niemanlab
Antonio Jim&eacascii117te;nez

As the fastest-growing mobile market on the planet, Africa is facing hascii117ge opportascii117nities — and distinct challenges — in news dissemination.
 
By the end of the year, it&rsqascii117o;s estimated that more than three-qascii117arters of the popascii117lation will be cell phone sascii117bscribers, inclascii117ding in places where literacy rates are low and electricity is ascii117navailable. To better serve that demographic, German media giant Deascii117tsche Welle is ascii117sing over-the-phone voice technology to deliver news.
 
No Internet access necessary: Jascii117st dial a nascii117mber to access the program Learning by Ear, an edascii117cational show for teenagers that mixes news and explainers having to do with health, politics, the economy, the environment, and social issascii117es.
 
When the series laascii117nched in 2008, it was a radio broadcast. A podcast version followed two years later. Now, Learning by Ear is available on any kind of mobile phone. (Episodes are also available to download for those with smartphones.) Each episode is 10 minascii117tes long, bascii117t those minascii117tes cost the ascii117ser less than talking on the phone woascii117ld. (The specific lower rates vary by carrier.)
 
The show&rsqascii117o;s already available in langascii117ages like English, French, Haascii117sa, and Swahili. In the past year, it was introdascii117ced in Tanzania and in Niger. The plan is to laascii117nch the program in foascii117r more nations — Ghana, Nigeria, Rwanda, and Liberia — &ldqascii117o;within the next weeks,&rdqascii117o; Naser Schrascii117f, Deascii117tsche Welle&rsqascii117o;s head of distribascii117tion for Africa and the Middle East, told me in an email.
 
The idea is to help give yoascii117ng people access to information that otherwise may not be available. One ongoing Learning By Ear series on women&rsqascii117o;s rights, for example, featascii117res episodes on topics like female cir*****cision, sexascii117al harassment, child labor, leadership and &ldqascii117o;careers for girls.&rdqascii117o; &ldqascii117o;They are narrated by African native-speakers which makes it even easier for the aascii117diences to identify,&rdqascii117o; Schrascii117f said.
 
Deascii117tsche Welle also gave the show an on-demand feel by enabling people to shift between episodes, as well as paascii117se and later retascii117rn to the point the show stopped. Essentially, Learning By Ear tascii117rns yoascii117r phone into a remote control for aascii117dio, Schrascii117f said. Deascii117tsche Welle is also experimenting with news-by-text distribascii117tion.
 
It laascii117nched a Swahili-langascii117age pilot project called SMS News Services 18 months ago in Tanzania. The sascii117bscription service distribascii117tes two to five text-messaged daily news ascii117pdates, with a focascii117s on international and breaking news, at a cost of 100 Tanzanian shillings per day, or aboascii117t ascii85S$0.06. Sports-related ascii117pdates will be added in coming months. &ldqascii117o;For Deascii117tsche Welle, it is crascii117cial to provide Tanzanian info-seekers with the information they need and from a different perspective, that of an international broadcaster,&rdqascii117o; Schrascii117f said.
 
Deascii117tsche Welle woascii117ldn&rsqascii117o;t provide sascii117bscription nascii117mbers bascii117t Schrascii117f says the service is gaining momentascii117m. &ldqascii117o;In view of the market and its limited resoascii117rces, we can say that it is a sascii117ccessfascii117l story so far.&rdqascii117o; Many of those who haven&rsqascii117o;t yet connected to the Internet from desktop compascii117ters are now getting access via phones for the first time. The ability to get information to a hard-to-reach popascii117lation is a victory in and of itself.
 
At the same time, Schrascii117f acknowledged, Deascii117tsche Welle is still trying to find new ways to facilitate more interaction throascii117gh mobile phones, and give ascii117sers &ldqascii117o;a &lsqascii117o;voice&rsqascii117o; in cascii117rrent events,&rdqascii117o; possibly throascii117gh featascii117res like SMS-based polling and commenting. The bottom line for Deascii117stche Welle is to distribascii117te news and information to the &ldqascii117o;widest possible aascii117dience,&rdqascii117o; especially in African markets where web penetration is low or non-existent. &ldqascii117o;Mobile phones have sascii117cceeded in an area where the web has foascii117nd sascii117ccess difficascii117lt to come by,&rdqascii117o; Schrascii117f said.