Recently published research on radio listenership in South Sudan describes an Internews-operated radio station in Leer County as the most popular in the area even though it has been off-air for most of the last two and a half years.

The research published by Forcier Consulting is based on a survey that took place in April 2015.

“Naath FM is the best-known station (96%) in Leer county among those with radio access,” reads the research paper. “At 81%, Naath FM is also the most trusted station for accurate information on developments surrounding the recent conflict and peace process.” An accompanying data table (Figure 108) indicates 96% awareness and 95% listenership for Naath FM at the time of the survey.

However, the paper published in March this year neglected to mention that Naath FM had been off-air for nearly a year.

A source with knowledge of the Internews project said that Naath FM was closed throughout the conflict until now except for a period from about early September 2014 until early May 2015, when a government offensive swept through Leer, displacing the civilian population and forcing the radio to close.

This was confirmed by Forcier Consulting itself, a partner of Internews, who said in an email that Naath FM was off-air from 22 January 2014 until 28 August 2014 and again from 15 May 2015 to-date.

Hayley Umayam, Forcier's Senior Engagement Manager, responded to questions about why Forcier omitted this piece of information and whether it deliberately distorted or misrepresented data to the benefit of its client.

She pointed out that they conducted their survey in April 2015, the month before Naath FM was forced off-air. “While it was not published until 2016, the writing and figures in this report repeatedly highlight that all findings refer to the state of media access and habits as of fielding, April 2015,” she said.

“The writing in the report refers to media access and habits as it was elicited during fielding, therefore the Unity state section does not make a direct reference to Naath FM's closure because it was not closed at the time of fielding,” said Umayam.

Umayam also explained that Figure 108, referred to above, measured “awareness and general listening” but did not claim to assess current listenership either at the time of the survey or at time of the report's publication.

Respondents in Leer were read a list of names of some radio stations and then asked which ones they have ever heard of. “Following this, respondents who were aware of at least one station were then asked, 'Have you ever listened to any programs or news bulletins broadcast by this station?'” Umayam explained.

This helps explain why Miraya FM, a popular national broadcaster, is listed as having a significant number of listeners in the area even though it does not transmit in Leer; people responding to the survey may have heard the radio station during travels elsewhere, or they may have been displaced from areas that did have Miraya coverage.

Other radio stations with listeners in Leer County are Voice of America and Radio Tamazuj, which both operate on the long-range shortwave: 23% of radio listeners reported awareness of the VOA transmissions and 14% had listened, while 21% were aware of Radio Tamazuj and 13% had listened to it.

Separate figures are provided by Forcier for 'weekly reach' (Figure 109), which is a measurement referring to the percentage of the population that listens to a given radio station within an average week. Unlike general listenership, this measurement does assess current listenership at the time of the survey. Listenership rates using this measurement are somewhat lower for all stations.

Forcier's report includes a section on “access to media” in Unity State, but Naath FM's closure is not mentioned here either. Instead, this section describes issues like lack of electricity and mobile phone networks.

Explaining this “perceived omission,” Forcier's Umayam pointed out that the Unity State chapter “opens with reference to the conflict and insecurity in the area, with the intent that all findings to follow take the context into consideration.”

The report mentions “insecurity” and “palpable tensions” in the state in the spring of 2015. This is apparently in reference to the large-scale military offensive and mass displacement that forced staff belonging to the radio station to be withdrawn to Juba. The compounds of five international organizations in Leer were “looted or their contents wantonly destroyed or thrown out into the mud,” according to a human rights report about the violence. 

Forcier's senior engagement manager says that this conflict context should be clear to a reader of its report because of “references to the conflict and its effects on the media landscape” in the report's introduction.

Umayam says that this issue should not lead to doubts about the credibility of other parts of their research. “This report has always been intended for the benefit of the entire media sector,” she says. “We take the credibility of our research with utmost importance as evidenced by the extensive methodology and limitations section, our consultations with the media sector as a whole, and the endorsements we received.”

According to Forcier, BBC Media Action, Catholic Radio Network, UNESCO and Internews endorsed the questionnaire and methodology used to produce the research report. Senior managers at Internews South Sudan also “contributed to the research and analysis of this report,” according to the report itself.

Not only Naath FM but also other FM stations in South Sudan's Upper Nile region were forced off-air during 2014-2015, including in Malakal, Bor, Nasser and Bentiu, though some have since reopened, including in Bor in Jonglei State. Bakhita FM in Juba was also temporarily forced off-air by security personnel in Juba in 2014.

Naath FM in Leer remains closed, though modestly improved security has allowed Internews to start a loudspeaker service offering humanitarian information. Another Internews-operated station in Nasser in Upper Nile State also went off-air during the conflict. No audience research was conducted in that area.

For more coverage of media freedom and media development in South Sudan:

https://radiotamazuj.org/en/dossier/media-freedom-development

To read Forcier Consulting's full report, access it via the Internews webste:

https://www.internews.org/sites/default/files/resources/Internews_SouthSudan_StillListening_2015.pdf