Developing Radio Partners: Guidebook on Sustainability

According to the publication, financial sustainability presents the greatest challenge to the success of independent radio stations operating in developing countries and is inextricably linked to a news outlet’s ability to preserve its editorial freedom. In these developing countries, there is a critical need for gathering and sharing information about the small steps media can take to build their capacity for sustainability.

Through a grant from the Open Society Institute Network Media Program, Developing Radio Partners researched and produced this guide on local radio management and sustainability. "In the development sector, and development radio is no exception, the concept of sustainability tends to be narrowly used to mean financial sustainability. There are many reasons for this – key among them being donors’ anxiety about dependency creation and radio staff’s anxiety about their personal financial needs."

Through presenting studies of six local independent radio stations, the authors propose a different understanding of sustainability. The studies highlight different factors, including context, leadership, management, partnerships, programming, human and technical capacity, will, community support, audience research and many others, and show how they work together to contribute to the overall sustainability of stations.

Case studies are included about the following radio stations:

• Radio Atlantis, a peri-urban, town-based community radio station in South Africa’s Western Cape Province that has been on air for 11 years.
• Maputaland Community Radio, a community radio station serving rural communities in northern KwaZulu/Natal, South Africa since 2002.
• Breeze 99.6FM, a commercial station based in Zambia’s Eastern Province.
• Rádio Comunitária do Dondo in central Mozambique. Starting as a project of UNESCO, Radio Comunitaria do Dondo is today a community radio station.
• Orkonerei Radio Service in the village of Terrat, which serves Maasai pastoralists.
• A short profile of Radio Gbafth in Mile 91, Sierra Leone because of its “unique founding as a peace-making station.”

This guide is the first in a series of guidebooks to equip station managers and staff with management and programming resources for their station. Each guide will include examples and case studies of how the topic has been addressed by stations in Sub-Saharan African countries, including relevant environmental factors and key outcomes.

This guide is also available on CD for those who are unable to download it.

Click here for more information and to download the document in either high resolution or low resolution.