Tuning in to his-story: an account of radio in Ghana through the experience of B. S. Gadzekpo

Abstract

This article introduces a personalized account of the early years of radio in Ghana based on an unpublished manuscript by one of its pioneering broadcasters – Bernard Senedzi (B. S.) Gadzekpo. An accomplished writer who produced manuscripts in both English and the Eυe language, Gadzekpo’s radio memoir is written from the vantage point of someone who worked in both the colonial and postcolonial broadcast service for nearly thirty years. It foregrounds African broadcasters in the history of radio and offers insights into the complex realities of Africa’s mutable encounter with radio and the strategic role played by local intellectuals in fulfilling its modernization mission during and after the colonial period.