Radio in Palestine – Audio Memory, Transferring to the Present, and “A Companion in the Darkness”

Aya Abdel Rahman – Nisaa FM Radio – spoke with us from Ramallah; From Hebron, Carmel Al-Badawneh – lecturer in the Department of Media at Hebron University and a doctoral researcher in social media; From Jerusalem, Reham Anabtawi – Yabous Radio.

This article contains a summary of some of what was mentioned in the lengthy interview, which you can watch on video.

A training experience at the United Nations opened new horizons

Because Carmel and Reham participated in 2016 in the Sherine Abu Aqla program, which is organized annually by the United Nations to train Palestinian media professionals, it was necessary to start talking about this program.

Reham described it as one of the most beautiful programs she participated in, and said that it increased her knowledge of many topics and helped her continue in her professional life, especially since it approached the media from several points of view.

As for Carmel, she said that the program gave her the opportunity to learn about work mechanisms within the United Nations headquarters, and to listen to officials about how to manage conflicts and prepare UN reports, in addition to combining theoretical and practical education with news writing and report preparation workshops.

Artificial Intelligence: Positive use, without total adoption

And with focus World Radio Day This year on artificial intelligence and how to benefit from it in radio work and deal with its challenges, we talked about the use of this rapidly developing technology in the field of media.

Aya Abdel Rahman confirmed that artificial intelligence has become aware of all the details of daily life, but in radio work it must be used with caution and responsibility. She warned against relying entirely on it because that might lead to a lack of thinking and a decline in creativity.

Reham Anabtawi said that she was lucky to have learned and practiced the media profession before the current development in artificial intelligence because she relied on herself to research, think, and develop her skills. Reham believes that artificial intelligence has both positive and negative sides. She advised the new generation of media professionals not to rely on it completely.

Radio and women’s issues

Aya Abdel Rahman spoke about the specificity of Nisaa FM, which has been focusing on women’s issues in Palestine for about fifteen years, including gender-based violence, wage discrimination, and economic challenges.

She pointed out that during the war the radio focused on issues that did not receive sufficient attention, such as women’s health needs, the menstrual cycle, abortion, and childbirth in difficult circumstances. It also highlighted women who lost their jobs, others who became the primary breadwinners for their families, and women who have financial issues and detention orders due to loss of income.

Radio in Jerusalem

Reham Anabtawi stressed that radio has not lost its value, no matter how many platforms it has. She said that the listener is still searching for accurate and correct information from reliable and easily accessible sources, especially in light of the spread of “yellow news.”

She spoke about the specificity of media work in Jerusalem, “where there are restrictions and difficulties.” In the context of her work with Yabus Radio, she said that she is working to implement a volunteer initiative to support merchants in the Old City of Jerusalem who face difficulties due to the lack of sales activity.

Through the initiative, they are trying to promote these shops, by producing audio stories that tell the history of their shops and encourage people to visit them.

Preserving the audio memory of the Palestinian novel

Carmel Al-Badawneh believes that Palestinian radio represents the first means of preserving the audio memory of the Palestinian narrative. She explained that the broadcaster’s tone of voice, the sounds of ambulances, eyewitnesses, and much more, which is an essential part of Palestinian life, form part of a living archive that conveys the human experience as it is.

Palestinian media professionals also discussed the danger of misinformation, especially in light of the speed of publishing on social media, simply to collect likes and make a quick profit. They emphasized that a little delay in publishing the news is better than publishing inaccurate information, to maintain credibility and trust between the media outlet and the public.

Messages on radio day

In conclusion, Palestinian media professionals had special messages on the occasion of World Radio Day. Reham Anabtawi stressed the need to pay attention to the Arabic language and the correct exits of letters, not to rely completely on artificial intelligence, and to benefit from every radio interview by considering the guest a “treasure of information.”

Aya Abdel Rahman called for attention to reading to develop the language and train the voice, and stressed her pride in working on a radio platform that is considered “a free voice for all the women of Palestine.”

Carmel Al-Badawneh considered that radio in Palestine “was never just a voice, but rather a pulse, a memory, and a companion in the dark,” and saluted the journalists who continued to transmit the voice in harsh circumstances.