Cape Town – Community media have not only added to media diversity in the country, but have provided communities with a platform to hear themselves and listen to their own stories.
“In 1994 we saw the first community broadcast which was Bush Radio. Today there are more than 150 radio stations, five community television stations and a number of small commercial media newspapers and magazines published in indigenous languages, owned by various media owners and communities.
“The stations have actually become the heartbeat of the communities. Almost every district municipality has community and small commercial media in the form of community radio newspapers and/or magazines,” said Deputy Minister of Communications, Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams.
She was speaking during the Government Communication and Information System (GCIS) budget vote in Parliament on Tuesday.
The deputy Minister said while much had been achieved, such as the enabling regulatory environment created by ICASA; the reduction of tariffs for community broadcasting signal distribution by SENTECH and discounts provided by printers for community and small commercial newspapers and magazines, there was still a lot of work to be done.
She said radio stations did not give enough attention to news, education and information dissemination which is what community media was created for.
“ … we cannot be joyful that despite its consistent audience growth in the last five years, community broadcasting - both radio and TV - accounts for only 2% of the total advertising expenditure.
“Neither can we be content that 20 years into democracy, black participation in the South African print media industry stands at 14% and gender representation is still low. We are still experiencing challenges when it comes to the sustainability of community and small commercial media.”
The deputy minister said there was a need to ensure that the advertising cake was shared by all and distributed in a manner that supports media diversity.
She said the Department of Communications would address the issue with all relevant stakeholders.
“All these issues require our urgent attention because they are at the core of building this country. As the new Ministry of Communications, we therefore undertake to tackle them with great zeal and vigour as part of consolidating the democratic transformation of our country.”
She said community print media was still dominated by Vuk’uzenzele, Public Sector Manager, GovComms and MyDistrictTodayproduced by GCIS, as well as a broad range of publications by national, provincial and local departments and entities.
The deputy minister, meanwhile, added that the Media Development and Diversity Agency (MDDA) will support 21 community media projects to the tune of R23 million in the upcoming financial year and further support nine small commercial print media projects at a cost of R6 million.
It will further train 456 community and small commercial media practitioners in various skills. – SAnews.gov.za
