A Century of South Africa’s Most Renowned Medium

That radio is Africa’s most popular and beloved medium is not contestable. It has become a friend of the people. This is evident if you look at the statistics regarding the number of people who listen to the radio. Recent research finds that 80% of South Africans listen to the radio weekly. Globally, the number of people who listen to the radio is equally high. A 2019 study stated that over 3 billion people listened to the radio weekly. Although another popular medium in the form of television threatened to unsettle radio with its popularity during its golden years, the theatre of the mind has held its own for decades, with all other forms becoming more complementary rather than antagonistic towards it. In the last decade, a further encroachment that has threatened to unseat radio has been the development of technology and online media platforms. Nonetheless, radio has quickly adapted, incorporating these technologies into production practices.