RFI Hausa Expands its programing line-up and moves into new Lagos premises

IKOYI, Nigeria - Oct. 4, 2013 - PRLog -- A reinvigorated RFI Hausa is inaugurating its new studios in Lagos with a high level delegation from Paris launching an extended program line-up and new exciting magazines.

Launched in May 2007, RFI Hausa rapidly gained over five million listeners a week, and is   increasing its presence in the region and preparing to step up production of programs in  Hausa which is spoken by millions of Africans across Nigeria; Niger; Tchad; Cameroun; Ghana; Mali and Benin.

RFI Hausa will continue to expand in 2014, adding an extra hour to broadcast three hours per day.  Among the new products is a bilingual radio drama series produced by RFI’s French language service and aimed at initiating francophile listeners to the French language and culture.

New program line-up from October 7^th

The Hausa service is dynamizing its program line-up with the two-hour daily broadcast schedule being modified to increase proximity and interactivity with our listeners. The innovative program line-up will include fresh magazines on the economy and new technologies as well as more of our great sport and culture programs.

The new programs:

« Economy & Business » (10 minutes), analysis of the major happenings in the regional and international economies, Wednesdays at 8:15am and Thursdays at 7:15am.

« IT 1 Science» (10 minutes), all the latest technological innovations and advances, Tuesdays at 7:15am and Thursdays at 8:15am.

« Culture et tradition » (10 minutes), a cultural program on traditions here and around the world, Tuesdays at 8:15am and Wednesdays at 7:15am.

« Music & Culture » (20 minutes), reviews, interviews – a full cultural and musical agenda, for complete coverage of the latest local and international cultural news, Saturdays at 8:15am and Sundays at 5.15pm.

« Focus International » (20’), analysis of events making international headlines, Sundays at 5:35pm.

Still on air:

RFI Hausa offers two hours of programs per day, from 7am to 7:30am, from 8am to 8:30am and from 5pm to 6pm (Lagos time, GMT+1). Each broadcast includes - international and regional news bulletins followed by magazines, analysis, press reviews, reports, interviews and music.

From Monday to Friday at 5.35pm, « Talkback », an interactive phone-in program during which listeners comment on the day’s news.

During the week-end, morning broadcasts at 7.05am and 8.05am, listeners are invited to take stock with longer 20 minute magazines. We continue our listeners' favorite programs, « Press Club », which invites Nigerian journalists to give their different views on current affairs, and « Nollywood » the magazine devoted to Nigeria’s effervescent cinema industry.

In addition to these programs in Hausa, listeners can access RFI’s French-language African broadcasts which feature all the editorial team’s expertise.

TRAINING

From September 23^rd to October 3^rd, to help Hausa service’s journalists and correspondents put together the new range of programs with the latest technical equipment, RFI is offering a series of workshops. These training courses focus on writing for radio, reporting techniques, sound recording and digital audio editing. They are being run by Sophie Marsaudon of the Académie France Médias Monde.

RFI Hausa event - “RFI Hausa’s 2013  Person of the Year” Award

On the occasion of the inauguration of RFI Hausa’s new premises in Lagos, on October 3^rd Cécile Mégie, Exectuive VP of RFI, will present the Person of the Year Award to Soloman Dalung, an activist lawyer who campaigns for Islamic-Christian dialogue and was chosen by the listeners from among 20 world personalities compiled by RFI’s editorial team.

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About RFI Hausa

RFI Hausa’s editorial team is based in Lagos, Nigeria. It consists of 10 journalists and 3 local technicians as well as a network of about 15 Hausa correspondents (in Nigeria, Niger, Ghana, the Sudan, Mali, etc.). It also benefits from RFI’s network of worldwide correspondents and the expertise of its Paris-based journalists.

Head of Service: Julie Vandal

Editor-in-chief: Bashir Ibrahim Idris

www.hausa.rfi.fr

About RFI

RFI is a French current affairs radio station that broadcasts worldwide in French and 12 foreign languages*. It draws on the expertise of its Paris-based editorial teams and unique global network of 400 correspondents to provide news bulletins and features which give listeners the keys to understanding the world. Some 40 million listeners around the world tune into RFI every week and its new media platforms (website, mobile applications...) attract 10 million visits a month.

*Brazilian, Cambodian, Chinese, English, Hausa, Persian, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Spanish, Swahili, Vietnamese

www.rfi.fr

RFI Hausa’s programs can be listened to in:

Nigeria, Niger, Cameroon, and all the countries in the region (Ghana, Sudan, Benin, Burkina Faso, Chad, Togo, etc.) on shortwave and FM.

> In Nigeria, on shortwave

7am – 7:30am band 22m freq. 13 750 kHz / band 19m: freq. 15 340 kHz

8am – 8:30am band 22m freq. 13 685 kHz / band 19m: freq. 15 315 kHz

5pm – 6pm band 16m: freq. 17 615 kHz

The programs can also be listened to:
- on FM, in Niger (96.2 FM in Niamey, Maradi, Zinder, Diffa and Tahoua, 94.5 FM in Agadez)

- on FM, in Cameroon (104.8 FM in Garua and 101.6 FM in Marua)

- In the United States, RFI’s Hausa programs can be listened to on Audionow by dialing (832) 225-5292.

> And all over the world on:

-         www.hausa.rfi.fr.  Constantly climbing, the Rfi Hausa website currently attracts 230 000 hits per month, that is a threefold increase just in 2012. Nigeria is the biggest audience with 80% of the hits. www.rfi.fr provides access to the radio programmes as well as in depth artices and all our magazines.

-         All Rfi programmes in Hausa are currently availabe on «Pure Radio » for iphone and ipad. The applications for Android and Windowsphone will be available in the coming weeks.

Julie Vandal, Bureau Coordinator

Julie Vandal is a graduate of the Institut d’Etudes Politiques (IEP) of Bordeaux. She started her career in journalism as an editor with the cultural department of regional daily newspaper “La Marseillaise”. As a freelance journalist, she then moved to Africa, which she has been crisscrossing for eight years.  After four years in Dakar, Senegal, where she covered the sub-region’s news for several French-speaking radio stations and newspapers, she moved to Lagos, Nigeria in January 2010 as a correspondent with RFI’s French language service.  She was appointed Head of Rfi Hausa in May 2012.