Radio Production in the Digital Era: Lessons From South Africa

In recent years, radio broadcasting has been transformed from local to global, demonstrated through livestreaming capabilities which allow for audience engagement that cuts across geographical boundaries. The advent of digitalisation has led to delivery of content in new multimedia formats, incorporating podcasting and other internet-based modus operandi. Radio is thus facing massive competition from online-based platforms,and television and newspapers, which exist online. This chapter analyses how four South African radio stations have navigated the opportunities and challenges, adapted, and extended their reach in the digital age. By focusing on two commercial stations, 947 and Kaya FM, and two stations owned by the public broadcaster the South African Broadcasting Corporation, UKhozi FM and 5FM, we address the questions of how these radio stations are navigating convergence and digitisation within the radio industry. By drawing on social constructivism theory and adopting a radio content analysis of the stations’ digital platforms, we argue that their existence on various digital platforms shows that they have adapted to the digital era and take advantage of social networking sites to connect with their audiences more, expand their listenership base, and form local and global networks. These interconnections are thus impacting the content production, dissemination and consumption processes.