How radio became a key way to communicate during Covid-19

Bangladesh and China are strong trade partners, with the latter building a port in the former and contributing supervisors and staff to Bangladesh’s garment manufacturing sector — which is why the members of the Bangladesh NGOs Network for Radio and Communication (BNNRC), a group of radio stations working within the country, began planning for how they’d respond when the coronavirus hit.

On 1 March BNNRC mobilised their 18 community radio stations across the country to move from the usual diet of sport, news and daily life to something more akin to a public health service information network. “In Bangladesh the rural people are very poor, and struggle to get access to information,” says Mark Manash Saha of BNNRC. They collated information from the World Health Organisation and Unicef about Covid-19, and produced programmes about how those across the country could help mitigate its effects.

Local radio stations have turned into a support network and a place for people to chat

BNNRC interviewed physicians and government health officials, and changed the schedule of their programming. A call-in programme quizzes doctors about symptoms and treatments, and answers people’s concerns. “Radio has become the reliable information source for the rural people,” says Manash Saha, broadcasting in their languages. More than seven million people have been reached by the 85 hours of Covid-19 content broadcast daily on the 18 stations spanning Bangladesh.

They aren’t alone. In the UK, the BBC, the state-funded broadcaster, launched its Make a Difference campaign in mid-March. Since then, it’s taken 300,000 calls and texts from listeners, helping integrate communities that had become distant due to lockdown and keeping the more vulnerable members of society connected to someone.

I’ve taken part in some of these, including participating in late-night call-ins on my local BBC radio station, troubleshooting tech problems for those looking to rejuvenate creaking tablets and laptops to be able to run the technology like Zoom and Skype that allows us to see each other still. While still maintaining the important public service messaging that underpins the BBC’s broadcast ethos, the local radio stations it runs have turned into a wellbeing support network and a place for people to chat. It’s helped connect those shielding from the effects of the virus with people who will deliver them groceries, and kept people feeling united. The BBC have branded it a “lifeline” for listeners.

It's important we don’t just think about radio as a way to reach older people, but we also think about older people’s voices on air

“We like to think of radio as a lifeline for older people, but it can be so much more,” says Arlind Reuter of Newcastle University, who helps run the Later Life Audio and Radio Network (LLARN), a participatory radio project that brings together older radio producers, age-inclusive radio stations and third sector organisations. LLARN doesn’t just broadcast to older adults; it includes them in the production.

“We’ve been doing it before Covid, but it seems everyone now is thinking about radio,” Reuter says. “It’s great that we’re starting to think about radio but it’s also important we don’t just think about radio as a way to reach older people, but we also think about older people’s voices on air.”

That’s ever more important given the messaging that governments around the world have broadcast around older members of society. We’re told to shield older citizens, keeping them locked away. “Now it’s even more important than ever, as this has really brought to light a lot of ageism in our society,” says Reuter. The ageist assumptions aren’t new, but they are more evident now.

Reuter and her colleagues have continued their work throughout the coronavirus crisis, broadcasting new shows driven and directed by older voices, not just younger people aimed at what they think older people want. She feels it’s important to keep broadcasting. “It enables discussions in more depth and you really have to focus on it,” she says. “People are more mindful when listening to it and you don’t necessarily get the same thing if you see something digitally. You don’t hear the people’s voices. I think for me it’s just more personal.” And in times like this, when we’re lacking personal contact due to the threat of contracting the coronavirus, any kind of connection that we can get is vital – even if they’re mediated through the radio waves. — Chris Stokel-Walker

(Picture credit: Unsplash)