. Daystar University, School of Communication