The Impact Of Radio Broadcasting On Politics In The Coalition Government Era In Lesotho (2012-2017)

The prime purpose of this study was to survey how radio impacted the political sphere during the coalition era in Lesotho from 2012 to 2017.The mountain kingdom of Lesotho first attained coalition government post general elections which were held in the best political climate since the return of democracy to the country in 1993.Thus,the evidence suggests that radios’ affordability,portability,and use of local vernacular language have enabled easy discussions between the masses,the ordinary people,and the elites on politics in recent years not only during the coalition era.The objectives of the study therefore are to explore the impact of radio broadcasting on politics during this era,the role it played,find whether it created an open forum for political debates,its effectiveness in providing education and awareness to the voters,and the changes the coalition government brought since its commencement.The following theories are adopted:political communication,agenda setting,mass media and participation.The methods applied in this study are a mix of qualitative and quantitative methods as they provided participants an opportunity to share and explore their experiences across the three radio stations through descriptive statistical design as well as the examination of texts in a form of description to ensure gathering of relevant and accurate results.The evidence however suggests that the era saw broadcasting messages inciting ethnic hatred and violence,exacerbated by hate speech and inflammatory broadcasting on radio.It is asserted that inflammatory statements on media broadcasting could incite violence and hatred resulting in more deaths.All these have resulted in the formation of the National Reforms Authority which is intended to strategically work on among others,media reforms and political reforms.Currently the process of reforms is continuing to address the above-mentioned challenges that were brought by skewed and unprofessional media in Lesotho.The evidence further discloses that there is a lot that needs to be done and regulations that needs to be put in place within the media sector,that will among others ensure that journalists are all trained and qualified to perform their mandate diligently and professionally and deter from causing havoc within the societies they operate.Thus,radio should employ professional journalists that are entrusted to facilitate public debates especially on issues of politics that could be detrimental to the stability of the country if not handled properly.Professionalism and ethical considerations of radio stations during broadcast could limit the polarization that is seen in Lesotho media landscape and politics where political parties work against each other and use radio as their tool in insulting and tarnishing each other’s images.Additionally,the results indicated that Lesotho journalists are tremendously underpaid,they therefore,depend on the handouts of the politicians and bribery which is the recent name of the game between journalists and politicians.Where journalists especially from private media provide a platform for petty political debates and the politicians on the other hand feel indebted hence giving bribes to the journalists.This aspect has led to more conflicts and violence amongst the populist.The behavior of the radio stations is therefore viewed in the context of Lesotho’s political environment,language of political discourse,and media structure and history as cumbersome and calling for more intervention from African countries and the world at large.The study concluded by a set of key strategic recommendations and immediate key tasks to be evoked as an action plan for future studies.