Radio and the Internet: Mixing media to bridge the divide

The introductory chapter to The One to Watch provides an overview of how radio and the internet are being used together. The text first examines characteristics of the two information and communication technologies – radio and the internet. Then it looks at the imbalanced global expansion of the lnternet and some of the limitations that this imposes when applying North American or European models for its use in the less-industrialised regions, especially in rural areas. Finally, it turns to some of the characteristics that have enabled radio’s success in the same regions.

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The primary argument of this chapter, and indeed of the collection of chapters in the book, is that the combination of the Internet and broadcast radio offers a new and potent range of possibilities for development communication projects.

The second section of the chapter looks at some of these projects, grouping them into three broad and occasionally overlapping categories:
• Projects which create or support networks of broadcasters;
• Projects in which the radio station serves as a gateway or community intermediary, providing mediated but effective and meaningful access to the knowledge and information potential of the Internet;
• Projects which use the radio/Internet combination to facilitate communication with migrant communities, providing mediated but effective access to the communication potential of the Internet.