You might take for granted that you can switch on your radio or pop in your ear buds on a Thursday afternoon and catch up on the news from independent radio, free of government control. But for citizens of the southeastern African nation of Zimbabwe, that is not the case.
For more than a decade, the government of dictator Robert Mugabe has refused to license community radio licenses and has harassed independent broadcasters.
One Vermonter has been working for years to change conditions in Zimbabwe.
Dr. RowlyBrucken chairs the history and political science department at Norwich University. And for the last 12 years, he's been Amnesty International USA's country specialist for Zimbabwe.
Brucken spoke with VPR about conditions on the political and social situation ground for journalists and listeners in Zimbabwe.
