In line with the Bush Radio philosophy of “Don’t curse the darkness, light a candle”, the station has been hard at work looking for the resources to ensure that we remain on air during load shedding.
In 2018 the station installed a UPS system, but the constant load shedding led to the batteries degrading to such a point that the station would only remain on air for 20 minutes when the power went out at its studio in Salt River.
This past weekend the Bush Radio team guided AB Technical Solution installed and tested an auto-start diesel generator system which will allow us to stay broadcasting during load shedding.
As much as the new system relieves the immediate need for the station to remain broadcasting, it is not the final step. We would like to have a more environmentally and economic solution to power the entire station (the newsroom and administration). To this end we are looking for partners who could assist in taking the station to the next level, perhaps exploring a solar power solution and make sure that the “Mother of Community Radio in Africa” keeps bringing light to the airwaves and online with its dynamic programming and social upliftment projects.
The campaign celebrates 20 years of democracy in South Africa, Shifty’s 30th birthday and the 25th anniversary of the Voëlvry tour.
A number of events are planned for September, culminating in the Shifty Heritage Music Festival on Heritage Day in Johannesburg, featuring many of the label’s legendary artists.
What can you win?
If you pledge your support by buying any Shifty September reward, and enter your name in the Wrong Rock Show give-away, you stand a chance of winning one “The Vinyl Solution” reward, which includes:
• Voëlvry LP [signed by surviving Voëlvryers]
• Repackaged: Bigger than Jesus LP [signed by Warrick Sony]
• Pot-luck of 3 rare original still-in-their-plastic Shifty Records [it’s a surprise]
• 2 tickets to the Shifty Heritage Music Festival
• A thank you with your name on the virtual wall of thanks exhibition + a surprise Shifty gift
• We will verify your pledge with Shifty Records and on 16 September 2014, once the Thundafund campaign is closed, we will draw one name from those entered as the winner of the vinyl goodies.
Tune in! On Monday 1 September 2014 the Wrong Rock Show will be joined by Warrick Sony for a special 2-hour preview of the Shifty compilations to be released as part of the campaign.
They are:
• Shifty & Quirky
• Shifty Blue
• Shifty Love
• Shifty Pop
• Shifty Protests
• Shifty Rocks
Please note:
• If you cannot attend the festival and cannot nominate anyone to receive your tickets, we will draw another name to give your tickets to.
• If you cannot attend the festival and collect your LP’s, you will be asked to pay postage for delivery.
The articles are from Swedish-language papers but if you would like to find out what the fuss is all about tune into the Wrong Rock Show tonight at 10pm on 89.5FM or online, when we air the second edition of “From Kyrkslätt with Love” a segment compiled by Henrik Gustafsson.
Roskilde Festival in Denmark, first staged in 1971, is the largest North European culture and music festival and attracts about 75,000 festival goers every year (excluding day-visitors). It is run by a non-profit association, assisted by 25,000 volunteers and every year it donates all profits to humanitarian and cultural purposes. This year, a Bush Radio t-shirt was also spotted walking around the festival site between 30 June and 3 July, when Botha of the Wrong Rock Show attended the festival for a second time.
The Orange Stage has become the symbol of the Roskilde Festival
Shangaan Electro had the crowd on their feet (left) and legendary Bassekou Kouyate from Mali played with Afrocubism
While at the festival, Botha also recorded a special Finnish Wrong Rock Show with Henrik Gustafsson and Jan Larsson, two music gurus who respectively attended their 14th and 22ndRoskilde Festivals!This special episode will be broadcast tonight (11 July 2011) between 10PM and midnight, and will feature two hours of rock music from Finland not often heard outside Northern Europe. For more information, visit the show’s Facebook page.
PJ Harvey was one of the highlights for the alternative rock fans (left) and the Swans put up one of the best concerts of the festival to a small group of hardcore fans
Bush Radio89.5FM, in partnership with the Deutsche Welle (DW) Academy, is currently holding a 6-day Community TV and Local News training course (23 – 28 May 2011), for various participants with the aim of strengthening their skills as community television journalists.
The enthusiasm of the trainers, Birgit Keller and Martin Schönian, co-ordinator Christopher Springate and the participants is creating an infectious excitement that can be felt by all at Bush Radio’s studios.
Christopher Springate
Christopher Springate, the course co-ordinator said: “To be specific, we intend to enlighten the participants with their reporting, writing, researching, filming and editing skills.”
Birgit Keller said that as the trainers they are not doing the course to have the participants do things in a certain way, but rather to show them how it works. She also added that they are keen to show the participants how to manage current affairs in order to get ideas on how they can improve.
Birgit Keller
Participants are from various television and radio stations including Bay TV, CTV, Soweto TV, Radio KC, Bush Radio, Community Video Education Trust and the Oguni Solidarity Forum.
Lebogang Kubyane from Soweto TV said: “I am extremely impressed with the course and what it has to offer. The trainers are great people and it is comforting to know that I am able to learn new and interesting things everyday.”
The course started off with a general introduction and ranges from activities like editing vox-pops, writing for television, “on-camera” work and production editing.
Martin Schönian said, “The reason for the course being aimed at community journalists is because they have the responsibility to voice the communities’ opinions more often as opposed to commercial stations. Therefore they need to be highly skilled to do this task.”
Martin Schönian
Birgit Keller gave the final word on the participants and hosts: “I am really impressed with the participants. They are truly bringing forth a great amount of energy and good ideas. I also need to add that it is interesting to be at Bush Radio. The friendly staff and warm welcome which we receive creates a warm and good atmosphere for all.”
Vinette is most popular for her role in the soap opera 7de Laan, but we at Bush Radio remember her as the narrator of a series of
programmes we produced in 1998 with Molo Songololo, the national children’s rights network, called Silent Shame, Silent Crime which dealt with incest.
We pulled a recording from our archives and played it for her. Click here to listen
John Tottenham, Wesley Wessels (centre) and Janelle Nichols
We then had another visit from someone who was last at Bush Radio in 2004. John Tottenham was a participant in a programme run at the station with a group called Canada World Youth. John was a student at the University of Waterloo at that time and during the project he was teamed up with former Bush Radio trainee and now editor of The Dankish, Wesley Wessels, who also came along for the visit.
John is currently working for an engineering company in Canada and came to show his wife, Janelle, South Africa.
Rhode (6th from left) with some of the Bush Team
Also this week, former trainee producer and newsroom intern Rhode Marshall, now a content producer for the Mail and Guardian, came to say hi.
Lights, camera, action! Those were the words that were often used at the Deutsche Welle (DW) Journalism Community Television training hosted by Bush Radio for the past two weeks.
Maggie Nyaunda from CTV checks her equipment while Timothy Ncube from Bay TV looks on
We had the opportunity to watch the participants, taking pictures. Bush Radio interns also made cameo appearances in some of the pieces they were working on.
Participants came from Bay TV, from Richards Bay, Cape Town TV, based in Cape Town, Soweto TV from Soweto and Tshwane TV from Pretoria.
DW trainers, Patrick Benning and Frank Norden said they want to empower the participants from community television by giving them training and how to make good television.
“When one thinks of television you always imagine the glamorous life, you forget it involves hard work, like not having enough equipment and working volunteers” said Benning.
Bill Mbuyi of CTV gets down to the serious business of editing
Zanele Mthembu who is a producer from Soweto TV agreed with Benning. Mthembu added “there are difficulties that community television faces everyday, like people not pitching up for interviews”.
Working for a community radio station is similar to a community television station. Both share similar challenges, shortage of staff, no funding, lack of advertising and over worked staff.
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