Over the last two decades, mobile telephony has wrought a tremendous impact on interpersonal\r\ncommunication over the world. In Ghana, however, the communicative significance of this new media\r\nas a means of promoting the culture of self-expression, particularly on the radio, is relatively unknown.\r\nIn this paper, I examine the uses and gratifications of approximately 500 SMS texts, arguably the\r\ncommonest new media, on the panel discussions of two major radio networks, drawing on Katz et al.�s\r\n(1974) uses and gratifications theory. Key findings showed that posting messages on radio panel\r\ndiscussions (RPDs) is motivated by six major gratifications, prominent among which are ideological\r\nformations and expressions of dissatisfaction about personal, social and national issues. These\r\nfindings not only characterise RPDs as a unique discourse type, but quintessentially reveal the nature\r\nof participatory democracy on RPDs in Ghana. The findings bear theoretical implications as well as\r\nraise concerns for media practice.
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