RTV Theory and Practice - Special Issue

Other programs feature greetings and messages from people in one village to another. A popular program on Überia's ELRB entitled и lп the Mar Ket" consists of interviews and observations taped in Monrovia's bustling public mar Ket in local vernacular , a people-to-people endeavor which includes current price information for farmer and consumer aliKe . In Bolivia , indigineous music groups sometimes walK for days to participate in live concerts broadcast every Saturday from Caracollo , the village home of Radio Baha'i. And once in Peru, Radio Baha'i del Lago Titicaca went off the air for a weeK because the diesel generator failed. One day the station's manager was in Puno , the provincial capital, and saw a group of rural people picKeting in front of City Hall. When he approached the group , none of whom were Known to him , he was told that they were demonstrating to get Radio Baha'i bacK , as a rumor had started that the station's license had been revoKed . Radio Baha'i is immensely popular ever.ywhere . In virtualiy every audience survey , these stations have emerged number one in listenership , often far surpassing the next station line. I would attribute this popularity to two distinct features of the stations , each manifest in the programming and out-reach activities previously outlined. The first thing that distinguishes Radio Baha'i is its concern with the whole human bemg , with the heart as well as the emotions; the human spirit as well as the mind anđ brain. Spiritual fare on Radio Baha'i, far from being provincial, obligatory of exclusive , is at once universal in appeal, joyful in presentation, and inclusive of all , regardless of bacKground, race or creed . In this day and age when media of all sorts clamor for space in the human heart, filling mind and spirit with trivia at best and often with far baser stuff , Rađio Baha'i conveys a message of personal worth, brotherhood and peace . "O friend , the heart is dwelling of eternal mysteries , maKe it not the home of fleeting fancies; waste not the treasure of thy precious life in employment with this swiftly passing world. Thou comest from the world of holiness - bind not thine heart to the earth; thou art a dweller in the court of nearness - choose not the homeland of the dust" . (Baha'u'Hah , The Seven Valleys p. 35) The second feature of Rađio Baha'i Is that it is participatory , i.e. , the audience feels a sense of ownership in the station . This shared ownership is achieved m a number of ways : the entire on-air staff is made up of local people - all the voices heard over the air are those of members of the commumty

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