Applied Linguistics Interventions for Improving Broadcast Communication in Nigerian Radio Stations: Lessons from the South South Zone

Radio broadcasting remains one of the most influential public communication media in Nigeria, reaching audiences across literacy levels and geographic divides, and the language quality of broadcast communication directly shapes public information access and media credibility. This study applies linguistic analysis and professional intervention design to improve broadcast communication quality in radio stations operating in the South South geopolitical zone, focusing on stations in Bayelsa, Delta, and Akwa Ibom states. A professional communication audit of six state government and commercial radio stations combined content analysis of fifty broadcast segments, structured interviews with forty broadcasters, and audience reception surveys administered to three hundred listeners across urban and rural areas of the three states. Language quality assessment examined clarity, register appropriateness, accuracy of public interest information, and code-mixing management. Audience reception surveys measured comprehension and trust as key outcomes. Audit findings indicate systematic weaknesses in script preparation, on-air error correction, and the management of code-mixing across register boundaries, with state government stations showing more severe quality deficiencies than commercial stations. The study designs a professional applied linguistics intervention programme comprising a broadcaster language training workshop, a broadcast script quality checklist, and a listener comprehension feedback protocol. Pilot implementation at one commercial station in Yenagoa produced measurable improvements in clarity scores and reduced on-air error rates over a three-month monitoring period. Keywords: broadcast communication, radio, applied linguistics, South South Nigeria, broadcaster training.