RADIO BROADCASTING AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT IN AFRICA MEDIA MESSAGES AND WOMEN FOOD PRODUCERS IN MALAWI A Research Proposal

It is a charity and is incorporated in England as a company limited by guarantee under the Companies Act (Reg. No. 70527) Preface Rita Crowley-Turner tragically died on 8 th May 1996 before completing this proposal for her PhD after less than a year into the process. With its publication I am fulfilling a promise I made to myself, to Rita's colleagues and to her family that we would attempt to encourage future research in this much neglected area of work which Rita was pioneering. Ultimately, we at DESTIN would like to establish a PhD Studentship in media and development in Rita's honour and would welcome any ideas or donors interested in contributing to such a project. Rita's academic projects were informed by and built upon, her rich and diverse experiences which included 24 years at the BBC World Service, her years in Malawi, and a deep commitment to Catholic activism. Her book on Catholicism and feminism, The Mary Dimension, was widely read inside the Church. Rita founded and edited Moni, the radical Catholic magazine, which has the largest circulation of all the monthly magazines in Malawi. She was editor of the radio show Malawi Calling, and was a weekly columnist on Women's Advice for the Malawi News. Rita was an accomplished linguist, fluent in French and Spanish from her undergraduate studies at the University of Sheffield, and widely read in the literature of these countries. Rita entered the MSc Development Studies programme as a part-time student in 1992 with a passionate commitment to the importance of the media in promoting human development in Africa. Her Masters dissertation, The President, Prelates and the Press involved original research in radio archives-specifically African and Malawi materials-and she graduated with a distinction in 1994. Rita's PhD project promised to make an important contribution to the much under-studied domain of the role of media in development. Rita leaves behind her husband, David Turner and four sons: Mark, Paul, Luke and Matthew. Shortly after her death, Paul wrote that the family "were all overwhelmed with pride in Rita's achievements, not only her academic success but, "as he put it, "her 'partying' and social gusto". At DESTIN, Rita was a source of strength, encouragement and friendship to many research students. Clare Ferguson spoke for everyone at DESTIN when she said, "Rita's friendship meant a great deal to me. I enjoyed her company and she was always …