Ugandan broadcasters calling themselves “rap-orters” are changing the way news is delivered, after a team of hip-hop artists teamed up to deliver a weekly TV bulletin.
A group of hip-hop artists report on local, national and international events for their weekly five-minute programme NewzBeat. It started last year and is broadcast in both English and the local language Luganda on the popular channel NTV every Saturday afternoon and evening before the station’s traditional news bulletins
Hearing the news in hip-hop style may sound strange. But in Uganda, where the press faces censorship pressures and the country’s huge youth population often takes little interest in current affairs, a programme where “rap-orters” broadcast with “rhyme and reason” has become popular.
“NewzBeat”, screened in both English and the local language Luganda on the popular channel NTV every Saturday afternoon and evening before the station’s traditional news bulletins, took to the air last year.
