Assessment of Community Radio Social Impact in Tanzania

Purpose: This paper assessed social impacts of three community radio stations located in three different social-economic zones in Tanzania namely, Kilosa in the Eastern Zone, Karagwe in the Lake Victoria Zone and Orkonerei Community Radio (ORS) in the Northern Zone. Methodology: The study used cross sectional design whereby data were collected at one point in time. Purposive sampling methods were used to obtain 585 (48% female) respondents based on whether the area was well covered by community radio broadcasts or otherwise. Data were collected interview schedule, in-depth interview of key informants, systematic observations and focus group discussions. Key informants included community radio management and journalists working in the community radios. As for focus group discussions, four discussions were held (two in each community radio) with a total of 40 respondents. Findings: The study found that 51% of the respondents viewed community radio stations as enhanced access to information (news, current affairs and educational informational). On popularity, the study found that on average, community radios were more popular with local audience than other radio stations. This was due to broadcasting local contents. An analysis of sex and education levels of people who preferred community radio showed that 53.4% were men and 46.5% were women. As for education levels, 57% of those who preferred community radio broadcast had primary education followed by those without formal education at 24%. However, contrary to the theory of community radio which asserts that community radios focus on local social economic development, the study found that the most dominant theme was music and general entertainment. Unique Contribution to Theory, Practice and Policy: The study found that community radio stations have enhanced information flow (news, current affairs and education). They are also most popular with local audience compared to other radios. This indicates that if tailored to address contemporary local development issues, community radio can have huge impact. However, the study found that, the most dominant themes in studied stations was music and general entertainment. This is contrary to the theory asserting that community radio should focus on local social development issues. This calls for further investigation on circumstances leading community radios deviation from the popular theory.