Mobile phones and participatory communication for poverty eradication on public service broadcasting: The case of Tanzania Broadcasting Corporation (TBC)

Abstract

All over the world people who use mobile phones to amplify their voices have revolutionised participatory communication in mass media. The use of mobile phones as instruments for participatory communication in public service broadcasting (PSB) has been growing and gaining strength in the so-called Third World. In this article it is argued that members of audience from different parts of Tanzania use mobile phones to participate in dialogue taking place on national radio (TBC-TAIFA) and/or national television (TBC1), and share their knowledge and lived experiences with the national audience as if they lived next door to each other. Further, the findings of this study show that TBC journalists use mobile phones to interact and involve the audiences in the processes of producing programmes. Consequently, TBC communication has become less hierarchical, more two-way, horizontal, and interactive. Moreover, the study reveals that the audiences use phone-in programmes on TBC as a platform to air the voices and concerns of the grass-roots population. Thus, the use of mobile phones as tools for participatory communication via TBC sets an agenda, which helps to bring about some social changes and transformation.