Can community radio survive?

Johannesburg - Sustainability is the biggest obstacle for community radio stations, which have been hard hit by the slashing of advertising budgets.

For this reason, the CEO of the National Community Radio Forum (NCRF) Franklin Huizies said there is a need to create provincial structures to offer advertisers more value for money.

Community stations are marginalised also on a national level by big media buyers and need to beef up their marketing capabilities.

"We have already begun in KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape and will be rolling out a collaborative approach where we have joint regional sales forces," said Huizies. "Rural stations are particularly vulnerable because they don't have good access to resources."

The NCRF also plans to hold talks with the advertising industry to establish codes of good practice.

The NCRF had a meeting with Minister of Communications Siphiwe Nyanda to discuss issues and find a way forward. The government itself has often been an obstacle, says Huizies.

"Where government is involved, activities are often not coordinated well. Sometimes functions are duplicated, wasting money." Stations also butt heads at times with Icasa, regulator for the communications sector, says Huizies. The minister promised to build stronger relationships with the sector.

The NCRF is aiming for more collaboration with other media and stations which are not members. Huizies said: "Of the 130 radio stations in the country, 105 are members. Some of them are also streaming their broadcasts online, or have ownership of newspapers, so we are operating in a multimedia environment."

- Fin24.com