"1. Radio, particularly BBC Somali, is an effective medium for reaching people in remote areas of Somalia who are typically hard to reach, including the poorest [...] 2. Drama has been shown to have a particularly powerful role in encouraging audiences to absorb new and relevant information. Tragic ... stories illustrating the potentially fatal results of not adhering to recommended health practices were most recalled by listeners and most associated with improved health practices. The tragic storylines led to an emotional response among the audience, and this has been linked with shifts in knowledge, attitudes and behaviour in the survey. 3. Sufficient time has to be allowed in media interventions to establish a wide audience base and contribute to change in deeply rooted practices and beliefs. In Somalia, preliminary signs that people were broadly aware of and learning from the programme appeared only after more than 30 episodes were aired." (Conclusions) more

"This paper seeks to identify the extent to which the national TV and radio programme Sema Kenya (Kenya Speaks), part of BBC Media Action’s governance work in Kenya, supported accountability, peace and inclusion at the time of the 2013 Kenya election. It shows the specific value placed on Sema Ken ... ya by audiences and experts at election time [...] Sema Kenya is a weekly programme, in the Kenyan national language of Swahili, involving a panel discussion led by questions from the audience. In its first season, episodes were recorded in 14 different locations across the country. Sema Kenya is not an election programme, which allowed it to tackle local and national governance issues and present a diversity of views and dialogue at a time when the rest of the Kenyan media maintained a very narrow election focus [...] The research also shows that at a time when media coverage and debate was influenced by a peace agenda, resulting in an avoidance of sensitive issues, Sema Kenya provided the public with arguably more detailed information than other media sources." (Abstract) more