Thesis (M.S.)--Ohio University, August, 2004. / Title from PDF t.p. Includes bibliographical references (p. 74-82)

Thesis (M.S.)--Boston University

This study is an exploratory assessment of the role of private radio stations in promoting participatory democracy in Lesotho. It seeks to describe the current situation of the role of radio in the country, including levels of rural development programming and community participation. There are eight private radio stations operating in the country. The emergence of the liberalised airwaves created an opportunity for people to have access to information, hence promotion of participatory democracy, though problem of freedom of expression and speech and absence of media policy hinders positive effective participation in issues affecting both journalists and society. The study will use a survey within the purposely selected media professionals to assess how citizens obtain and use information to make informed political choices as well as to measure the influence of private radio stations on political knowledge, attitudes and behavior. The field research will take place in the capital Maseru, where all the private radio stations are based. This will enable the researcher to draw inferences about the role of private radio stations and participatory democracy in Lesotho. The study explores changes that have occurred following the emergence of liberalisation of the radio airwaves in Lesotho from 1994, from almost a century of state owned and dominated national radio station. The central argument in this study is to establish if liberalisation of the airwaves in particular has a significant impact on the democratisation process in the country. Given the country’s limited literacy rate and historic role of broadcast media in Lesotho as a source of all major official information, private radio stations occupies a central role of mobilising and debating issues of national concern. The study, therefore, concludes that the emergence of the private radio stations in Lesotho has increased community participation in political and current affairs. The coverage of radio in the country and its pluralistic character suggest that the private radio stations will remain a crucial broadcast medium of communication in Lesotho, especially for the rural people whose access to television and print are inaccessible.

Thesis (M.S.)--Boston University

Thesis (Ed.D.)--Boston University

Thesis (M.S.)--Boston University / PLEASE NOTE: Boston University Libraries did not receive an Authorization To Manage form for this thesis or dissertation. It is therefore not openly accessible, though it may be available by request. If you are the author or principal advisor of this work and would like to request open access for it, please contact us at open-help@bu.edu. Thank you. / 2031-01-01

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