Community radio and identity construction post-1994

Abstract

The South African social transition was accompanied by widespread media reform. Communityradio stations were for the first time, set up to empower communities previously without access tothe media. More than a hundred radio stations were licensed, and further provision was made forcommunity television, even if it was nearly a decade later before there was any discernible movementin the area of community television. The paper addresses concerns about media, politics and identitystruggles, viewed through the lens of community radio. While there is a wealth of literature analysingthe development of various aspects of the South African media over the last decade, few, if any,studies specifically consider the role of community media. Set up after elections in 1994, expresslyto create spaces for the articulation of marginal or “disadvantaged” groups, the community radiosector in South Africa has mushroomed, with nearly a hundred stations currently licensed.This paper will explore the ways in which community radio has facilitated the construction of newidentities. Adopting a case-study approach, the paper considers community radio station BushRadio, discussing how the station interpellates diverse identities through its programming. In thePink, for example, creates a space for the articulation of various gay identities, while the Children’sRadio Education Workshop becomes a mediated space for youth in the new political dispensationto form a generational consciousness. The intersection of class, culture and language at BushRadio, and on its airwaves, often results in the constant (re)negotiation of identities.Furthermore, the paper also reflects on the religious or community-of-interest community radiostations, and argues that these stations further serve the purpose of identity building. The resultantlistener loyalty results in increased sustainability; they serve the purpose of therapy or confession,giving listeners an outlet for frustrations; and finally, religious community radio stations becomea virtual church, transcending physical boundaries and resulting in instantaneous religiouscommunity building.