Why the one to watch?
Sometimes looked down upon as the “poor relation” of television, and certainly considered old-fashioned compared to the Internet, radio today has become the one to watch... Still the most portable communication medium, the most widespread and the most economical, radio is now proving itself versatile enough to go hand-in-hand with the Web.
Carleen Gardner, General Affairs and Information Department, FAO.
New Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) are changing radio in the developing world. But far from making it less relevant, the new technologies are opening up hitherto unimagined possibilities:
- Broadcasters who used to have to travel for hours to find a public library to research a programme, now have instant access to the Internet.
- National, regional and global radio news agencies are making world news and alternative perspectives available to even the most remote communities.
- The radio/telecommunications combination is helping keep communities together, despite the distances imposed by migration.
The cases presented in this book are among the first examples demonstrating the value of converging radio and new ICTs for Development. The book argues that radio will have even greater significance and value in years to come. For this reason we believe that radio is the one to watch.
