13 February 2018 is World Radio Day – a day to celebrate radio as a medium: to improve international cooperation between broadcasters; and to encourage major networks and community radio alike to promote access to information, freedom of expression and gender equality over the airwaves.
Radio is the mass media reaching the widest audience in the world. It is also recognised as a powerful communication tool and a low cost medium
For more visit World Radio Day.
UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation) has declared the 13th February as World Radio Day. As Africa’s oldest community radio station project we at Bush Radio fully support this intiative as we believe in the power of radio to help build communities and improve lives.
Whether it is through our Children’s Radio Education Workshop (CREW) launched in 1996 where young people learn to use the medium to develop their skills and understanding of media or one of our programmes like Sakhisizwe – Bou die Nation, Build the Nation or even our specialised music programmes like Blues in the Bush where we connect the music to its roots in Africa – radio plays a vital part in almost everyone’s daily life.
Through technology like internet streaming Bush Radio is able to connect to the entire planet with it’s audience not just from Cape Flats but with dedicated listeners in Asia, Europe and the Americas tuning into the station online through computers or mobile phones, Bush Radio truly is more than just FM radio.
Related: How to listen to us online
UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation) has declared the 13th February 2013 as World Radio Day. As Africa’s oldest community radio station project we at Bush Radio fully support this intiative as we believe in the power of radio to help build communities and improve lives.
Whether it is through our Children’s Radio Education Workshop (CREW) launched in 1996 where young people learn to use the medium to develop their skills and understanding of media or one of our programmes like Sakhisizwe – Bou die Nation, Build the Nation or even our specialised music programmes like Blues in the Bush where we connect the music to its roots in Africa – radio plays a vital part in almost everyone’s daily life.
Through technology like internet streaming Bush Radio is able to connect to the entire planet with it’s audience not just from Cape Flats but with dedicated listeners in Asia, Europe and the Americas tuning into the station online through computers or mobile phones, Bush Radio truly is more than just FM radio.
Related: How to listen to us online
On the 9th August 2012, National Women’s Day, we kick off a month of celebration at Bush Radio as we reach 17 years of legal community radio broadcasting in South Africa. Besides some of the fun activities planned for our birthday month we are also taking the opportunity of looking back and reflecting on the struggle to free the airwaves in South Africa and look at how we keep it free.
Bush Radio is also in the process of digitising its extensive archive of recordings and photographs and below is a sample of some the pictures – see if you can spot yourself and if you have material that you think belongs in the archive let us know.
related: Celebrating 16 years on air
Bush Radio 89.5FM, 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.”
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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.
Some of the videos that Bush Radio has been working on are available on Zoopy. Youtube.
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