Mobile phones and a million chatter: performed inclusivity and silenced voices in Zimbabwean talk radio

Abstract

ABSTRACT African radio is seen as a powerful instrument capable of integrating ordinary voices in democratisation debates. Mobile phones and social media applications such as Facebook and WhatsApp are seen as widening access to public debates, and this has recently been celebrated as inculcating ‘participatory cultures’ in Africa’s public spheres. This paper provides new evidence on the dynamics structuring talk radio in Zimbabwe within the context of the ongoing incorporation of digital media technologies in newsrooms aiming to facilitate seamless connectivity with audiences. Interview data and ethnographic studio observations showed that journalists sometimes struggle to cope with high levels of audience interaction on hybrid digital platforms, forcing them to selectively attend to, and conveniently exclude a huge chunk of audiences. Radio in Africa faces challenges integrating the multiple digital voices entering newsrooms. While digital media technologies continue to increase options for integrating more voices in public dialogue, there is no guarantee that inclusivity will be actualised. The central challenge that remains is how to create more egalitarian platforms where diverse groups can mobilise their concerns and, through dialogue, speak up in a bottom-up fashion to power elites on issues of governance.