The Role of Community Radio in Youth Empowerment: A Case Study of Bush Radio

The role of community radio in South Africa’s young democracy has received considerable scholarly attention (Bosch, 2014; Olorunnisola, , 2002; Tsarwe, 2014; Wabwire, 2013). However, what remains under-studied is the nexus between radio and youth empowerment, especially in underprivileged and underserved communities. This chapter seeks to fill that lacuna, with South Africa’s Western Cape province being the case study. In this investigation, we look at the Cape Flats to understand how community media programming promotes content geared towards youth empowerment. Bush Radio is deployed as the preferred case and, theoretically, we lean on Marc Zimmerman’s ( 2000) Empowerment Theory. Methodologically, we relied on semi-structured interviews with the staff and listeners of the station. We also used a purposive sampling technique to ascertain youth perceptions of Bush Radio’s youth-focused programmes. The study established that the station is regarded as a credible source of information and beneficial to young people focusing on entrepreneurship, financial literacy, education and employment creation. As part of reflections on 100 years of the medium in South Africa, the examination of this particular station, often dubbed the mother of community radio since it was the first such station to be established, in this context, the study argues that in that the station continues to be a conduit that connects youth with government and relevant organisations offering opportunities to uplift and improve their livelihoods.