Bush Radio, the ‘mother’ of community radio, sends distress signal for donations to keep it on the airwaves

Bush Radio‘s original cassettes from Nelson Mandela’s speech on 11 February 1994 at Cape Town City Hall. The radio station hopes to eventually be able digitise its content. (Photo: Shelley Christians)

By Suné Payne

14 Jan 2024

Celebrated community radio station Bush Radio – an institution older than democratic South Africa itself – finds itself pleading with listeners for donations as it faces rising costs and a shrinking pool of advertisers.

“We’re calling on community members, listeners to support the station; businesses, NGOs, entrepreneurs, individuals to support the station, so that we can be successful in the future.” That is the message from Bush Radio station manager Brenda Leonard as the community radio station sends out a distress signal, asking for donations to keep it afloat.

The radio station is battling to keep up in a media climate that is struggling with dwindling revenue resources. It is also forced to compete for advertising with commercial stations.

The station has now started a pledge drive, asking for donations to keep this historic institution afloat. Its target for donations is R500,000.

A key independent voice in the anti-apartheid movement, Bush Radio was formally launched in 1992 and is based in Salt River, Cape Town.

The station is facing several challenges in addition to having to compete with large commercial radio stations and the public broadcaster for a shrinking advertising share.

Recently, a major advertising agency in the community radio sector announced its liquidation, while still owing several radio stations hundreds of thousands of rands. The radio station is also struggling to pay exorbitant rent to its landlord. Other challenges include ever-increasing payments to Sentech for signal distribution fees and paying fees to the Southern African Music Rights Organisation for the extensive promotion of local music. This has been an ongoing problem.

Read more in Daily Maverick: State agencies aren’t on our wavelength, say community radio stations

An array of photographs by George Hallett are displayed in Bush Radio's offices in Salt River. (Photo: Shelley Christians)

Bush Radio says the aim of the donation drive is not only to ensure the station’s sustainability, but also to raise money for other operations such as training, mentorship and the coaching of young people, who often do internships at the station.

Right now, Leonard said “the immediate need is to raise sufficient funds”.

Daily Maverick recently visited the station. There is a sign at reception that reads: “Building Democracy Brick by Brick”; it is surrounded by various images by famed photographer George Hallett.

Music is a key theme for the station with CDs crammed into its small library. The studio walls are covered with the signatures of musicians, artists and politicians, all squeezed together.

In a tiny office is the studio where the magic usually happens. The presenters are currently working from a production office, because a key piece of equipment broke and is taking more than three months to replace, hindering broadcasting from the full studio.

But despite these challenges, the radio station still receives a lot of support. Leonard told Daily Maverick. “I think to me personally, Bush Radio, 30 years into democracy, still represents one of the very few places in South Africa where people from all walks of life, education, social background, religious background, political background can engage on a human level to try and address some of the challenges we face as Cape Town.”

It also broadcasts shows and news in three languages: English, Afrikaans and isiXhosa, something the station prides itself on.

Leonard said the radio station was proud of the fact that whether it was being serious or having fun with topics, “it’s about getting people to engage and have a voice”.

At 10am daily, the station plays John Lennon’s Imagine – symbolising that another world is possible.

“But just forget it one day and people will tell you,” said Adrian Louw, the station’s programme integrator.

Plans for 2024

Bush Radio production studio Bush Radio producers (from left) Lydia Marwanqana and Mkuseli ‘Khusi’ Veto go live in the ’production studio‘ at Bush Radio‘s offices in Salt River. (Photo: Shelley Christians)

“It’s an exciting year,” said Louw, as not only will the country celebrate 30 years of democracy, but South Africans will also head to the polls in a general election.

Leonard said Bush Radio’s plans included documentaries and an oral history project that “that’s going to be aired hopefully soon”.

An anti-apartheid activist, Leonard said a project she wanted to take on was social cohesion. Thirty years into democracy, “we have a huge disconnect”, she said. While the country had achieved a lot, there were still instances of violence and racism.

“I believe that community radio can play a role in that social cohesion, getting people to understand that we’re not that different. We’re all the same; our skin colour, our hair, might be different, but we have the same issues that affect us and have that appreciation and respect for people’s cultures, for people from different religious backgrounds, different genders.

Leonard said Bush Radio was also planning a digitisation project once sustainability measures were in place. Some of its tapes include a recording of Nelson Mandela’s 1990 speech at the Cape Town City Hall after he was released from Victor Vester prison in Paarl.

Read more in Daily Maverick: From the archives: Nelson Mandela’s speech on 11 February, 1990

The state of community radio in South Africa

A recurring theme as Leonard spoke to Daily Maverick was the sustainability of community radio. The 2022 Census found 26.4 million people in South Africa still listen to the radio, which marked its 100th anniversary in South Africa in 2022.

Read more in Daily Maverick: While many South Africans might not own a wireless any more, radio is still central to our lives

Dr Sisanda Nkoala, an associate professor who teaches media studies in the Linguistics Department at the University of the Western Cape, told Daily Maverick: “Community radio is a pivotal pillar in South Africa’s three-tier radio landscape. Activists had to fight to ensure it was established shortly before we entered the democratic dispensation in the 1990s. They recognised that having come out of an era where media was a powerful tool of propaganda and oppression, there was a need for media platforms that would emanate from the grassroots and give an authentic voice to ordinary South Africans.

“Bush Radio was at the forefront of this, and it is no small matter that it is deemed the mother of community radio in our context.”

Nkoala told Daily Maverick that she was not sure there was much more that ordinary South Africans could do to support community radio “because they are providing the support needed by being engaged listeners and making contributions where they can. It is now up to the players with financial muscle to play their part”.

She added that if entities such as Bush Radio were facing demise, “a diverse and democratic media landscape may cease to exist, and that could undo a lot of the positive ground we have seen media make since democracy”.

Nkoala said: “The situation that has led to community stations like Bush Radio asking the public for donations speaks to a broken funding model when it comes to media in South Africa. There is no safety net for community stations; hence, they are forced to turn to their listeners. We cannot afford to lose our vibrant community station landscape, with Bush Radio being a key player in that”. DM

To donate to Bush Radio, find the link here.

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Plans for 2024

The state of community radio in South Africa