21 February is International Mother Language Day, an annual observance held to promote awareness of linguistic and cultural diversity and promote multilingualism.
“Languages are the most powerful instruments of preserving and developing our tangible and intangible heritage. All moves to promote the dissemination of mother tongues will serve not only to encourage linguistic diversity and multilingual education but also to develop fuller awareness of linguistic and cultural traditions throughout the world and to inspire solidarity based on understanding, tolerance and dialogue.”
13 February is World Radio Day. A day we celebrate the power of radio in our lives. This year UNESCO’s theme for the day is “Dialogue, Tolerance and Peace”.
We thought it appropriate that we ask our listeners, supporters, trainees and everyone who has used the medium to send us whatsapp video clips (because community radio moves with the times).
We received clips from listeners, Alternative Radio, BBC, activists, media professionals, editors and artists. The range of the responses we received clearly shows that Bush Radio lives up to this year’s theme of “Dialogue, Tolerance and Peace”. More than just being one of the most sort after training radio stations, it truly is building bridges between the various communities we serve.
The State of the Nation address is a busy time for Bush Radio. It is usually the first major news event that our trainees cover. Our coverage has evolved from simply doing radio to producing videos, live tweeting and photography. Watch the playlist below:
The following was written by Maryam Adhikarie on her blog about her experience as an intern. (Reposted with permission)
It has been months since I updated my blog and it feels really good to get back into the swing of things. Consequently, a few months ago I applied for my first ever real Journalistic job in media. I’d never ever thought any sort of job would change me as much as a person as working in the media industry.
Just finished my 1st year final assignments and rushed over to catch a ride to head over to an interview I never thought I would have gotten. With no prior experience to what an actual interview entails I sat sweating on the seat taking a look at the surroundings and tried not to look like this was my first time.
Think of any police, bad cop, good cop type of scenario where they interrogate the suspect. It felt and looked like that with the interviewer asking questions and the room with the glass windows. I was very unsure on how to behave and the teenager in me at the time could not stop fidgeting. It was a process that I felt took an eternity.
I got the golden phone call, and soon was in training alongside my newly wed colleagues. Thrown straight into editing as much sound as we possibly could. It was a painstaking process of editing sound that I assure you no intern liked, however, it would benefit us immensely later when it came to collecting sound.
From editing we were taken outside, which we appreciated. What we did outside was collect sound from people on the streets. A basic question on current affairs asked to as much as people as you can get on record, called a Vox Pops. This is where we learnt how to approach people properly to get there opinions on anything such as sex, sport, politics to circumcision.
I thoroughly enjoyed asking people out on the streets on there opinions about things. It showed me a different perspective on things and made me more knowledgeable about how people think, enforcing the fact that not everyone thinks the same. There are instances where I would not agree with what the person is saying, however, I would reiterate in my mind that it is not my job to disagree, my job is to get a balanced story.
A balanced story is not something I was well equipped for when I started. I had to learn what a balanced story entails. There was so much learning that had to be done, not that my first year of Journalism did not prepare me enough, it is that there is certain things you have to learn in the field when your are thrown into the deep end.
University in essence is a safety net, you can make mistakes, whereas in the media industry or more specifically radio, your name as well as the company is on the line and that is where the pressure comes from. You repeat a year or a module if you fail at University and that is really no ‘biggie’, but in the media industry if you do mess up you may not have a job the next day and no media company would want to hire you after that. Protect your name.
Radio, specifically, sounds pretty easy when you listen to it, however, think of radio as a piano keyboard, anyone can sit down and press down onto the keypads but how terrible will that sound to the ears. You need to know what you doing and it does takes loads of practice. This is called engineering.
Watching presenters engineer for themselves, playing jingles, playing sound and multitasking was an honor to watch. I laugh as I write this sentence because I soon had to engineer for myself and that was, personally, for me, the most difficult but the most rewarding when I knew how. I felt like a puppet controlling the air waves and controlling what you heard, it was and will probably always be the best.
In the couple of months that I was there, news was pouring out of every corner and it would be overwhelming at first. But, overtime you would get familiar with the influx and amount of work put in to bring out your best story. You would learn how to work alongside people. I learnt that you wont be an expert at first everything takes time, some more than others, have patience.
Other than hardship, stress and pushing yourself out of your comfort zone, you also get to meet fellow presidents, ministers and politicians. Particularly in radio, because of the type of radio station I worked at you get to meet loads of different types of people from chefs to singers and dj’s, you really get a nice blend.
Bush Radio has places available in its newsroom for volunteer recruits.
Read the following carefully!
*** This is NOT a call for DJs, music show presenters or newsreaders***
Are you:
Interested in developing news that matters to the Cape Flats?
Curious, adventurous, always looking for a story, willing to hunt down a source, energetic?
Able to speak, write and read in English & Afrikaans or Xhosa?
Willing to explore new frontiers in media?
Able to work hard in a challenging environment?
Would you like to learn how to:
Record sound, conduct interviews, compile bulletins, read bulletins, take pictures, record video, cover events and test your skills LIVE to a listening and online audience of over 375 000 people.
Develop what it means to be journalist in a changing news environment?
If your answer to the above is yes, then a volunteer news trainee position in the Bush Radio newsroom is for you. (Download application form)
Things to pay attention to:
You will be required full-time with shifts (06h00 – 14h00 and 10h00 –18h00) – 5 days a week, including weekend and public holiday shifts.
You must be available to start in January 2019.
You will not receive payment! This is a full-time trainee position at Africa’s leading community radio station.
Transport allowance of R500 per month for 3 months (probation), increased to R 1000 thereafter, non-negotiable for 9 months.
Students attending class should not apply.
Candidates must be computer literate.
Candidates must be Cape Town based.
Understand, write and read English and one other language (Afrikaans or Xhosa)
Shortlisted candidates will be put through a combination interview, written test (for computer skills, language, general knowledge) and a voice test at a specified date in December 2018.
How to submit your application:
Download and complete the CV Application, attach documentation (certificates etc)
In the the subject line write: (name) and (surname) – Newsroom trainee January 2019
Application deadline: 5 December 2018 (no late applications will be considered)
Bush Radio reserves the right not to make an appointment – Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted – No correspondence will be entered into. If you have been contacted within one week of the closing date you should consider your application unsuccessful.
Bush Radio is the oldest volunteer driven community radio station project in Africa
It seems that everyone is counting down the days to “Black Friday” sales.
According to the Reserve Bank, consumer debt currently stands at R1.7-trillion, with a study by the World Bank revealing that about 25 million South African adults owe money.
We would like to ask our listeners to avoid getting caught by sales gimmicks and false discounts. Remember to plan for the necessities for the months ahead like your rent, bond, food and transport.
If it is on sale and you buy it on credit, remember that interest and fees will push up the price. Therefore, cash is king for sale items.
Don’t spend what you don’t have this means do not live beyond your means and don’t buy if you haven’t budgeted;
Set a realistic budget of what you can afford to spend at the beginning of your Black Friday/Christmas shopping and stick to it;
Don’t shop in a hurry, without a plan and place everything on your credit/ store card;
Plan carefully and pay particular attention to your budget, especially bearing in mind the additional expenses that come with the new year;
Have a shopping list to avoid buying unnecessary items if you don’t need it now, chances are you may never need it. So a void wasting your time and hard earned money
If you want to begin the New Year in a financially sound position, be aware of how you spend your money during this period and save for the New Year;
Do a budget for the festive season which includes all debt, rent, electricity, water, insurance, transport, gifts, school uniform, stationery, entertainment etc;
Don’t blow your bonus on treats. Spend Wisely and rather pay off your debts;
Shop around for specials and compare prizes; Spend wisely tomorrow and during the festive season and enjoy a financially relaxed and peaceful new year.
Remember that if you choose to ignore your budget and break the bank on Black Friday or max out your credit cards for festive shopping you may be headed for a bleak 2019.
The media in South Africa commemorates the 41st anniversary of the infamous “Black Wednesday” which happened on the 19 October 1977, The World and Weekend World newspapers and several organisations were banned.
We have come a long way to media freedom in this country. Being Africa’s oldest community radio station project, which at one stage faced the full wrath of the apartheid government, we feel it is our duty and responsibility to promote accurate and fair reporting.
Bush Radio does not have the resources to be a “breaking news” station, but it is our duty to be accurate and give our listeners an opportunity to make up their own minds. This however can only happen if we present all sides of any argument, through good research and having access to role-players like politicians on a local, provincial and national level – this is proving harder and harder as officials simply refuse to comment or respond to questions from our newsroom and producers.
We call on all role-players who have an interest in improving the lives of the people on the Cape Flats to be accessible, especially to community media who truly speak and represent the people of Cape Town. It is only by engaging on the hard questions that we can truly claim to be improving the lives of citizens – and being a platform where people and audience can engage with political and social leaders. Thereby learning, healing and growing this wonderful city.
As a place where many young journalists start in their careers, we call upon our audience to hold us accountable and engage with us around our reporting and broadcasts.
Background on Black Wednesday:
On this day in 1977 in South Africa, then Minister of Justice Jimmy Kruger, banned The World and Weekend World newspapers by stating that these publications were “publishing inflammatory material that threatened the nation’s security” and the paper’s editor Percy Qoboza and other journalists were arrested and jailed.
19 organisations were also banned and apartheid critics were detained.
The organisations banned were BPC, SASO, Black Community Programmes, Black Parents Association, Black Women’s Federation, Border Youth Organisation, Eastern Province Youth Organisation, Medupe Writers Association, Natal Youth Organisation, National Youth Organisation, SASM, Soweto Students Representative Council, Soweto Teachers Action Committee, Transvaal Youth Organisation, Union of Black Journalists, Western Cape Youth Organisation, Zimele Trust Fund, Association for the Educational and Cultural Advancement of African People of South Africa.
Banning orders were also served on Beyers Naude and journalist Donald Woods.
Denver Toroxa Breda, First nation KHOE languages and cultural activist, artist, writer and poet shares he favorite… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…1 hour ago
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