All you need to know about World Radio Day 2022 -By Abdulhafeez Oyewole

World Radio Day (WRD) is celebrated yearly, on February 13- after the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)’s first proclamation of the day in 2011 and its later adoption by the United Nations (UN) General Assembly in 2012 as an International Day- with an aim to underline the importance of radio. In this era of a technologically advanced world with easy access to the internet and other mediums of communication, the peculiar role of radio simply cannot be ignored. There are still a lot of people still who not only trust radio but also rely on it for the consumption of news and for entertainment purposes. To date, radio has managed to be a prominent platform to reach the masses scattered everywhere around the world.

Consequently, on the occasion of this year’s World Radio Day, UNESCO is inviting radio stations around the world to commemorate the 11th edition of the event, as well as more than a century of radio. The theme for World Radio Day 2022 is “Radio and Trust”, while the three main sub-themes of the Day are:

• Trust in radio journalism: Journalism should be about giving out the right, well-researched, and verified information. Although respecting basic standards of ethical journalism has become challenging in the present digital age; notwithstanding, it is the job of everyone that’s involved in the radio journalism industry to be able to produce independent and high-quality contents in order to keep or raise listeners’ trust, and help society build a better future for all.
• Trust and accessibility: This sub-theme intends to bring into notice the need for accessibility of the information or news to different sections of society. Reaching out to a selected audience group implies serving the informational needs of all listeners and being a catalyst for integration and social participation – including persons with disabilities. Thus, each and every individual (including people with disabilities) must be able to have access to the radio. As a radio personality/journalist, you should learn to take care of your audience needs at all times.
• Trust and viability of radio stations: This sub-theme links the economic survival of radio stations to their ability to attract and retain a large enough base of loyal listeners to be sustainable or to embed listener interaction into their business models. In essence, the radio stations must ensure competitiveness and must be able to engage a wide audience.

According to different international reports, radio continues to be one of the most trusted and accessible media in the world. Radio has remained to be one of the oldest, most popular, and most widely consumed news mediums. It also plays an important role in delivering information during the time of natural disasters. The main motive behind starting this day was to allow people from different backgrounds, cultures, and experiences to raise their concerns and voice their opinions.

To this end, as stakeholders in the radio industry, let’s do all we can to meet up with the demand of our anonymous and heterogeneous audience by having them in mind in our contents. We should ensure while we attract new audiences with our programming that’s ethically correct and in tune with best journalistic practices, we equally endeavor to sustain our existing audiences. We should neither lose our listeners’ trust in a bid to make money nor lose our credibility and niche.

ABDULHAFEEZ OYEWOLE is a print and broadcast journalist. He writes from Ilorin, the capital of Kwara State, North-Central Nigeria, West Africa.