The impact Community and Small Commercial Media continue to have in our communities!
Writes Khoboso Lebenya and Ndyebo Kopo.
The recent piece by The Informer Media House reflecting on the role and impact of
community and small commercial media in our rural district deserves thoughtful
engagement. It is not a defence of community journalism under difficult conditions, but
a necessary reminder of why community and small commercial media matters,
especially in areas where access to information may be uneven, resources are limited,
and voices are often overlooked.
Not directly responding to the writer of the piece, but touching on various aspects of
the piece and generally speaking, there is definitely no doubt that community and small
commercial media continues to play an indispensable role in informing, educating, and
connecting citizens. In a district such as ours, print publications, without mentioning
each media house and together with community radio stations like Alfred Nzo
Community Radio and Inkonjane Community Radio are not just media platforms; they
are public service institutions, a district resource that we pride ourselves with.
Government Communication Policy which primarily serves as a guide for norms and
standards in government communication system in South Africa, underscores a critical
point, which is very important for a rural district such as ours. That being, in all our
endeavours in communicating and connecting with citizens, Development
Communication method should be at the centre of such endeavours. In the policy,
development communication method is defined as a method which is founded on the
principle that citizens/the community should participate actively in communication
activities that directly impact their lives. It further emphasises that the approach is
educational not instructional. It is therefore for this reasoning that community and
small commercial media become key for government communicators to collaborate
with in order to adequately achieve the ideals of the development communication
method.
The assertion and a thinking that government “has increasingly withdrawn its support”
towards the community and small commercial media is a misplaced assertion. The
Cabinet has adopted a National Communication Strategy Framework for 2025-2030
and in it, the use of community media to communicate with the majority of our people
in their local languages, especially in rural communities such as ours, is elevated and
greatly encouraged. This definitely cannot mean that government “undermines”
community and small commercial media.
Operating in rural contexts presents obvious challenges that cannot be ignored.
Financial sustainability, limited advertising markets, inadequate infrastructure, skills
shortages, are realities that community media practitioners face daily. Yet, despite
these constraints, many continue to show resilience, innovation, and commitment to
public interest journalism. That persistence alone is worth acknowledging.
Community and small commercial media, remains one of the most powerful tools for
communication in rural areas. Publishing stories in local languages, is also something
that is greatly commendable. Local print media continues to serve readers who may
not necessarily have reliable access to digital platforms, we cannot shy away from
traditional media especially as a rural district.
These publications document local history, highlight development challenges, and hold
institutions accountable at a grassroots level. Their role in preserving community
narratives and ensuring that rural stories are told from within cannot be overstated.
While it is important to commend this work, it is equally important to encourage
introspection and growth within the sector, and applaud those who continue uphold
journalism ethics, prioritising news over advertising and continue to cover human
interest stories despite the unique challenges they face. We encourage constructive
engagement and we believe it does not weaken editorial independence, it strengthens
democratic participation and avoiding misunderstandings in the process.
One of the most important challenges facing community and small commercial media
today is fragmentation. Too often, platforms operating within the same district see each
other as competitors rather than partners in a shared mission. This competition,
especially in an already resource-constrained environment, risk diluting impact and
weakening collective bargaining power. Not only this, the community and small
commercial media may miss an opportunity to collaborate, build capacity, and mobilise
resources as a unit rather than fragmented.
The call, therefore, is for unity rather than competition. Community and small
commercial media outlets serve the same people, confront similar obstacles, and
pursue the same fundamental goal which is an informed and empowered citizenry.
Collaboration in content sharing, training, advocacy, and even resource mobilisation
could significantly enhance sustainability and even reach. Some and many of our
publications here have expanded their reach outside the Alfred Nzo and even the
Eastern Cape, once more this is commendable.
Unity of purpose and complementing each other does not mean uniformity. Each
platform has its own identity, audience, and editorial focus. However, shared values of
public service, accountability, and community development should form the basis of
cooperation. Healthy debate is necessary, but destructive competition is not.
We encourage the community media colleagues to continue to be resilient during
these challenging times and also make a careful diagnosis of the environment they
operate in. An environment which is characterised by internal and external factors such
as internal capacity constraints, external socio-economic conditions, rapid
technological change and the need to adapt, news consumption patterns, etc.
The over reliance on government for their sustainability may have unintended
consequences. By over reliance, we mean, looking at government as the only source
of revenue and without looking at other viable options to achieve self-sustainability.
To put proper context on this, whilst there is clear evidence of consistent growth and
improvement in equitable share of budgets by government, especially to
municipalities, there is equally evidence of a growing demand of service delivery
needs, over the past decade. This therefore means, in as much there is commitment
and a clear need to support community and small commercial media, but competing
priorities are a factor and a reality we cannot ignore. This therefore may not be
construed to mean “withdrawal of support” by government.
The issue of self-sustenance of community and small commercial media is very key
and an important one. The Media Development and Diversity Agency (MDDA) has
identified this particular issue in its 2024 Community Media Sustainability Report and
Model as one of the strategies to provide adequate intervention in the sector. It is
therefore misguided to suggest government has neglected the growth and
sustainability of the community and small commercial media. Added to this, MDDA
over the past 20 years has supported a total of over 586 projects including 321
broadcast (radio and TV) and 185 print initiatives. These include some community
and small commercial media in our district or those serving our district. It is however
acknowledged that these efforts have been hum-strung by budgetary constraints
considering the demand out there. Indeed, more needs to be done.
We must be very prompt to state the fact that, pointing out the importance of self
sustenance of community and small commercial media is by no means suggesting
that government has no responsibility whatsoever to support the sector. We have
emphasised above the unwavering government commitment towards community and
small commercial media.
The piece published by The Informer Media house correctly highlights the impact
community media is making despite the odds. That impact should be acknowledged,
but it should also inspire a renewed commitment to excellence, ethical journalism, and
collective progress. Rural communities deserve media that informs without fear,
engages without exclusion, and collaborates without compromise, which many of our
community media houses do.
In recognising the strides already made by many of the outlets in the Alfred Nzo district
we should also look forward towards a more united, engaged, and impactful
community media landscape that truly reflects and serves the people.
The local stories published weekly and even daily not only are for publicity and growing
engagements on social media, but are touching and changing the lives of ordinary
people of our district. We applaud the efforts and dedication in telling local stories,
especially with the languages they better understand, even though there is still a gap
on other languages such as Sesotho and Afrikaans stories especially on print.
We say keep up the good work and your efforts in telling local stories is most
appreciated. We wish you all of you more growth and sustainability.
Disclaimer: This piece is written on our personal capacity as government
communicators in this space and could not ignore the published piece.
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