Radio Gambia is the national

radio Radio is the technology of communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 3 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmitter connec ...

broadcaster of the

West Africa West Africa, also known as Western Africa, is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations geoscheme for Africa#Western Africa, United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Gha ...

n state of

the Gambia The Gambia, officially the Republic of The Gambia, is a country in West Africa. Geographically, The Gambia is the List of African countries by area, smallest country in continental Africa; it is surrounded by Senegal on all sides except for ...

. Established in 1962, it became the first radio station in the Gambia.

History

Radio Gambia was the first media broadcaster of

following its establishment in 1962. Joof, Alhaji Alieu Ebrima Cham, ''"The calendar of historical events in the Gambia, 1455 - 1995"'', p 13, (2003) Since its establishment, its historical base has always been

Bakau Bakau is a town on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of the Gambia, Gambia, west of Gambia's capital city of Banjul. It is known for its botanical gardens, its crocodile pool ''Bakau Kachikally'' and for the beaches at Cape Point (Gambia), Cap ...

. Established during the

colonial era Colonial period (a period in a country's history where it was subject to management by a colonial power) may refer to: Continents *European colonization of the Americas * Colonisation of Africa * Western imperialism in Asia Countries * Col ...

with the assistance of advisors from

Britain Britain most often refers to: * Great Britain, a large island comprising the countries of England, Scotland and Wales * The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, a sovereign state in Europe comprising Great Britain and the north-eas ...

, almost all its programmes in its early years were rebroadcast of programmes in other parts of

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

and

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. That strategy continued right after independence in 1965. Although it created its own news, educational shows and music programmes, Radio Gambia initially depended heavily on the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

for programming.Ebron, Paulla A., "Performing Africa", p 106,

Princeton University Press Princeton University Press is an independent publisher with close connections to Princeton University. Its mission is to disseminate scholarship within academia and society at large. The press was founded by Whitney Darrow, with the financial ...

(2002),

/ref> On 4 October 1973 the Radiodiffusion Télévision Sénégalaise, Office de Radiodiffusion Télévision du Sénégal (ORTS) (the

Senegal Senegal, officially the Republic of Senegal, is the westernmost country in West Africa, situated on the Atlantic Ocean coastline. It borders Mauritania to Mauritania–Senegal border, the north, Mali to Mali–Senegal border, the east, Guinea t ...

ese radio station) who was in talks with Radio Gambia about producing a joint radio programme based on

Senegambia The Senegambia (other names: Senegambia region or Senegambian zone,Barry, Boubacar, ''Senegambia and the Atlantic Slave Trade'', (Editors: David Anderson, Carolyn Brown; trans. Ayi Kwei Armah; contributors: David Anderson, American Council of Le ...

n history and broadcast in the local languages came to an agreement, and the first ever recording of the programme '' Chossani Senegambia'' (the history of

) was made. Chossani Senegambia was the first of its kind in Senegambian broadcasting history and was a success. In the Gambia, the programme was spearheaded by

Alhaji Alieu Ebrima Cham Joof Alieu Ebrima Cham Joof (22 October 1924 – 2 April 2011) commonly known as Cham Joof or Alhaji Cham Joof, (pen name: Alh. A.E. Cham Joof) was a Gambian historian, politician, author, trade unionist, broadcaster, radio programme director, scou ...

(the veteran historian, former Director of Programmes and Head of Local Languages at Radio Gambia), Alhaji Assan Njie (Presenter of Radio Gambia), Alhaji Mansour Njie (historian and Presenter of Radio Gambia) and Alhaji Ousman Secka. Following a decree by the Gambian government in December 1995, Radio Gambia merged with the first national television station of the country and became The Gambia Radio & Television Service (GRTS).GRTS : Official Site
/ref>

References

Bibliography

* Joof, Alhaji Alieu Ebrima Cham, "The calendar of historical events in the Gambia, 1455 - 1995", (2003) *Joof, Alhaji Alieu Ebrima Cham, "Senegambia - The land of our heritage", (1995) *Ebron, Paulla A., "Performing Africa",

(2002),

External links

* GRTS, The Gambia Radio & Television Services
GRTS : Official Site
*Ebron, Paulla A., "Performing Africa",

(2002),

{{DEFAULTSORT:Radio Gambia Radio in the Gambia Radio stations established in 1962