Radio and Social Media Convergence: Motsweding FM’s Use of WhatsApp and the African Language Digital Public Sphere

This chapter investigates the confluence of radio and social media, with a particular focus on Motsweding FM’s use of WhatsApp to develop the digital public sphere of indigenous African languages using the theoretical lens grounded in the concepts of convergence, diffusion of innovation, and the digital public sphere. The study adopted a qualitative approach which is interpretive in nature and data was collected through triangulating interviews, questionnaires, and observation. In contrast to the global technological wave supported by the Internet and the dominance of the English language in South African media and the digital space, this chapter shows how the convergence of radio and social media, in general, and the use of WhatsApp text and voice messaging functions, in particular, promote the expansion of the indigenous African language public sphere. This study is a contribution to the burgeoning scholarship on media convergence, especially radio broadcasting and social media convergence.