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Community radio broadcaster.
Funding remains a huge challenge for community media in South Africa. This results in them being unable to meet the intended goal of informing, educating and entertaining their audiences.
This platform has been consistent in focusing on local issues, cultural diversity and the needs of under-presented communities.
One of the significant challenges facing the community media sector is securing consistent and adequate funding.
Chief Operating Officer for Mahikeng FM, Mystery Itumeleng, says community media outlets are under-funded.
“We are still in some ways underfunded and if not underfunded, we are still having to negotiate for fair trade and fair prices. I think even though community media does have the ability to give rate cuts for advertising to sustain ourselves, we still have to negotiate and sometimes at the back end with advertisers and those who have the bigger financial muscles,” says Itumeleng.
Itumeleng says running the community media has become unsustainble.
“We are struggling to pay rent. We are struggling to pay basic services like electricity. So, how can you employ a graduate? Imagine if we get funding from institutions like Media Development and Diversity Agency (MDDA), where they say we fund you and we employ five graduates per year and let’s say 50 community media houses employ five graduates per year, it means we will be employing 250 graduates per year and that means sustainability and we cannot fund without sustaining ourselves,” says Itumeleng.
