Bush Radio is non-profit community radio and has been offering broadcast and training facilities to the people of Cape Town for the past 23 years, since before our first legal broadcast on the 9th August 1995.
An example of training course conducted at Bush Radio in 1993
As we celebrate our 23rd birthday, we are running a pledge drive during our birthday month – from the 1 – 31 August 2018 – where YOU can make a donation towards our work.
Bush Radio newsroom trainees in 2005 (front Nadia Samie and Lunga Guza , back: Megan Paulse, Busi Mtabane and Bronwen Heather-Dyke
We call on former interns, staff, volunteers, board members, NGOs/CBOs, artists, musicians, designers and companies who have benefited from our broadcast and training services or who want to support our work, to contribute towards making a difference in the lives of others.
Through such donation, you will contribute to the continued existence of Bush Radio, and also make the opportunity available to others to benefit from Bush Radio’s services.
Our bank details are as follows:
Bank: Standard Bank Name of account: Bush Radio Training Account Account number: 07 119 4185 Branch name: Mowbray Branch code: 004909 Address: 37 – 39 Main Road, Mowbray, Cape Town, 7700 Swift code: SBZAZAJJ (for international donations)
If you would like a receipt for your donation, email the proof of payment to donate@bushradio.co.za
For more information please feel free to contact us on 021 448 5450
If you are a (small or large) business you may want to consider showing your support by taking out an advertising package on the station.
The tags below are just some of the names of individuals who have received training through the work of Bush Radio
Bush Radio 89.5 FM will be providing coverage of the 17th Conference of the Parties (COP17) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) to various radio stations and other media organisations in South Africa and around the world for the duration of the conference (28 November – 9 December 2011) in Durban.
You will be able to access updates, audio, video and pictures via the Bushradionews platform or by following us on Twitter and searching here #COP17.
For the past three months, we have been running our climate change – COP17 campaign, which consists of community dialogues, training for broadcasters and running a news desk during COP17.
In the past two weeks (7 – 18 November) our offices have reverberated with the words COP17 and climate change – training and equipping broadcasters to demystify the issues of climate change and COP17, and enabling them to engage in debates at their stations.
Participants getting to grips with the issues
Bush Radio, in partnership with the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung, developed a training course which brought together radio journalists from throughout South Africa. With the training, the broadcasters will be able to highlight the issues of climate change and translate these issues to their various communities in a clear and efficient way. In order to acheive this, briefings were held with various stakeholders in the area of climate change – these included the public, scientists, activists, civil society, politicians, international broadcasters and the United Nations. The course also upgraded their production and journalism skills.
The BBC's Steve Martin engaging the group on the importance of community media
What some of the participants felt about the training:
“The workshop has opened my mind by giving me a better understanding of climate change and COP17. I feel like a new encyclopaedia filled with more knowledge than Google”. – Tashneem Abrahams – VOC
Team building through dance
“The two weeks of being in Cape Town has really flown by quickly. The staff at Bush Radio has been very friendly, but most of all, the entire workshop has been great and the facilitator was great too. Thank you so much to everyone who has made this possible.” –Xolelwa Mvumvu – Motheo FM
“Having been part of this 2 weeks climate change workshop has been a great experience. Meeting up with journalists from other provinces and having fun while learning was definitely the cherry on top.” – Bongani Gina – uMgungundlovu Community Radio KZN
Bush Radio will also be flighting the features produced as part of a successful co-production by the station and the German international broadcaster; Deutsche Welle (DW) in August 2011. These programmes were made available to all radio stations in South Africa and are still available for free download.
During this week you can catch the following interviews:
On Saturday, 29th October 2011 we braved the rain and had an outside broadcast at Norman Henshilwood High School (NHHS) in Constantia. The school had an inter-class touch rugby competition, where the pupils competed against each other.
The pupils, teachers and parents were kept entertained by Bush Radio 89.5FM, with Lusanda Bill as the host of special broadcast.
David Millar- Principal at Norman Henshilwood being interviewed
David Millar, principal at NHHS, said they “thought it would be a great opportunity for the school and the community to come together at a school sports day to celebrate the opening of their new West Campus.
The WCED (Western Cape Education Department) decided to build the West Campus at NHHS because it is a school of excellence and has a good academic history”.
Fun and games on the field
The competition was between grade 8s up to grade 11s, and in order to have a team each class had to choose six pupils to represent their class and compete against the other grades. The game allowed each team six touches per side and whoever runs to the goal post without being touched scored a point.
Courtney Delaney, NHHS deputy chairperson of the Learner Representative Council (LRC) said: “Today we are building relationships with each other through the inter-class rugby competition.”
Celebrating a fun day
The chairperson was asked how she felt about being the head girl at NHHS; “It is exciting being the chairperson, I am feeling the pressure but I do get the support from the school because it is one of the best schools you can get and we are one big family,” said Shabnam Hoosen, chairperson of the LRC.
The Bushradio team who handled the OB
Shandre Otto, deputy principal at NHHS said: “Thank you to all teachers and pupils who put this event together, and said to Bush Radio 89.5FM. We hope to have more of Bush Radio at NHHS.”
Isherene Siebritz, Bush Radio Marketing volunteer said the event was a success and “the community came together to celebrate the beginning of the new school”.
Tomorrow, Saturday the 1st October from 9am to 6pm, Bush Radio 89.5FM is going to be shaking up the airwaves in Cape Town and the world (via audio streaming on www.bushradio.co.za) by bringing you a marathon show as part of its 2011 Pledge Drive to help the Mother of Community Radio in Africa stay on air.
You will be able to hear some of the best specialist music and talk show presenters on the station drum up support for the station and call in your pledges to 021 448 5450 or SMS your message to 32158.
Starting at 9am, we have the legend of afternoon talk and community issues inCape Town, Bassie Montewa getting you ready to open your mind and, hopefully, your pockets to pledge.
Then another legend of radio broadcasting in South Africa, Tom London hosts the 10 to 12 slot and will be assisted by our King of the Mix, Freedom “Flex Darkskin” Raphela.
Our intrepid newsteam member Lusanda Bill will be live from 12h00 – 13h00, bringing you some smooth and silky sounds.
Then we go jazzy and old school, the three musketeers of radio get a chance to cut through 89.5 FM – so don’t forget to join Roger Lewis, Calvin Peters and Dr Victor Davids from 13h00 – 16h00.
At 4pm we bring a special edition of The Wrong Rock Show with Botha Kruger who will be joined by The Breakfast Rush’s Sive Msolo. You’ll be the judge of how that unusual combination of House and Rock will go down…
Ending off the marathon pledge drive from 5pm will be the team from the Unhappy Hour, who promise to take you on a musical journey into the recesses of your soul “where your grass is blue”.
Visit http://bit.ly/r9OBIi for details on making a bank transfer to Bush Radio. Remember this pledge drive runs until the 3rd October 2011, but donations are ongoing.
Some more information on the presenters of the Bush Radio 89.5 FM Marathon Pledge Drive Show (Saturday, 1 October 2011, 9am to 6pm):
Bassie Montewa – Backchat
This is where you find out what the CapeFlats is thinking and feeling. Bassie’s emphasis is on township developments and events. Backchat includes local and international musicians & artists and other dynamic individuals and groups.
Tom London
Tom London has gained 17 years media industry experience working for SmartFM, CaniFM, Radio Bop, 94.7FM, SAB/Miller, Siemens, Vodacom and Talk Radio 702/ Cape Talk, mastering all facets of media and communication, including the production of corporate and web video products for large corporates. He is currently founder and Chief Executive Officer of the digital media company, MormorMedia. He is known by the public as the host of The Tom London Show which featured on talk radio and took radio markets by storm.
Freedom Raphela
We call him the King of the Mix and a genius of the studio Freedom hosts Bush Radio’s Everyday People where not only the latest R&B, Hip Hop, House and Kwaito is played but raw, undiscovered talent is exposed.
Lusanda Bill
The shortest member of the Bush Radio newsteam with the biggest mouth – always up on current events and producing excellent radio features – Lusanda is proof that news does not have to be dry or boring, especially when combined with the smooth tunes she spins.
Roger Lewis
Just call him Mr Sensual, Roger spins the best in classics. If you want to reminisce or be re-educated on the hits tune into Roger. Nobody caresses the airwaves with more sensuality.
Calvin Peters
The host of Flashback on 89.5FM – Flashback is a social movement for people who appreciate 70’s, 80’s and 90’s Disco, Soul, New Wave, Pop and Jazz-Funk. The music is strictly retro. Flashback is the only true old school experience
Dr Victor Davids
Victor D hosts Jazz on Bush, where smooth jazz lives. Dr Victor takes you a fantastic jazz journey, interviewing artists and playing only the best in international, local (especially that specialCape Townflavour) music
The Wrong Rock Show
Taking you on a journey beyond the limitations of the mainsteam, to a place where vintage rock ‘n roll can rub shoulders with anarchic post-rock.
The Unhappy Hour
Their mission is to guide you beyond your musical journeys and into the recesses of your souls to where your grass is blue. Need we say more?
Lusanda Bill: YHUUU sis what are you doing here? Pic courtesy of Aarni Kuppamakki
As part of our partnership with the German national broadcaster – Deutsche Welle, Bush Radio had the opportunity to connect one of it’s trainees with an experienced radio and multi-media producer for the South African part of a large international co-production on Fair Trade. From the 22nd August to 9 September 2011, newsroom trainee, Lusanda Bill was selected to join Aarni Kuppamakki from Deutsche Welle in exploring what Fair Trade means in South Africa.
The completed productions are being distributed to all community radio stations in South Africa and can be downloaded via the links at the end of this post.
We asked Lusanda to document her experiences:
Being selected by Bush Radio to be part of a co-production on Fair Trade between Deutsche Welle was a great honour. I must say I had no idea why management chose me. My guess is they probably wanted to get rid of me for three weeks. *wink*
Fair Trade was a word that I did not use in my daily vocabulary. So when I was told that the topic was Fair Trade, my confused face popped up. My initial definition of Fair Trade was “fair trading between countries”, well in the three weeks that I was doing the production I found out how totally off the mark I was.
Lusanda out in the field - Pic courtesy of Aarni Kuppamakki http://bit.ly/nc0Wk2
I had some fears of doing the production and many questions: Would I match up to the standard of an international production? Would I understand the topic fully and be able to interpret it for Bush Radio listeners? And would I cope with the travelling and editing that would be involved?
My partner for this co-production from Deutsche Welle was Aarni Kuppamakki and we had been in contact via emails, sharing our ideas about the production. My job before he came was to set up as many interviews as possible beforehand. When Aarni and I finally met it was off to work from the first day. It was great to work with someone with so much passion and experience.
The best part of the whole production was the travelling – I loved what we called our “road trips”. We travelled to Stellenbosch, Citrusdal, Franschoek and Simons Town. The best experience was when Aarni and I went shark cage diving. Now shark cage diving is not a normal activity for most black people in South Africa.
A funny story that had everybody in stitches, even at the Bush Radio office, is when I arrived at boat, one of the crew, who has worked on the boat for six years, took one look at me and said – in the loudest voice possible – “YHUUU sis what are you doing here, you are the first black person I have seen here in a long time!”.
But you are probably still asking yourself when I will share the meaning of Fair Trade? Briefly, Fair Trade is when a premium is placed on a commodity like wine, bananas, fruit, tea and coffee. In South Africa it’s mostly wine that is Fair Trade, so for a bottle of Fair Trade wine 50 to 60 cents of the total cost would be the premium.
Lusanda and Aarni present their final productions to Bush Radio MD, Brenda Leonard and Marco Schmitt of the German Consulate
On average a bottle of Fair Trade wine costs R39.99. The premium goes to a separate bank account and is managed by the Joint Body of elected worker representatives and farm management. The premium cannot be paid out in cash, so in most cases it is used to improve the lives of farmworkers.
Let me share some interesting facts about Fair Trade: The joint bodies of Fair Trade certified farms received a total of R10,4-million in Fair Trade premiums in 2010 and most of it was used on education. South Africa is the only country that has Fair Trade Tourism. Fair Trade farms are audited annually which normally costs between R15 000 to R20 000, depending on the size of the farm.
Overall the whole experience was amazing and a great learning curve. I am a better journalist and a happier one after conquering one of my fears, sharks.
To listen to the three features produced by Bush Radio and Deutsche Welle click below to download:
On the 18th of May 2011, South Africans took to the polls to put their mark in the fourth Local Government Elections. The race to the elections was an interesting one. Political parties pulled out all the stops to ensure that they received as many votes as possible, and the battle for the Western Cape was especially hotly contested.
With the help of these students, we brought you live reports from voting stations all over Cape Town. Together with our regular newsteam these students were our roaming reporters on the day as well as bringing reports and live programmes from the IEC results centre until the final results were announced.
Here the students share their experiences of being trained, working with, and reporting for Bush Radio with you:
“The 2011 local government elections were a nail-biting event, as it saw the leading party, the ANC and the official opposition the DA pulling out all stops to win the votes of the many registered South African voters. Being in the middle of this highly contested election was both a very nerve-wracking and very exciting experience for me. Reporting live for Bush Radio and speaking with both for time and regular was an experience that I will cherish for a very long time.”
Bhekimpilo Dungeni
“Working with Bush Radio is certainly great, but to get to cover the 2011 Local Government Elections and get to interview candidate councillors for different wards was an opportunity to die for. As a young and aspiring journalist, I had the opportunity to mingle with different political officials as they made their last minute rounds before the voting stations doors closed at 7pm on Election Day. It was a great experience being live on radio for the first time, although nervous at first, but it kept me on the edge and it became the drive for me to deliver the best of my ability. I am certainly looking forward to working with Bush Radio in future, and I thank the whole team at Bush Radio who went out of their way to make sure we were ready for the big day. Thank you to our CPUT colleagues and lecturer Mr Shepi Mati for believing in us.”
“When they told us we are going to be reporting live from our voting stations, I was nervous. I didn’t know how to feel, what to feel. When I started that morning it was cold but I made the most of it. As the time for my live cross approached, my heart was beating faster. But after that it went better. Despite me being nervous, I was excited at the time. I was going to vote for the very first time. That experience cannot be put into words. I sounded somewhat professional although I’m still a student. The Bush Radio team put a great deal of energy and faith into training us for this particular task and they are great for that. Not forgetting Mr. Mati for all his awesomeness.”
Thapelo Sodinga
“As a young journalist and a person who is studying journalism at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology, being on the field is the most important thing that I always wished would happen in my career. On the 18th may 2011, I can say my dream had come true. The experience that I had during the IEC local government elections was quite a phenomenal one. My experience of the day is really indescribable working with Bush Radio. And of course talking with the Congress of the People (COPE) candidate Mr Phinda Siyo on the day was such an exciting moment for me. Getting to know the process of those elections was also a wonderful experience for me. Lastly, thanks to Bush Radio who gave us such platform to showcase our skills.”
Lauren Petersen
“The Municipal elections are always very exciting but this year it was even more exciting. The reason for this is because I reported live for Bush Radio about the events happening in my area on that day. At first I was nervous because thousands of people will be listening to me, not to mention my family as well. I’m glad everything went smooth though, and according to plan. I enjoyed every moment of it, even standing in the cold and coming home with a headache it was all worth it. Thank you to the Bush Radio Team for giving me the opportunity to be a real journalist for a day.”
Dylan Oktober
“Covering the local government elections was an exceptional experience from the time I arrived at the voting station till the time the voting station closed. It was exciting reporting the happenings of the day as well as interviewing people from different walks of life. I must admit that reporting for the first time was nerve-wracking and required a lot of work as the day progressed but I was able to handle the pressure and deliver a product with which I am satisfied with. I feel privileged for being given the opportunity to report for Bush Radio and I am thankful for the staff’s support throughout the day.”
Baden Gillion
“The experience of working as a journalist reporting on the local elections has been one of the highlights of my life and the memories will always stay with me. The highlights for me were reporting for Bush on the voting process at my local voting stations, to co-hosting the live radio show, Backchat, interviewing Marius Fransman, the Chairperson of the ANC. The absolute best moment was breaking a news story about an investigation into an IEC official before any other media house. This has been an amazing life experience and I’d like to thank Bush Radio for giving me this opportunity.”
“Bush Radio has granted me one of the greatest experiences in my life. For the first time since I’ve started my studies I felt like a “real” journalist. My highlights include every second spent at the IEC Results Centre, where I interviewed various politicians, lined up various politicians alongside my fellow student journalists, including getting the Tony Ehrenreich interview for the coveted 7 o’clock spot, ahead of other media institutions. Also co-hosting Backchat along with my fellow student journalists was a nerve-wracking but ultimately awesome experience. I would like to express my gratitude towards Bush Radio for handing us this opportunity which has helped us to become better journalists. Also a special thanks to Lusanda, Khanyisa and Freedom for showing us the ropes first hand, you guys were awesome.”
“Every student has a particular inclination or plateau within their chosen field of study which they aspire to, something that makes them say “I could do that” or “that will be me in ten years”. Personally, one of these inclinations has always been radio journalism, so when the opportunity to work and gain real-life experience with the Bush Radio team was made available to me, saying that I was excited would probably be the understatement of the year. From the very start of our “working week” all of the students involved were made to feel welcome and part of the team, even though we had very important tasks to perform under the Bush Radio banner: Live coverage in residential areas of the 2011 IEC Municipal elections and coverage of all the happenings at the IEC results centre afterwards, which culminated in myself and three of my class-mates co-hosting Backchat. I would just like to thank the Bush Radio crew as a whole, because by the end of the week I was looking at people within the journalism profession whom I admire and saying: “I did that” and “that was me yesterday”.
For the past few weeks we have been getting nine first-year journalism students from the Cape Peninsula University of Technology ready to assist our newsroom trainees to ensure that we have on-the-ground coverage of the elections.
Our LGE2011 team will be bring you updates and live reports from Mitchells Plain to Khayelitsha, Kensington to Belhar and Wynberg through to Bellville. They will be filing reports from 7am through to after the polls close at 7pm.
Stay tuned for the newsteam’s wrap-up programme of the day’s events from 7 to 8pm.
We will also be based at the IEC Operations Centre until the final results are released, bringing you any alerts and results as they become available.
So tune into 89.5 FM or online and on your mobile.
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Bushradio 89.5 FM 