Introduction

Political liberalisation in Africa has spawned a growing literature on ‘media and democracy’ in Africa. Characteristic of much of this literature on private/local radio stations, and more generally on (new) media in Africa, is a focus on the supposed democratising potential of these media institutions (e.g. Senghor 1996; Opoku-Mensah 2000; Hungbo 2008; Hyden et al. 2002; see Randall 1998). Whether working on countries with a liberalised mediascape (e.g. Bosch 2006; Graetz 2000; Myers 2000; Mwesige 2009) or on those countries whose political conditions remain adverse to a diversified media landscape, such as in Zimbabwe and Cameroon (Nyamnjoh 2005; Hungbo 2008: 9), scholars often centre attention on the ‘alternative’ spaces these media institutions create for civic activism and for the capacity of groups of civil society to resist autocratic state power. Along with the preoccupation of scholarship with critical opinion-making and resistance, there is a notable focus on programmes that provide a platform for political information and debate. Music and other cultural programmes are considered mostly with regard to their potential to extend beyond ‘mere entertainment’ by clearing a space for democratic debate (e.g. Hungbo 2008). Even analyses of interactive radio formats, such as talk radio, often concentrate on their potential to generate political awareness (Bosch 2006; Mwesige 2009). The idea that vernacular broadcasts may have significance beyond their instrumental role in facilitating understanding and accessibility goes largely unnoticed (but see Kawoya and Makokha 2009).