Transcript Radio in South Africa: An introduction

Radio in South Africa:
Lecture 1
FAM2000F Writing and Editing in the Media
Dr. Tanja E. Bosch, 14th April 2008
Radio: The invisible medium?
Radio survived the competition it faced
from television in the 1950s.
Radio has become so omnipresent that we
take it for granted.
Radio’s main advantage is it’s portability.
As a mass medium, radio has developed
into a highly fragmented audience and
revenue base.
The characteristics of radio
Radio has become personalized.
Radio forms an integral part of the daily
routine.
Radio provides white noise.
Radio is immediate.
Radio is real/ “theatre of the mind”
History of radio in South Africa
 South African Railways - 1923
 Scientific and Technical Club - 1924
 Cape and Peninsula Broadcasting Association September 15, 1924
 Durban organization - Dec 10, 1924
 African Broadcasting Company - 1927
 South African Broadcasting Corporation - Act
No.22 of 1936
 Springbok Radio - 1 May 1950
History of radio in South Africa
 Rediffusion service - Aug 1, 1952
 June, 1962: Tswana and North Sotho (Pretoria)
 Jan, 1963: Zulu (Durban)
 June, 1963: Xhosa (Grahamstown)
 Feb, 1965: Venda and Tsonga (Northern
Transvaal)
 FM broadcasts began on Sept 1, 1961
 Five FM - first nationwide FM - 1988
SABC Radio Services
 Public Commercial Services
Metro FM, 5FM
 Public Broadcast Services
Focus on indigenous languages e.g. SAFM, RSG,
Umhlobo Wenene, Lotus FM etc
 Private Commercial Radio
Six lucrative SABC stations were privatized. Including
Highveld Stereo, Radio Jacaranda, KFM, Radio Algoa
etc
*8 new commercial radio licenses granted in 1997
Structure of radio in South Africa
Three tier broadcasting system
Public broadcaster, commercial, community
Prior to 1994 the SABC was a state
broadcaster and NP mouthpiece.
The only two independent stations were
Radio 702 and Capitol Radio.
No other private broadcasters and no
policy/ legislative framework.
SABC Radio: Overview
 Owned by the state, derives income from
advertising and license fees.
 Mandated to provide a commercial and public
service (funded by the former).
 Commercial stations include 5FM, Metro FM and
Channel Africa.
 The public broadcasting arm includes cultural
services in all 11 official languages.
 South African Indian (Lotus FM) and San
communities (X-K FM)
 The largest radio station in South Africa: Ukhozi FM
with 6.38 million listeners per week.
SABC: Radio and identity
 It became a political and commercial liability to be
the “voice of government”.
 SABC’s new radio portfolio launched on 28
September 1996.
 16 stations with new names and identities
completed its visible transformation.
 The central policy issue was how liberalization
could be regulated and made consistent with aims
of nation building, development and
democratization.
 SABC implemented key transformation strategies in
programming, news etc
Repositioning radio
 The new purpose was to compete effectively in a
deregulated environment.
 Language stations were urgently upgraded.
 11 African language stations aimed at reaching 80% of
native speakers by 1997.
 Radio stations received new names to mark their
relaunch.
 Afrikaans Stereo was renamed Radio Sonder Grense
(RSG).
 SAFM launched in March 1995.
Radio regulation in SA
 IBA: The Independent Broadcasting Authority was
formed after elections in SA in 1994 to regulate the
telecommunications industry.
 ICASA: The Independent Communications Authority of
South Africa (ICASA) is the regulator of
telecommunications and the broadcasting sectors.
Radio regulation in SA
 ICASA’s main role is to:
 make regulations and policies that govern broadcasting and
telecommunications
 issue licenses
 monitor the environment and enforce compliance with rules,
regulations and policies
 hear and decide on disputes and complaints brought by
industry or members of the public against licensees
 plan, control and manage the frequency spectrum and
 protect consumers from unfair business practices, poor
quality services and harmful or inferior products.
Radio regulation in SA
 SAMRO: The South African Music Rights Organization
controls the broadcast of all music.
 NAB: The NAB is the voice of South Africa’s
broadcasting industry. NAB is primarily a lobbying
group and it has a commercial and a community sector.
 NCRF: The National Community Radio Forum (NCRF)
was launched on December 1993, in Orlando, Soweto,
in order to lobby for the diversification of the airwaves
in South Africa, and to foster a dynamic broadcasting
environment in the country through the establishment
of community radio stations.
Radio regulation in SA
 MDDA: The Media Development and Diversity
Agency was set up by an Act of Parliament (Act
14 of 2002) to enable "historically disadvantaged
communities and persons not adequately served
by the media" to gain access to the media.
 BCCSA: The BCCSA was set up by the National
Association of Broadcasters of Southern Africa
in 1993 to adjudicate and mediate complaints
against a broadcaster who has signed its Code
of Conduct.