Performing the News: Yoruba Oral Traditions on the Radio

The Yoruba language radio programme Koko Inu Iwe Iroyin, which translates as Newspaper Headlines News, began airing in 1999 and starts broadcasting at 6 am daily on the Lagos local languages radio network Bond FM 92.9. I argue that the news presenters do not use the usual radio journalism conventions, but instead lean towards a performative mode that makes use of various traditional oral devices, including proverbs, puns, extemporisation and fictional exaggeration. In this way, they borrow from other Yor & ugrave;b & aacute; performance traditions, thus creating a news format that reinforces a Yor & ugrave;b & aacute; cultural sphere and which creates a particular aural community. The deployment of Yor & ugrave;b & aacute; figurative texts in the parsing of news stories signals an attempt to localise their journalistic work in a Yor & ugrave;b & aacute; discursive tradition whose mode of verbal communication privileges textual inventiveness and dynamic recapitulations. The radio news show is an example of the changing context and continual reinvention of Yor & ugrave;b & aacute; oral performance in modern society.

Automated summary

"Koko Inu Iwe Iroyin" is a Yoruba language radio programme that started airing in 1999. It deviates from traditional radio journalism conventions and adopts a performative mode that incorporates various oral devices such as proverbs, puns, extemporisation, and fictional exaggeration. By drawing from other Yoruba performance traditions, it creates a unique news format that reinforces Yoruba cultural identity and fosters a distinct aural community. The use of Yoruba figurative texts in news storytelling aims to localize journalistic work within the Yoruba discursive tradition, which values textual creativity and dynamic recapitulations. This radio news show reflects the evolving context and continuous reinvention of Yoruba oral performance in modern society.