{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,4]],"date-time":"2026-05-04T23:19:43Z","timestamp":1777936783124,"version":"3.51.4"},"reference-count":49,"publisher":"SAGE Publications","issue":"9","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2016,7,9]],"date-time":"2016-07-09T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1468022400000},"content-version":"tdm","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/page\/policies\/text-and-data-mining-license"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["journals.sagepub.com"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["New Media &amp; Society"],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2016,10]]},"abstract":"<jats:p>The exponential diffusion of mobile phones in Africa and their ability to interact with other media have created new avenues for individuals to interface with power. These forms of engagement, however, have primarily been interpreted through the lenses of the \u2018liberation technology\u2019 agenda, which privileges the relationship between citizens and the state, neglecting the variety of actors and networks that intervene in shaping governance processes, alongside or in competition with the state. Through an ethnography of two local radio stations in Kenya, this article offers a more realistic picture of mobile\u2013radio interactions and their repercussions on governance. The findings illustrate that (1) while these interactive spaces are open to all listeners with access to a phone, they are in practice inhabited by small cohorts of recurrent characters often connected to existing power structures; (2) even in places where basic services are offered by actors other than the state, including non-governmental organizations and criminal networks, the state continues to represent the imagined figure to which listeners address most of their demands; (3) in contrast to the expectations that authorities will act on claims and grievances made public through the media, other factors, including ethnicity, intervene in facilitating or preventing action.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1177\/1461444815581148","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2015,4,8]],"date-time":"2015-04-08T20:01:48Z","timestamp":1428523308000},"page":"2080-2095","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1177\/sage-journals-update-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":25,"title":["\u2018Can you hear me?\u2019 Mobile\u2013radio interactions and governance in Africa"],"prefix":"10.1177","volume":"18","author":[{"given":"Iginio","family":"Gagliardone","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"University of Oxford, UK"}]}],"member":"179","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2016,7,9]]},"reference":[{"key":"bibr1-1461444815581148","unstructured":"Abdi J, Deane J (2008) The Kenyan 2007 elections and their aftermath: the role of media and communication. Available at: http:\/\/downloads.bbc.co.uk\/worldservice\/trust\/pdf\/kenya_policy_briefing_08.pdf"},{"key":"bibr2-1461444815581148","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1080\/0002018022000032947"},{"key":"bibr3-1461444815581148","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1093\/oxfordjournals.afraf.a007947"},{"key":"bibr4-1461444815581148","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","DOI":"10.1515\/9781685858582","volume-title":"New Technologies and Development","author":"Bhalla AS","year":"1988"},{"key":"bibr5-1461444815581148","unstructured":"Bickford S (1996) The Dissonance of Democracy: Listening, Conflict, and Citizenship. Cornell University Press. Available at: http:\/\/books.google.co.uk\/books?hl=en&lr=&id=EITGtBuws8cC&oi=fnd&pg=PR9&dq=bickford+dissonance+democracy&ots=gEZcWnhQ1c&sig=Z0JNxtkLgA1eAKOCVhSaK5g1F-s (accessed 10 December 2014)."},{"key":"bibr6-1461444815581148","unstructured":"Birongo JM, Le NQ (2005) An analysis of water governance in Kibera, Kenya. Available at: http:\/\/www.environmental-expert.com\/Files%5C0%5Carticles%5C20194%5Cwaterproject.pdf"},{"key":"bibr7-1461444815581148","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1163\/ej.9789004171282.i-347"},{"key":"bibr8-1461444815581148","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1080\/13510347.2011.605998"},{"key":"bibr9-1461444815581148","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1080\/10402650802689997"},{"key":"bibr10-1461444815581148","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1759-5436.2011.00206.x"},{"key":"bibr11-1461444815581148","author":"Brisset-Foucault F","journal-title":"Ethnos"},{"key":"bibr12-1461444815581148","volume-title":"Africa Works: Disorder as Political Instrument","author":"Chabal P","year":"1999"},{"key":"bibr13-1461444815581148","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1093\/acprof:oso\/9780199759477.001.0001"},{"key":"bibr14-1461444815581148","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1057\/9780230346451"},{"key":"bibr15-1461444815581148","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.4135\/9781446269114"},{"key":"bibr16-1461444815581148","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1080\/02589001.2013.781320"},{"key":"bibr17-1461444815581148","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1386\/rjao.10.2.113_1"},{"key":"bibr18-1461444815581148","volume-title":"African Broadcast Cultures: Radio in Transition","author":"Fardon R","year":"2000"},{"key":"bibr19-1461444815581148","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.2307\/525318"},{"key":"bibr20-1461444815581148","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1111\/j.2040-0209.2010.00347_2.x"},{"key":"bibr21-1461444815581148","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1759-5436.2012.00366.x"},{"key":"bibr22-1461444815581148","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1080\/14662043.2013.752175"},{"key":"bibr23-1461444815581148","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1386\/ijtm.3.3.173\/0"},{"key":"bibr24-1461444815581148","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1002\/jid.1482"},{"key":"bibr25-1461444815581148","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1467-7660.2010.01656.x"},{"key":"bibr26-1461444815581148","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.telpol.2004.11.010"},{"key":"bibr27-1461444815581148","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1080\/00220380410001673184"},{"key":"bibr28-1461444815581148","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1460-2466.1998.tb02762.x"},{"key":"bibr29-1461444815581148","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","DOI":"10.5040\/9781350218819","volume-title":"Business, Politics and the State in Africa: Challenging the Orthodoxies on Growth and Transformation","author":"Kelsall T","year":"2013"},{"key":"bibr30-1461444815581148","volume-title":"Hybridity, or the Cultural Logic of Globalization","author":"Kraidy M","year":"2005"},{"key":"bibr31-1461444815581148","first-page":"221","volume-title":"Communication Technologies in Latin America and Africa: A Multidisciplinary Perspective","author":"Lamoureaux S","year":"2010"},{"key":"bibr32-1461444815581148","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1080\/01972240252818199"},{"key":"bibr33-1461444815581148","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1467-7660.2012.01794.x"},{"key":"bibr34-1461444815581148","volume-title":"The Internet: An Ethnographic Approach","author":"Miller D","year":"2000"},{"key":"bibr35-1461444815581148","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1080\/17531050802058302"},{"key":"bibr36-1461444815581148","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1093\/afraf\/adi012"},{"key":"bibr37-1461444815581148","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1080\/03056340600671340"},{"key":"bibr38-1461444815581148","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1759-5436.2011.00208.x"},{"key":"bibr39-1461444815581148","first-page":"10","volume-title":"Proceedings of the Media Ecology Association, Fordham University","author":"Postman N","year":"2000"},{"key":"bibr40-1461444815581148","volume-title":"Joint Evaluation of Citizens\u2019 Voice and Accountability: Synthesis Report","author":"Rocha Menocal A","year":"2008"},{"key":"bibr41-1461444815581148","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1468-2885.2012.01404.x"},{"key":"bibr42-1461444815581148","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1080\/02560054.2011.545568"},{"key":"bibr43-1461444815581148","volume-title":"Macro-Policies for Appropriate Technology in Developing Countries","author":"Stewart F","year":"1987"},{"issue":"2","key":"bibr44-1461444815581148","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2","DOI":"10.1386\/macp.8.2-3.159_1","volume":"8","author":"Stremlau N","year":"2012","journal-title":"International Journal of Media and Cultural Politics"},{"key":"bibr45-1461444815581148","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1177\/1461444811422431"},{"key":"bibr46-1461444815581148","unstructured":"Twaweza (2010) It\u2019s our water too! Bringing greater equity in access to water in Kenya. Available at: http:\/\/www.twaweza.org\/download.php?f=616 (accessed 23 June 2014)."},{"key":"bibr47-1461444815581148","volume-title":"Making a World of Difference: IT in a Global Context","author":"Walsham G","year":"2001"},{"key":"bibr48-1461444815581148","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.tele.2012.02.006"},{"key":"bibr49-1461444815581148","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1177\/0163443704045506"}],"container-title":["New Media &amp; Society"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/doi\/pdf\/10.1177\/1461444815581148","content-type":"application\/pdf","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"text-mining"},{"URL":"https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/doi\/full-xml\/10.1177\/1461444815581148","content-type":"application\/xml","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"text-mining"},{"URL":"https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/doi\/pdf\/10.1177\/1461444815581148","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,2]],"date-time":"2026-05-02T03:43:06Z","timestamp":1777693386000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/doi\/10.1177\/1461444815581148"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2016,7,9]]},"references-count":49,"journal-issue":{"issue":"9","published-print":{"date-parts":[[2016,10]]}},"alternative-id":["10.1177\/1461444815581148"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1177\/1461444815581148","relation":{},"ISSN":["1461-4448","1461-7315"],"issn-type":[{"value":"1461-4448","type":"print"},{"value":"1461-7315","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2016,7,9]]}}}