Radio has a Wider Reach than Social Media - Patience Nyarko

Patience Nyarko has claimed that Radio has a bigger impact when it comes to music than social media.

According to her, radio has been the reigning influence in music in Ghana and the rise of social media has not changed that.

When it comes to promoting music, radio is king she said.

To buttress her point, Patience Nyarko pointed out that radio is readily available to the masses, unlike social media which is only sometimes accessed by the elite few.

The artiste argued that most of the rural dwellers in Ghana and even some urban settlers are still not used to social media although Ghana is growing technologically.

“Radio reaches more people than social media. In Ghana, when you play music on radio, a lot more people hear it. It reaches more people, especially those in rural areas”.

“And these are the people who download and listen to our songs”.

She stated this while speaking in a special edition of Happy 98.9 FM’s Showbiz Xtra show with Doctar Cann to celebrate World Radio Day.

Patience Nyarko recalled the first time her song was played on radio.

The artiste admitted that she could not believe her own ears.

“I was very happy and the feeling was good. I was in a trotro when I heard my song being played”.

“The song was played back to back and I enjoyed it”

Radio is the most prevalent media in Ghana: a huge number of more than 500 FM broadcasting stations are authorized, out of which more than 345 stations are currently operational.

This network covers almost the whole country.

Radio has a wider daily reach – almost two-third of Ghanaians listen to it on a daily basis - than print media because it does not face the same literacy and language barriers.

In each of the regions, at least one station operates programs and news in the local dialect. It is not surprising that radio is the medium the average Ghanaian turns to for information: more than 50% of Ghanaians choose it as their prime news source.

It is considered controversial, with 48% of its audience perceiving it as credible, while 19.4% see radio information as partisan.