World Radio Day: Happy FM’s impact on the Ghanaian society over the years

Radio is probably bigger than it’s ever been over the decades, and Happy98.9FM has thought it a good time to reflect on what its medium has achieved and where it’s going as we mark world radio day.

The kind of radio done by Happy98.9FM stands to prove that indeed radio is a shared intimacy. You have to go to television, but radio and for that matter Happy98.9FM comes to you.

Already breathing in the space of promoting diversity of editorial content and programme types reflecting the variety of the audiences, Happy98.9FM is already far ahead of the sub theme of this year’s world radio day. It is no surprise the station serves its listeners with varied contents ranging from, a Morning Show, Sports, Social Religious, Political and Entertainment shows.

With its audience at its epicenter, Happy98.9FM is uniquely positioned to bring communities together and foster positive dialogue for change. In Ghana, Happy98.9FM is the superlative name when it comes to undertaking social campaigns and listener engagement.

Happy98.9FM for over a decade has been the forerunner of the annual Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) of stocking the various Blood Banks with the much needed units of blood. With blood banks having pitfalls on a regular in terms of blood to serve the number of persons who need blood in emergency situations, Happy98.9FM as a caring organization, has on various occasions donated blood as part of its way of giving back and saving lives.

READ MORE: History of Radio

After the quite humiliating Number 12 Anas expose which left the head position of the Ghana Football Association (GFA) unoccupied, Happy98.9FM took steps to organize the very maiden edition of the GFA presidential debate for aspirants who sought to occupy the position. The debate which focused on key areas affecting the development of Ghana football sought to elicit solutions-based responses from the presidential candidates. This novelty undertaken by the station was with high regard, with football lovers at heart as Happy through its ‘Anopa Bosuo Sports’ always promise listeners to be policy influencers and not onlookers. Happy98.9FM took a pretty bold step in that direction leaving its footprint in the world of sports in the process.

The recent excavator scandal which rocked Ghana is the most current issue being talked about in the
country. When it became obvious that no media house was courageous enough to hold names being associated to this scandal accountable, Happy98.9FM’s Epa Hoa Daben made it their sole purposes not to let those implicated go scot-free. Through an intense anti-corruption campaign by the station, the government was compelled to effect the arrest of their own people implicated in the scandal to get to the roots of the scandal. And this is also in line with radio oversight responsibility.

Through its social intervention programme, ‘Nsem Pii’, Happy98.9FM has united families, raised funds to support the less fortunate and even rescued individuals from unjust prosecution. Amongst such situations which received immense support from listeners of Happy98.9FM was the case of little Joel who was born without a hole in his manhood. Through Happy FM’s ‘Nsem Pii’, funds were generated to support the family of little Joel to undergo the procedure of making his manhood whole again. Quite recently, Nsem Pii also reunited 65year old Maame Abena Konsua, who spent 32years in prison for the alleged poisoning of her then husband’s son with her family.

The latest addition to the Happy98.9FM programming, the Happy Morning Show, though recently out doored has also started effecting drastic change and calling leaders to action. The Morning show (HMS) team led by Samuel Eshun recently gave the Ashaiman Municipal Chief Executive (MCE), Albert Boakye Okyere an ultimatum to fix a bridge in Freetown, a suburb of Ashaiman that was claiming innocent lives. The death trap which had been ignored by authorities and was brought to the attention of Happy98.9FM was immediately addressed when the station took the time to campaign for the bridge to be fixed. This is in line with the station’s mission of involving listeners in its programming.

Speaking on the event of World Radio Day, Director of Global Media Alliance Broadcasting Company (GMABC), Timothy Karikari said, “Radio is quite a self-effacing medium. I don’t think radio celebrates itself enough. Let’s all come together and reminisce what radio has helped us to achieve over the past years”.

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