Mapping the Radio KC community

Abstract

South African community radio was established as one means of addressing the need for local participation in the public sphere. The model of community radio outlined in legislation does not, however, offer enough guidance for how such participation will be achieved on a day-to-day basis, and many geographically-based stations face serious problems in addressing their communities as cohesive entities. They need assistance in developing strategies that allow them to facilitate community participation through programme design, production techniques, and management style. This article deals with one such area: the steps staff need to take to better understand the communities they serve, in order to identify programming content that includes a wide range of stories and voices from within the community. This article focuses on the introduction of a set of specific community research tools to programming staff at Radio KC in Paarl in the Western Cape.