ABSTRACT
Feminist media scholars, after decades of documenting the poor representation of women and women’s issues in the global news media, have suggested the establishment of women-focused media as an alternative to the poor coverage of women’s issues and the inadequate representation of women’s voices in governance and developmental discourse. Patriarchy, power, and profit dynamics have restricted the establishment of women-focused print newspapers and news television channels, but the situation is different with radio. Feminist media practitioners and civil society seem empowered to apply this recommendation, as women-focused radio programmes and radio stations are now springing up online and on some countries’ airwaves. In Sub-Saharan Africa, one such women-focused radio stations is Women FM (WFM), a commercial radio station in Nigeria. Established in 2015, WFM is dedicated to covering business, governance, sports, economy, health, politics, and relationship issues from women’s perspectives. The station’s staff and invited guests/discussants are mostly women, thus giving women a voice to contribute to issues the mainstream media covertly deny them access to. Guided by African feminist theory, this chapter uses interviews, archival and discourse analysis to present a case study of Nigeria’s Women Radio (WFM); the story behind its creation, its policies and programme philosophies, as well as the contributions it has made to the improved representation of women and the coverage of women’s issues in the country.
