The Role of Radio in Enhancing Family Values: A Study of ‘Hutia Mundu’ Programme of Inooro FM

Abstract

Increasing media reports on sexual perversion, immorality and family violence have reached alarming levels that call for innovative ways of enhancing family values. One vernacular radio station, Inooro FM airs ‘’Hutia Mundu’’ programme which is inclined to family life education. The objectives of this study were to establish whether radio serves as a medium of family life education and the issues it addresses. This study’s literature review covered media theories, history and role of radio in relationship to culture, technology, and education. An interpretive approach including face to face interviews with two key staff of the station, a thematic content analysis of three sampled editions of the programme aired in April 2011, four FGDs comprising of 24 married and unmarried men and women, and a field survey comprising of 150 listeners was applied. Indicative Solutions Program was used to analyse the field survey. The total target population were listeners of “Hutia Mundu” programme drawn from Central Province’s population of 4,383,743 out of which 47.3% or 2,081,200 listen to Inooro FM. The study’s findings were that the programme covered all the ten family life themes including sex, and communication. The programme was found educative by 95% of the respondents. It also plays counseling, advisory and therapeutic roles. The programme was, however, critiqued for occasionally offering ‘questionable advice,’ gender bias, causing embarrassment and having shortcomings in Kikuyu language expertise. This study recommends that the government and media policy makers formulate a national policy for family life broadcasters’ training especially for vernacular broadcasters.