Local Radio in Afghanistan: A Sustainability Assessment

"[T]he historical resilience of radio and its future prospects within Afghanistan’s fluid media landscape, and in particular the viability of local radio stations’ efforts to guarantee a minimum level of access to information for even the most remote communities, warrants in-depth analysis."

Prepared by Altai Consulting for Internews, this study assesses the role and impact of the local radio station network in Afghanistan as well as its sustainability prospects, focusing on four pillars of sustainability. In rural parts of the country, 75% of the population relies on radio broadcasts in order to meet information needs. Low literacy rates, insecurity, and poor infrastructure restrict access to print media, while a lack of electricity, limited broadcast areas, and the cost of equipment and subscription services keep television ownership and usage relatively low. FM radio devices are cheap, receivers are built into most mobile phones, the sound quality of local radio is often better than that of national radio on AM/shortwave, and the language of broadcasts is easy to understand. That said, the role of local radio has seen significant change through the past 15 years as dynamics in the wider media landscape have shifted, leading some stations to cease their activities and others to operate below profitability.

Afghanistan was bereft of independent media of any kind when the repressive Taliban government fell in 2001. From 2003 to 2011, with support from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Internews established 36 local radio stations across 29 provinces in Afghanistan in order to address the lack of independent and localised information production and distribution, especially in rural areas. Internews' workers carried microphones and recorders in backpacks to isolated small towns and trained hundreds of young people, many of them women who had never worked before or even been allowed to leave their homes, in journalism. Establishment of the first of these radio stations occurred at a time when media was generally looked upon with suspicion, and the concept of community-based radio foreign to Afghanistan.

In order to ensure minimum standards in the quantity and quality of content broadcast by these radio stations, in 2005 Internews set up Salam Watandar ("Hello, Countrymen"), a Kabul-based company that produces programmes that: cover national and international news; explore issues such as health, education, and rule of law; and include soap operas. Since 2007, these programmes have been transmitted by satellite to the network of stations and broadcast locally between the peak hours of 7-9 a.m. and 6-8 p.m. In 2012, Salam Watandar became an independent organisation, with its Kabul office serving as a strategic hub for mentoring and training its partner radio stations. It has grown to 74 stations, operating in the rural, isolated parts of this country. In a country whose rugged mountains have engendered dozens of different languages and dialects, national programming has limited reach. But local radio reporters face none of those obstacles. They have made a tradition of challenging authorities, running citizen forums, and covering feature stories on area schools, sports, and culture.

This study assesses the role and impact of the Salam Watandar radio station network as well as its sustainability prospects. To this end, 62 in-depth interviews with key stakeholders in the Internews/Salam Watandar story as well as those involved in media operations at the central Kabul level were combined with 10 in-depth case studies from the research sample of 30 provincial Internews-established, full Salam Watandar-partner stations. Twenty in-depth interviews by phone with the remaining sample stations were added to this, and 32 focus group discussions (FGDs) with listeners of the radio station and non-listeners were conducted. Eight hundred and eight audience members were surveyed in the 10 selected communities across Afghanistan.

According to the report, radio usage in rural Afghanistan has diversified both in terms of the groups within society that listen to radio, as well as the times that radio is listened to and the manner in which it listened to (privately or communally). Local radio programming caters to different segments of society. Radio can, therefore, reach a cross-section of rural communities, including men and women, elderly and young people. Local radio stations' predominant roles are that of information provider, entertainer, educator, and watchdog. Stations provide international, national, and local news, as well as information on practical, community-related matters. As an educator, stations make use of interactive programme formats that offer listeners engaging learning experiences. As a watchdog, local radio bridges the gap between the community and the authorities by raising the voice of the former and demanding accountability from the latter. Local radio stands out for its ability to pinpoint specific needs within the communities it serves in respect to information and education gaps as well as public grievances, and to address these accordingly. Local radio's impact, therefore, is highly localised and consequently tailored.

The study focused on four pillars of sustainability:

1. Financial: Local radio stations' financial sustainability is uncertain within an environment of declining donor funding, economic stagnation, and insecurity. As few stations have consistent access to the electrical grid, most rely on diesel- or petrol -fueled generators to meet their energy needs, the cost of which can add up; for Radio Alina in Nuristan, monthly generator costs made up over 70% of total costs (US$374 of US$523. Half of the case study stations experienced a monthly deficit (the highest being US$598 in the case of Radio Darman in Jawzjan).
2. Organisational: Local radio stations' access to and use of both human and non-human resources is limited. Many stations crippled in staff capacities (due, for instance, to a lack of rigorous recruitment policies and formal training) relied overly on volunteers, which allows for higher levels of community participation but can negatively impact levels of professionalism, continuity, and knowledge retention. Regarding non-human resources, access to up-to-date equipment, energy, and transportation were poor. The latter leads to restricted field reporting and news coverage of remoter areas, in turn impacting stations' ability to be inclusive and representative of the different communities in their coverage area. Information was the one resource stations had increasingly more access to, with the internet, and social media especially, playing a significant role in this regard. International websites are searched for news, educational content is sourced or verified online, and social media provide stations with localised information as well as an additional platform for community interaction and feedback off-air.
3. Political and cultural: Insecurity has impacted almost all local radio stations, be it through targeted physical or verbal attacks, isolated or as parts of larger conflict events. Stations were targeted on account of their role as local watchdogs and as drivers of social change. As a consequence, stations practiced self-censorship, reporters' movements were circumscribed resulting in incomplete and uneven coverage of broadcast areas, and had fewer business development/advertising opportunities. Most stations were able to balance political neutrality and unbiased reporting with political goodwill and support networks that facilitate stations' work in terms of gaining access to information, and ensuring the station's and its staff's security. Community support is of key importance to the sustainability of the stations, and from the outset, stations have made sure to embed themselves within the local community. Community elders were involved in stations' establishment, and local community members make up the stations' staff. Community support is further cemented through outreach efforts by station management, perceptions of the station's political independence and its ability to serve as a watchdog, as well as interaction with the community both on and off air and programming that caters to community needs. Community support also allows stations to push social boundaries, broach sensitive topics, and thus drive social change - but at a rate that does not risk severe community tensions. Criticism of local radio stations' programming, both internally and externally produced, is not uncommon, however. Music, and the broadcasting of female voices particularly, elicited disapproval from more conservative elements within society. Stations coped with criticism by adjusting their programming, persevering in their editorial choices, or mediation.
4. Audience: The ability of local radio stations to retain their audience rests on three factors: (i) the station's ability to cater to the needs of the communities in its broadcast area - but gathering of audience feedback is insufficient and unsystematic, leaving gaps in knowledge that could be leveraged not only in regard to programming but also advertising; (ii) the station's ability to be inclusive and representative of these communities - an ability that for some stations was marred by a lack of women's involvement, alienating female audience members; and (iii) the station's ability to carve out a niche role for itself in order to minimise functional overlap with other media accessible in its broadcast area - local radio answers different needs. These needs are not just about information and entertainment, but about belonging, inclusion, participation, joint efforts, agency, and development. Local radio is therefore likely to serve a sizeable audience in the near future also.

Based on these findings, the report shares recommendations in each area of sustainability. For example:

• In order to secure access to reliable and inexpensive sources of electricity, installing solar systems would be the most straightforward solution.
• Participatory management styles wherein decisions are made in a consultative manner give staff the opportunity to take decisions and ownership of the station's success, which could work as a disincentive for volunteers to leave the station. Combatting disruptions in knowledge transmission due to high turnover rates, Salam Watandar has taken measures to make trainings last by providing video tutorials on technical subjects on CD. Developing this type of remote learning opportunity should be encouraged - as more stations have access to the internet, such remote learning could take the form of interactive, online modules. Station staff are already using the internet increasingly; these efforts could be maximised by trainings on, for example, how to create a survey on Facebook, how to efficiently use search engines, or how to verify or double-check information sourced online. In addition, social media and websites will provide radio stations with additional platforms on which to engage with the community off-air, thus expanding their role as public "community centres". Social media and websites add a visual element to on-air reporting, allow for streaming, facilitate feedback gathering, and encourage public discourse.
• Political and cultural: Outreach programmes to government officials that highlight the vested interest local governments have in functioning local media as a communication channel can help them take stations' security concerns more seriously, which in turn might work as a deterrent in regard to external threats. Stations could ask themselves how community linkages can be strengthened. For example, has a station reached out sufficiently to community elders, communicated to them its security concerns, and asked for their input? Relationships with the religious establishment are also important. As authoritative community members, mullahs have helped start and run stations, their local authority generating wider support for a station. In addition, stations should be encouraged to coordinate with and join professional networks such as journalist, civil society, or media associations. When information, for example, is particularly sensitive, local radio stations can share it between independent outlets and coordinate its release in order to avoid being singled out as a target.
• Audience: Stations should receive further training in ways that they can collect, review, and address audience feedback on a regular basis. As every station interviewed had a Facebook page, social media provides an opportunity for increasing and systematising audience feedback that is inexpensive and requires little effort. In addition, stations could organise quarterly events for audience members to mingle with station staff, reach out to community elders and other representatives of the community more, and draw increasingly upon their relationships with local civil society organisations (CSOs) to find out what issues are plaguing the community. With regard to implementing audience feedback, stations would do well to emphasise their responsiveness on air, highlighting changes that have been made in programming and stating explicitly that these were implemented in order to meet audience demands. Drawing upon local religious authorities, trusted by the community, and involving community elders as well as other community representatives such as CSO workers in a public discussion can pave the way for actually employing women. Examples, if there are any, of local women that have a solid religious reputation and are publicly active can also be highlighted. With regard to balancing externally and internally produced programming, external programming should remain a basis upon which stations can build their own locally-tailored programming. The boundaries between community and commercial radio in Afghanistan are blurred at the local level due to a lack of legislation and regulatory framework at the time stations were set up. For local radio to retain its competitive "edge", it might have to choose between a commercial and community model.