Reporters at student-run Yarmouk FM in Jordan address community issues brought to their attention by their listeners.

(May 20, 2008) When people living around the northern Jordanian city of Irbid suffered water shortages of up to two months, community radio station Yarmouk FM aired the problem and followed up with the Irbid Water Authority until the situation improved. When a local citizen called the station to protest an unwarranted penalty imposed on him by the electric company, the radio presenter immediately called a company spokesmen and connected him with the citizen, live and on the air. The fine was dropped and the problem was resolved.

In part by airing and addressing community issues like these, Yarmouk FM has become a popular and well-respected radio station throughout Northern Jordan. Its success is all the more remarkable because the station is almost entirely student-run, with most of the staff ranging in age from 18 to 22, guided by just one media professional, station manager, Akram El-Neis.

Internews founded Yarmouk FM, Jordan’s first community-based radio station, in partnership with Western Kentucky University in 2006. The station, based at Yarmouk University in Irbid, enables students to gain hands-on experience running a real radio station.

Yarmouk FM now broadcasts 24 hours a day to one million listeners throughout northern Jordan and the surrounding region. The project is funded by a grant to Internews from the US Department of State’s Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor (DRL).

In November 2007, the young staff at Yarmouk FM launched a new program called “Sabahayat.” (Mornings – this is not a literal translation but it is the closest to the meaning of the word.) The program introduces local news on traffic and civil services, followed by a brief segment called “Know Your Rights.”

Guests hosted on the program have included Irbid’s chief of police and head of transportation, among others. During the program, callers from the local community are able to ask live questions of the guest.

In addition to the water and electricity issues mentioned above, the program has also succeeded in resolving the problem of students commuting from Irbid to Mutah University in southern Jordan. No buses were serving this line, but after the issue was brought to the attention of the authorities through the station, an early morning bus was added to cover this route.

The station has also highlighted environmental problems. Students raised the issue of a waste problem in the city of Wadi Al Ghafar which was resulting in pollution and illness for the residents of the area. The students researched the issue and, although the local authorities were unresponsive to their findings, when the report was broadcast, the mayor of Wadi Al Ghafar called Yarmouk FM promising to resolve the issue.

“The station is continuing to pressure the responsible local authorities so that the problem is resolved once and for all," said Eman Al Foqaha, a student who worked on the case with fellow student Salam Hajjeh.

Because the station deals openly with community issues that are not always discussed publicly, it sometimes encounters local opposition. Situated in a relatively conservative part of the country, Yarmouk FM constantly deals with local and cultural sensitivities.

When featuring issues that may seem controversial to the older generation of Irbid’s community who believe that certain topics are off-limits, the station’s staff has had to approach these issues with care and sensitivity, especially when dealing with call-ins. On several occasions, discussions on dating and romantic relationships, early marriages, intermarriages (marriage within one's own tribe or family), religious issues and public smoking by women have caused local irritation.

But the young staff members at Yarmouk FM have taken such reactions in stride. As they learn journalism by running a real radio station, they know that their work is truly serving their community.

Via Internews.org