"While several contextual factors in the Central African Republic militate against the high trust in media outlets, especially those that receive foreign funding, a large share of the population trusts Radio Ndeke Luka (RNL). Trust describes a relationship between the media (i.e., the trustee) and its audience (i.e., the trustors). The audience makes itself vulnerable to media content based on the expectation that the media will perform satisfactorily. However, what satisfactory media performance means depends on the specific context of the media outlet. Research-based explanations suggest that the characteristics of individual audience members, the attributes of the media outlet, and the media environment itself matter for whether people trust a media outlet. For RNL in the Central African Republic, the patterns of media consumption and the dominance of radio are likely key to explaining the high level of trust in RNL. Research also suggests that several attributes of RNL explain high trust in the station, including the proximity of its content, medium, and journalists to local audiences; the high quality of reporting (e.g., clarity, objectiveness, and educational value); and its factchecking efforts. Finally, the absence of credible domestic alternative media sources and the lack of state-provided public services may contribute to high trust in RNL.
[...] In the Central African Republic, most people listen to RNL via hand-held FM receiver radios. RNL's FM signal coverage is broad, and it largely fulfils its mission to provide reliable information to people in conflict-affected areas. However, it does not yet cover all urban areas (e.g., Kaga-Bandoro is outside RNL's signal coverage) and neglects some violence-prone border areas in the northwest. Using audience surveys from 2022 and 2024 in and around major towns in the Central African Republic, our preliminary analysis suggests that media consumption patterns (e.g., the dominance of radio over TV and social media) are indeed key to explaining high trust in RNL. We also find that perceptions of RNL reporting, e.g., its clarity, balance, and objectivity, explain trust in RNL. As expected, the audience survey data furthermore suggest that several context-specific characteristics likely explain variation in trust across locations in the Central African Republic. For example, state presence and public goods provision seem to correlate with lower trust in RNL. Finally, we show that RNL extended its coverage over time to areas where credible information provision is most needed, i.e., areas suffering from high levels of violence." (Executive summary)