Click Icon for Communication Overview 

Radio Use And Access in Liberia

Over the past 30 years radio has been a key propaganda tool for both the government and militant groups in Liberia. During the rule of Samuel John Doe and the People’s Redemption Council from 1980 to 1989, the government used the Liberia Broadcasting System to counter opposition voices. Radio facilities in Monrovia were the primary targets of coups in 1980s; the government sought to raise its stature by extending the reach of its broadcasts and using them to trumpet development projects of national significance.

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) assisted the government beginning in 1979 in creating the Liberia Rural Communications Network (LRCN), which was initially separate from the LBS. [1] The network included three 10-kilowatt transmitters that broadcast to over half of Liberia's rural landmass and 70 percent of its rural population. Under the purview of USAID the project focused on the training of local personnel and the creation of programming that was non-political, development-oriented and locally relevant. The LRCN was Liberia’s first experience with community-based radio, a phenomenon which would eventually become pervasive throughout the country. [2]

Before the project could be completed and the Liberian government could gain full control over the LRCN stations the country’s civil war began in full force. These stations, along with others, became important communication resources for all sides during the 14-year war (1989-2003). Even the offices of the Liberian Broadcasting System itself exchanged hands between militants several times during hostilities. Charles Taylor and the National Patriotic Front of Liberia (NPFL) controlled much of the radio network during the civil war. Control over radio transmissions was a crucial propaganda tool for the NPFL as it was the primary means by which most Liberians outside Monrovia received news.

After the civil war, much of Liberia’s broadcast sector was in shambles and in need of major repair, but domestic and international organizations have made significant efforts to expand both the private and non-profit radio markets. There are now over 50 registered radio stations in the country, with a majority of them being community radio stations. The Danish NGO International Media Support places the number of community stations outside of Monrovia at 47, but there are fewer than 35 that are active. These stations are normally non-profit and have a mission to broadcast public service programming, which can range from educational dramas to agricultural reports. For more on community radio stations and an overview of media development efforts in Liberia see our article entitled, “Community Radio a Vital Resource for Liberians”.

Along with community-based radio stations, there are a few domestic and international broadcasters with a reach beyond their county. UNMIL Radio, controlled by the United Nations Mission in Liberia, is the most popular radio network on a national scale. It is also the only domestic station with a national presence, which it obtains through a network of FM transmitters. Two international broadcasters, the BBC and Voice of America, also have strong national reach, as they broadcast through a shortwave signal that covers much of the country. Two domestic stations broadcast both on FM and shortwave - Radio Veritas and ELWA. For a brief description of these stations and for an overview of Liberia’s most popular stations see the Media Outlet Matrix.

Star Radio has become an important player in Liberia’s radio market. First established in 1997 with the help from the Swiss Foundation Hirondelle, the station was eventually shut down by the government of Charles Taylor in 2000. Star Radio began rebroadcasting in May 2005 with help from a number of donors including USAID, the European Commission, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands. [3]

Star Radio broadcasts programs on current affairs and development in 18 Liberian languages with a mission of public service to the community. The station also operates a website targeting the Liberian diaspora, providing daily news updates and audio files of programming. Part of Star Radio’s success as a an independent source of news has been its willingness to offer attractive salaries to trained journalists. However, as donor support has dropped off in the last few years, so has the station’s ability to support a large staff. [4]

One means of strengthening its donor support has been to assist the development of other radio stations. From 2006 to 2007, Star provided both equipment and training in broadcast journalism, news gathering, interview techniques, and program development to four community stations. Star Radio has been working with the Washington, D.C.-based National Democratic Institute for International Affairs on a program called Legislative Spotligh, a radio program discussing current events in the legislature, which engages Liberian citizens in the democratic process, in addition to other civic education programs. [5]

Liberia Broadcasting System

The LBS, which was also in disrepair after the civil war, received technical support from both USAID and the Chinese government and is in the testing stages of deploying an FM network that will potentially have a national reach. [6] Currently, the LBS has a limited broadcast range that is focused on Greater Monrovia. However, both international and domestic observers consider the station’s programming to be skewed toward the views of the current government. [7]

In 2008, the Liberia Media Law and Policy Reform Working Group presented three draft laws to Liberia’s legislators. One was the National Public Broadcasting Service Act, which would transform the LBS into a national public service broadcaster with a mission of serving all of the diverse groups in Liberia. One of the biggest objections to the establishment of a national public broadcaster is the cost of construction and maintenance. The enactment of the National Public Broadcasting Service Act was listed as an official goal in Liberia’s Poverty Reduction Strategy. However, the Liberian Legislature has yet to pass the legislation, as of the publication of this article.

After elections planned for 2011, it is expected that the UNMIL mission will begin to substantially draw down its presence in the country, leaving the future of UNMIL Radio in doubt. This also raises the question of whether UNMIL will follow in the footsteps of its sister mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL) and transfer its technical equipment and facilities to the state broadcaster. The success of that venture may well determine the path taken in Liberia. An offer of a similar transfer of facilities and additional training to the LBS may be enough of an enticement for the Liberian Legislature to pass a version of the National Public Broadcasting Service Act. [8]

Radio’s Reach

Radio is the cheapest and most accessible communication medium in Liberia, filling the public’s need for news and entertainment in a socio-economic environment of continued economic struggle and high rates of illiteracy. The importance of radio, particularly community radio stations, is most pronounced in rural areas where there are fewer overall media outlets. Forty-eight percent of Liberia’s population resides in rural areas, where a television signal is difficult to receive or too expensive to obtain. In addition, the newspaper industry lacks the distribution network capability to reach most rural areas, particularly in the Northern and Southern Regions.

Chart 1

Chart 2

Radio listenership in the 2008 survey was high (above 75 percent) among all demographic groups studied. In fact, 79 percent of all respondents who were illiterate or had no formal education reported listening to the radio at least weekly. Only 20 percent said they watch TV weekly. This emphasizes the importance of radio as an outlet for news and information for a population that has an adult literacy rate of just 56 percent.

Survey data has also shown  that radio listeners are not simply interested in music and entertainment programs, but also news. Seventy-one percent of radio listeners said they are extremely interested in domestic news and a 90 percent are either extremely or very interested in domestic news. In terms of frequency of news consumption, about 61 percent of regular listeners said they access news at least two or three times a day. A total of 81 percent of regular listeners accessed news at least once a day.

The ability of radio stations to provide their listeners with independent news stories will become even more important as Liberia draws closer to the 2011 elections. The many community radio stations spread throughout Liberia’s rural areas will play a key role in informing voters who have little access to news media beyond their local radio station.

[1] “ELBC: A Brief History”. Liberia Broadcasting System. Monrovia, Liberia. Accessed May 2010. http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:DViQRV2hFy0J:www.liberiabroadcastingsystem.com/about.php+Doe+Liberia+USAID+radio+network&cd=5&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us