Admin

So, fellow Shebeeners: What do you think of our radio stations? Have any favorites? Think any one of them is particularly good, or bad? Radio is a powerful medium, and deserves to get attention, too....

Dude

There is a lot of what I would call "pop" radio, i.e. top 1000 songs that play in endless loops with painfully cheerful and "cool" young presenters strutting their verbal stuff while regularly interrupting the songs. And then there's the weather forceasts, of course. And the news bulletings straight from the wires.

Generally Namibian radio stations outdo each other with expensive, catchy jingles and idle talk, but little else. There is no single qualitative and analytical current affairs programme that looks at political, economic and other issues as, for example, Radio 4 does in th UK. NO radio station has the guts to tackle these issue head-on for political reasons. They all fear the bottom ine first and foremost.

It is probably far-fetched and unfair to compare the BBC with our stations, but the fact is that the gulf is only too apparent. It's also very expensive to do. THe fact that there are sensitivities around open political talk can also not be laid at the door of the radios stations, but rather the Government.

Needless to say, too, that not everyone is interested in proper talk radio either, and quite enjoys endless loops of music. But the real mark of a successful radio station is how it handles social, economic and political issues with intelligence and clarity in an informative, educational way.

Oneword

Dude, I don't want to be negative because I support some of your ideas, but:

UK: 60 million - more or less homogenous in culture and language

Namibia: +- 2 million - fragmented as hell in both cultures and languages

I let you draw your own conclusions .......

Comrade_007

Dude - stadig. Stoppie lorrie a biejtie! It ain't fair to bring up Radio 4, which is renowned the world over for the quality of its programming and which reveces millions in public funds (that's in pounds). I agree with your sentiments, but let's compare apples to apples. Compared with commercial radio stations all over the world, our radio stations are not doing too badly. There is defeninitely a need for more mature current affairs and analysis, I agree, but we also need to remember that raido in Namibia is not nearly around as long as it has been in Europe.

juikk

Comments are realy interesting, interesting topic altogether as well!Well done Shebeeners, but ma favorite stations was not listed, this will be NBC Damara/Nama Radio, I particularly like the Program Khōm≠gaots ga o Khōm.... ;-) Else me don really listen to Radio much

Oneword

Don't feel alone, juikk. Mine isn't either .....

juikk

Hi Oneword, so which is yours? Mine had been added(thank you Shebeen), but of course I have already voted None of the above, and am unable to cast my vote behind my favorite station, how cute can this be? :-(

Oneword

I see! But since I have also already voted, I suppose it makes little difference if another were to be added. The list may just become endless ..............

Pietro

Especially if you add those stations you can get on the 'net!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

phelakuti

One small diappointment is held to the affairs including entertainment of a host country while abroad, by a Namibian Radio station. Eg. in the Netherlands when try to listen to Radio Kudu is nothing about Namibia