Yemeni journalists and media managers at Cairo meeting. Photo: Suzanne Moll/IMS

The closer you are to your listeners, the better you connect. Radio plays a special role in countries with huge distances such as Yemen

By Suzanne Moll, IMS 

The impact of television is unquestionable, but the closeness and accessibility of local radio  makes it a very powerful tool for news and education, and in connecting people. In Yemen, International Media Support (IMS) works with  with YGCRTV (Yemen General Corporation for Radio and TV), and the Danish media-company Danicom to support radio managers, technicians and journalists in improving their skills.

Challenging environment

Yemen is a very challenging environment for journalists because of the fragile security situation. Local radio has very limited economic resources and therefore most of the journalists work as stringers and receive very little or no compensation at all if they are hurt. In addition to this, the locally based radio journalists do not have even the basic recording equipment or means needed to move around and report from the many areas of the country they should be covering.

In August the top managers of six regional radios and management staff in Yemen met with IMS staff in Cairo on the premises of the Danish Egyptian Democratization Initiative (DEDI), established through the Arab Initiative programme of the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs,  The group worked together for four days on the development of a strategy for the stations to better connect with their listeners.

Keeping it local

One significant discussion point at the meeting with Yemini journalists in Cairo was women and children. It is crucial for radio to entertain and educate women in all aspects of life, especially in rural areas where illiteracy rates are high. One of the initiatives from the central management of YGCRTV is to generate focus on early marriages and childcare.

The only way for local radio to prosper in Yemen is to include as many locally relevant stories as possible. Also, phone-in programmes are very popular. People are interested in local issues and radio can also help people in their everyday problems.

Through findings in a big listeners’ survey, commissioned by Danicom, we discussed the subjects that would interest the listeners. The survey was contacted by Yemen Polling Company at the end of last year and at the beginning of 2010. It was the first time a survey of this size was carried out about listeners attitudes and habits connected to local radio.

The results were an eye opener for local radio managers, as well as higher management in YGCRTV. The closer you are to what interests your listener, the better you connect.

More about IMS' work in Yemen here.