"This report, Audience Perceptions of Radio Programming in Afghanistan, is the result of qualitative research conducted to assess audience perceptions of 3 key radio stations in the cities of Kabul and Herat in June 2004. The stations are: Radio Afghanistan (the state broadcaster) Arman FM (Afghanistan’s first commercial station) and Radio Herat (the state broadcaster). A total of 12 focus groups were conducted, split by age (18 – 29 and 30+) and gender. For each target station, 4 groups were held. Each group comprised 8 participants. The overall objective was to explore listening habits and audience preferences, particularly in terms of coverage of news and elections-related information, in order to inform the BBC WST project as it builds capacity within the Afghan media to play its part in the process of democratisation.
The research revealed a number of findings relating to general media consumption in Afghanistan: Listeners regularly switch between radio stations to listen to particular programming or presenters they like. Men and women listen at different times of the day, men more frequently in the early mornings and evenings, women during the day. Interactivity (such as phone-ins and letters) in programming appeals to listeners. Programmes that offer help and advice and have educational benefit are popular. Listeners dislike language that is overly formal and difficult but equally dislike language that is regarded as trivial or inappropriate. There are generational and gender differences in programme preferences, with younger audiences drawn especially by music programming. There is high awareness of programme names and presenter names." (Executive summary, page 2)