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‘Men Between’: The Role of Zambian Broadcasters in Decolonisation
- Author(s):
- Robert Heinze (see profile)
- Date:
- 2014
- Subject(s):
- Africa, History, Decolonization, Mass media
- Item Type:
- Article
- Tag(s):
- Alick Nkhata, Harry Franklin, Radio History, Zambia, African history, Media history, Radio
- Permanent URL:
- http://dx.doi.org/10.17613/k76b-0859
- Abstract:
- This article traces the history of a group of Zambian broadcasters who established the first radio station in the country and made their mark on broadcasting for years to come. It describes their contribution to modern Zambian culture and to nationalist mobilisation. African broadcasters developed formats, ways of presenting and music that appealed to Zambian listeners and established new, authentically local styles. While radio quickly established itself as an integral part of everyday life and culture in the colony, its effect was highly ambivalent. Broadcasters at the same time undermined and enforced the colonial project of using the medium as a transmitter of modernisation ideology. The article explores Thomas Turino’s characterisation of this team as “cosmopolitans” influenced by BBC ideas of journalism and modernisation ideology, looking at the relationships between African broadcasters and their European superiors as well as their political activity. This shared value system brought them into conflict with the post-independence government and its plans to bureaucratise radio, despite their nationalist commitment and strong support for UNIP before independence.
- Metadata:
- xml
- Published as:
- Journal article
- Status:
- Published
- Last Updated:
- 4 years ago
- License:
- All Rights Reserved
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heinze2014_postprint.pdf