In November 1994, a small radio station called Radio Eye began broadcasting in Accra without a licence. Days later, security officers raided it and seized its equipment. The station was off the air, but the fight for private radio had begun.
Until the 1990s, radio in Ghana was a state monopoly. The Ghana Broadcasting Corporation ran the only stations, and they were closely tied to the government of the day. The 1992 Constitution, which returned Ghana to multiparty democracy, guaranteed freedom of expression and banned licensing requirements for the mass media, but frequencies had not yet been opened to private operators.
Radio Eye
Radio Eye was set up by Charles Wereko-Brobby and other opposition-aligned figures who argued that the Constitution gave them the right to broadcast. The authorities said frequencies had to be allocated properly. The raid made Radio Eye a symbol of the struggle for media freedom.
The opening
Under pressure, the government set up a process for allocating frequencies. In 1995, the first private FM stations began broadcasting in Accra. Joy FM, founded by Kwasi Twum, was among the pioneers, alongside Radio Univers, the University of Ghana’s campus station, and other early stations. Their mix of music, news, phone-in programmes and lively talk shows was unlike anything state radio offered.
A new culture
Private radio changed Ghanaian public life. Listeners called in to criticise ministers. Morning shows set the day’s political agenda. Presenters became celebrities. Stations began broadcasting in Twi, Ga and other local languages, reaching people who did not follow English news.
Radio also became a business, with advertising revenue supporting large newsrooms and entertainment programmes. Media groups such as the Multimedia Group, which owns Joy FM, grew into television and online platforms.
The downside
The explosion of stations has brought problems too: partisan stations owned by politicians, insults on air, misinformation and a race for sensational content. The National Media Commission and the National Communications Authority regulate the sector, and the authorities have closed stations for licence breaches, sometimes amid accusations of political targeting.
Today
Accra now has dozens of FM stations, and Ghana has hundreds nationwide. Radio remains the most important news source for many Ghanaians, especially outside the cities, although television and social media have grown fast.
The raid on Radio Eye was meant to end an illegal broadcast. It ended up opening the airwaves to everyone.
