IN SEARCH OF

SAFEGUARDING
AND
STRENGTHENING
THE ALTRNATIVE





A RESEARCH AND MONITORING EVALUATION
INTO RADIO VOICE OF THE PEOPLE (VOP)
AUDIENCE & PROGRAMMING

NOVEMBER
2013
Compiled by Earnest Mudzengi
HP

1
1. INTRODUCTION

1.1. General Introduction

This paper looks into the nature and effectiveness of Radio Voice of the
People (VOP) programming. It is a research and monitoring and evaluation
based introspection into VOP programmes, audiences, potential audiences
and institutional issues relating to these issues. To be tackled here are issues
including whether or not VOP is meeting its programming objectives, the
nature and relevance of VOP programming, the impact VOP has had on the
community and how best VOP can improve on the execution of its mission
statement.

1.2. About Radio VOP

Established in 2000, Radio VOP is a private radio station that operates and is
registered in Zimbabwe as a Communications Trust. The station has been
operating under a hostile environment as testified by the bombing of its
offices, arrests of staff members and a prolonged court case in 2006. Having
been denied a broadcasting license in 2005, 2011 and 2012, the station
currently broadcasts through the free to air WIZtech satellite platform and
through the internet. Its morning broadcasts are between 0800 Hours and
1000 Hours and afternoon broadcasts are between 1400 Hours and 1600
Hours.

Vision, Mission and Goal

Radio VOPs Vision is: A Zimbabwe that respects the right to information and
enables citizens to freely exchange knowledge and ideas so as to make
informed choices. The stations Mission is to promote political, economic,
social and cultural development in Zimbabwe through broadcasting, online
and other multi-media platforms. Its Goal is to be the first to be the first choice
radio station for informed opinion in Zimbabwe.
1


Scope of Study

This study proceeds on the basis of the need to find out whether or not Radio
VOP is operating within the framework of its Vision and Mission. It seeks to
establish whether or not the stations objectives are being achieved or
otherwise and to come up with recommendations relating to how the station
may improve the manner in which it executes its Mission statement.

Conducted within a week, this analysis is based on qualitative and
quantitative research and evaluation methods. Qualitative interviews were

1
http://www.radiovop.com/index.php/about-radiovop-zimbabwe.html



2
done with Radio VOP staff members and members of the general public who
were randomly selected. A qualitative evaluation of Radio VOP programmes
and news stories was also done on the basis of random sampling.

Quantitative analysis mainly related to a sample of people who included
journalists, students, workers and other people that were randomly selected
from the streets of Harare and interviewed. Radio VOP online sites including
the Radios Facebook and website were also exposed to qualitative and
quantitative analysis with view to establishing the nature of the stations
audiences, the extent of its reach and how members of the public perceive it.
As a matter of fact, this research has limitations in terms of the geographical
area covered, the number of members of the public sampled and the brief
period within which it was undertaken. It, however, provides some deep
insights that can help Radio VOP in terms of consolidating its position,
improving its quality of programming and boosting its audience market share.
This research and monitoring and evaluation pursuit also serves as a basis for
the carrying out of a more elaborate research and monitoring and evaluation
exercise on Radio VOP programming, audiences and other pertinent
institutional issues.


2. FINDINGS

2.1. Summary of findings

The study proved that Radio VOP is well positioned to discharge its mission
statement. There is a proper institutional governance framework for meeting
the stations objectives. There is also a programming scope that makes the
station an alternative platform for promoting free expression and access to
information. As shown by the study, Radio VOP goes a long way in trying to
ensure that it carries a diversity of voices in its programming. However, the
restrictive political and legal framework is largely hindering Radio VOP from
becoming a full-fledged alternative broadcasting station that it should be. The
pirate radio tag that has been placed upon it by government authorities is like
an albatross hanging on the stations neck. This has not been helped by a
harsh financial environment that is hindering the station from attaining
elaborate growth within the framework of the obtaining political and economic
context. As also noted, there are internal institutional issues that need to be
addressed to make the station more effective within the prevailing context.
These are particularly to do with programming, marketing and staff
development.

2.2. Essential Details on Findings

2.2.1. Institutional Governance Framework

As observed, Radio VOP has a proper governance and institutional
framework that can enable it to become a full-fledged and renowned radio
station. The framework includes a Board of Directors and a secretariat whose
duties and roles are clearly defined. At the time this study was carried out, the
3
secretariat had autonomy to exercise its policy implementation role while the
Board sticks to policy formulation. There appeared to be harmony, respect
and complementarity in the manner in which the secretariat and the Board
exercised their duties.

2.2.2. Programming

Basing on the sample of programmes that were randomly selected from the
news and current affairs genres, Radio VOP as gone a long way in promoting
free expression and access to information. Programmes such as Talking Point
CSOs Talk and Easy Talk with Amos provide a platform for reasonably open
and free debate on political and socio-economic issues by people from a
cross-section of political and civil society backgrounds. There have also been
serious efforts to come up with programme themes focusing on marginalised
social groups such as youths and women. However, this study proved that the
current affairs programmes are dominated by voices of people from political
parties, civil society and analysts. While there are some programmes that
focus on cultural and social issues, most issues discussed in programmes are
of a political nature, with political party functionaries, representatives of civil
society and analysts drawn from the academia, civil society and the political
sector dominating the debates. From the programmes sampled, not a single
panellist is an ordinary citizen without vested connection to a political party or
civil society organisation.

2.2.3. Representation of Minority Interests

In its programming, Radio VOP has made some attempts to represent
interests of minorities and give them a platform to express their views. For
example, in one of the Talking Point programmes, there is focus on the
Balemba community in Mberengwa. This community has largely been ignored
by the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC) and other privately
controlled radio stations. Having a programme that focuses on this community
point to the extent in which Radio VOP has gone an extra step in ensuring
that minority communities are accorded a voice on radio.

It however, must be noted that the station still needs to do more in terms of
promoting free expression and access to information among minorities. As a
matter of fact, Radio VOP only broadcasts in Ndebele, Shona and English.
Minority communities such as the Balemba, Batonga, the Shangani and
others never get to hear their languages on radio. Where there are
programmes on minorities, they are in English, Ndebele or Shona. This is a
case of cultural exclusion. When programmes on minorities are aired, they are
represented by elites. A good example is that of the Balemba who were
represented by Takavafirei Zhou, an urban based academic. Yet, the majority
of the Balemba live in the Mberengwa communal lands. Someone resident in
this area must have featured on the programme to air views on what
members of this community go through on a daily basis.

2.2.4. Variety of Programme Subjects

4
Radio VOP broadcasts a variety of programmes and uses a cross section of
panellists drawn from different political parties, Civil Society, the academia
and analysts.

As part of the study, eighteen programmes that were broadcast by Radio VOP
between16 October and 30 October 2013 were randomly selected for
classification. They were classified into five categories; namely, socio-
cultural, economic, current affairs, promotional and political as presented in
Fig 1 below:

Fig 1: Classification of Radio VOP Programmes

Date Programme title & details Classification
18 October News-focussing on the MDCs attempt to contest the
results of the July 31 2013 harmonised elections.
Current Affairs
18 October VOP Quiz-programme in which listeners respond to
questions and winners are awarded prizes
Promotional
18 October The Granary- programme focusing on unemployment
and how Zimbabwe, despite having some of the most
educated people in Africa is failing to deal with the
problem
Current Affairs
18 October Talking Point-Programme focusing on the Iyasa
Cultural group in terms of its history & achievements.
Socio-Cultural
18October Talking Point- Focusing on the history & socio-
economic situation.
Socio-cultural
20 October Provincial News Round-up-Focusing on the effects
of drought on people & livestock in Binga. The
programme also dwelt on the bad shape of roads &
the compromised health delivery system in the area.
Current Affairs
20 October Easy Talk with Amos-focusing on the Mo Ibrahim
Foundation ranking Zimbabwe as one of the worst
governed countries in the world.
Current Affairs
21 October News-focussing on Headlands Chiefs view that Current Affairs
5
women be banned from putting on mini- skirts &
trousers, which he said are upsetting the gods.
21 October Talking Point-focussing on the ZANU PF
governments performance during its first two months
in office.
Political
21 October Dura Rezvizhinji- Shona version of the programme,
the Granary focussing on whether or not Zimbabwe's
education system is grooming students to be
entrepreneurs.
Economic
21 October Talking Point- Socio-Cultural
26 October VOP Quiz-a promotional program seeking to find out
about Radio VOP audiences listening habits
Promotional
26 October Nhawu Dzekumatunhu (provincial news)-focussing
on the socio-economic situation of farm workers in
Chegutu.
Current affairs
26 October Talking Point-focussing on Zimbabwe's economic
situation in terms of government's economic planning
& heavy taxation.
Economic
26 October Isipahla Solwazi-a Ndebele version of the program,
the Granary focussing on Zimbabwe's political party
history characterized by splits caused by ideological
differences.
Political
30 October News-focussing on Zimbabwes 2014 budget in
relation to the prioritisation of the health sec
Current Affairs
30 October Talking Point-focussing on the prevalence of
prophets performing miracles & how people have
embraced them. Also touched into stories of witchcraft
including the one of the Budiriro "witches" & the one in
which school children were said to have been turned
into baboons
Socio-cultural
30 October CSOs Talk-focussing on the activities of the
Parliamentary Monitoring Trust of Zimbabwe (PMTZ),
a civic organization.
Political
6




Notwithstanding the poor representation of grassroots people and minorities,
Radio VOP affords an opportunity to a diversity of voices to be on the
airwaves. As the study proved, different people from different political
persuasions have been on the stations programmes. These include ZANU PF
functionaries such as the partys Deputy Information Director, Psychology
Mazivisa, Goodson Nguni, Themba Mliswa, a Parliamentarian and others.
Movement for Democratic Change formations have had the likes of
Honourables Jessie Majome, Obert Gutu, Rejoice Ngwenya and others.
Politicians such as Wurayai Zembe of the Democratic Party also feature on
programmes. It is because of this that some people who were interviewed for
the purposes of this study said they prefer listening to Radio VOP, which they
say is an alternative to the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC) radio
stations that they say are laden with ZANU PF propaganda.
2



2.2.5. Radio VOP Audiences & Potential Audiences

Radio VOPs target audiences are members of the general public.
3
For
purposes of ascertaining the impact of the station among members of the
public, a random survey was done in the streets of Harare. The survey
showed that while a significant number of people are aware of the existence
of Radio VOP, fewer people follow its programming on a constant basis.
Basing on the sample, figures of people who are aware of Radio VOPs

2
For example reference is made to the interview with Tafadzwa Muranganwa, a
freelance journalist who says ZBC is full of propaganda and he has to listen to
Radio VOP for alternative information
3
Interview with John Masuku, Radio VOP Director
Socio - cultural
22%
Political
17%
Economic
11%
Current affairs
39%
Promotional
11%
Percentage classification of programmes
7
existence and those who follow or listen to its programmes are illustrated in
Fig 2 as follows:


Fig 2: Statistics of those who are aware of the existence of Radio VOP and
those who are not aware of the stations existence.







As shown, there are more people are aware of the existence of Radio VOP
than those who are not, but less people listen to its programming.



Fig 2.1: Statistics of people who listen to Radio VOP and those who do not
listen to it

people who are
aware of Radio
VOP's existence
71%
people who are
not aware of the
existence of
Radio VOP
29%
people who know VOP and people who dont know VOP
8



2.2.6. Staff & Institutional Development Needs

The study showed that Radio VOP needs capacitation in terms of staff
development and in terms of broadening the scope of its programming. Of the
four Radio VOP members of staff who work on broadcast programmes, only
one, the organisations Director is trained in broadcasting. The other three
were trained as print media journalists. Since 2012, only one broadcasting
training course has been organised for the stations staffers. The station also
needs more financial resources in order to broaden the scope of its
programming. Programmes such as Talking Point, Easy Talk with Amos,
CSOs Talk and others can only involve few Harare based panellists owing to
financial resource constraints.
4


2.2.7. Online and Social Media Presence

The station is fairly present online and social media platforms. Apart from its
website (http://www.radiovop.com), Radio VOP has an interactive Facebook
page
(https://www.facebook.com/pages/RadioVopZimbabwe/138071669548383?fr
ef=ts). As per the web analysis retrieved on 5 November 2013, the website
has 8, 451 monthly visits. It also has 39, 917 pages being viewed on a
monthly basis and has 479 external links. The stations Facebook page had
2636 likes as on 11 November 2013 and is a viable platform through which
audiences give feedback on programmes. It is also an interactive platform
through which people from different political and socio-economic backgrounds
participate in the making of news and give their views on various issues
covered by Radio VOP. As seen through the Facebook page and website, the
station covers a wide range of political, business and socio-cultural issues.
Among various issues covered are those to do with service delivery, for
example, the case of water shortages in communities such as Ruwa. The
Facebook platform also provides a platform for socio-cultural commentary.

4
Interviews with Nkosana Dlamini, Radio VOP Producer-Presenter, Lynette Manzini, Radio VOP Programme presenter
and Jeffrey Moyo, Radio VOP Presenter
29%
71%
overal listernship statistics
people who listen to Radio VOP people who do not listen to Radio VOP
9
Part of such commentary observed through this study is that around musician,
Thomas Mapfumos musical album, Golden Classics. Audiences to give
feedback on programmes including Talking Point, Easy Talk with Amos and
CSOs Talk largely use SMS and email.

Apart from its website and Facebook, Radio VOP also utilises the mobile
phone based Short Message Service (SMS) platform for feedback purposes.
This is particularly important, especially for audiences in rural areas who have
no access to smart phones that can be used to access internet and
Facebook.

2.2.8. Audience Share in Comparison to Competitors

Within the confines of its context and status, Radio VOPs main competitors
are Studio 7 and Shortwave Radio Africa (SWRA). As shown by the interview
based survey done through this study, more people tend to listen to Studio 7,
with Radio VOP coming in second and SWRA third. As shown through the
interviews, Studio 7 is easier to access through the Shortwave and Medium
Wave platforms. Radio VOP, being on the Wiztech faces stiff competition from
video-audio based stations that include numerous religious channels. As also
observed, Studio 7 is also better resourced in terms of financial, human and
technical resources. For example, Studio 7 has a larger number of staffers
who were trained in broadcasting as compared to Radio VOP, which only has
one journalist trained in broadcasting.

2.2.8. Politico-legal Constraints & the Pirate Tag

The proper functioning of VOP continues to be affected by an inhibitive
political and legal environment. The Broadcasting Services Act, which has
created a monopolistic environment in broadcasting, is the major stumbling
block to the existence of Radio VOP as a full-fledged alternative radio station
that it can be. Owing to the harsh legal and political environment, government
authorities continue to label Radio VOP a pirate radio station that is operating
illegal. As shown by this study, the pirate tag tends to turn away potential
audiences from the station. For example, some of the people interviewed said
they cannot post comments on the stations website and Facebook page for
fear of political reprisals. The Pirate tag is also a cause of concern for staffers.
One of the Presenter-Producers, Nkosana Dlamini says the idea of the station
being called a pirate radio station is a fear factor for him and fellow staffers.
Owing to this, Radio VOP staffers tend to be identified through pseudonyms
when broadcasting programmes. This, as Nkosana said, inhibits professional
growth as it tends to popularise pseudonyms instead of creating professional
growth around their actual names. He further stated that the fact that they
cannot engage in live broadcasting makes it difficult to get effective feedback
from listeners.
5
A number of members of the public interviewed for purposes
of this study were also not free to reveal their identities fearing victimisation.

3. Conclusion

5
Interview, Nkosana Dlamini
10

Since inception, Radio VOP has managed to put up an institutional and
programmatic framework that distinguishes it as an alternative broadcasting
station operating in a restrictive environment. The station is however affected
by some inhibitive factors that are constraining further growth. Chief among
these factors is a restrictive legal and political environment. The growth of the
station is also being hampered by a shrinking financial resource base that is
stifling staff development, programme expansion and programme
development.

4. Recommendations

Considering the inhibitive operating environment, how the
Broadcasting Authority of Zimbabwe has invited applications for
more radio broadcasting licenses and the current efforts at
engaging the private media by the Minister of information and
Broadcasting Services, Radio VOP must, again, apply for a
broadcasting license;
In view of the findings relating to audience market share, Radio
VOP needs to engage in an intensive marketing of its programmes
to expand the figures of people who follow its programming. The
stations website, Facebook page, SMS, Twitter, Whattsapp and
other relevant platforms can be utilised for this purpose.
Considering how programme panellists are largely politicians,
analysts, academics, Civil Society officials and other elites, there is
need to expand programming to include panellists from among
ordinary citizens;
There is need for Radio VOPs financial resource base to be
expanded for purposes of staff development, expanding and
improving programme quality;
Considering the sited limitations relating to broadcasting through
Wiztech and the internet, Radio VOPs accessibility must be
boosted through presence on Medium Wave and Shortwave;
Radio VOPs airtime must be increased for purposes of expanding
the enjoyment of free expression and access to information;
Zimbabwes broadcasting policy and legal framework must be
democratised to pave way for free and open broadcasting by
Radio VOP and other alternative broadcasting stations;
Considering the limited scope of this study in terms of the sample
used and geographical area covered, there is need for more
comprehensive research into Radio VOP audiences and the
effectiveness of its programming.








11
References

http://www.radiovop.com/index.php/about-radiovop-zimbabwe.html

(Radio Vop Zimbabwe website ). Available from: http://www.radiovop.com/.

(Radio VOP Zimbabwe Facebook page) Available from:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/RadioVopZimbabwe/138071669548383?fref
=ts.

Interviews

Interviewee Gender Date and Time Profession
Tafadzwa
Muranganwa
Male 31-10-2013, 1100
Hours
Journalist
Taurai
Zvirimumoyo
Male 31-10-2013, 1540
Hours
Security officer
Tawanda Mashiri Male 31-10-2013, 1030
Hours
Journalist
Silvia Nyoni Female 31-10-2013, 1017
Hours
General Public
Tafara Magede Male 31-10-2013, 1325
Hours
Unemployed
Chipo Kanyondo Female 31-10-2013, 1420
Hours
House-wife
Tanyaradzwa
Manyere
Female 31-10-2013, 1130
Hours
Student
Moyo Tariro Male 31-10-2013, 1411
Hours
Student
Mutsvanga Terry Male 31-10-2013, 1440
Hours
Journalist, Director
of Coalition Against
Corruption
Wadzanai Female 31-10-2013 1514
Hours
Journalist
Not provided Female 31-10-2013 1206
Hours
Not employed
Not provided Female 31-10-2013
13:09pm
Not employed
Not provided Female 31-10-2013, 1450
Hours
Not employed
Not provided Female 31-10-2013, 1500
Hours
Not employed
John Masuku Male 01/11/2013, 1100
Hours
Radio VOP Director
Nkosana Dlamini Male 31/10/2013, 1500
Hours
Radio VOP
Producer-Presenter
Lynette Manzini Female 02/11/2013, 0900
Hours
Radio VOP
Presenter
Feffrey Moyo Male 03/11/2013, 1000
Hours
Radio VOP
Presenter



12