Having entered its second decade of democracy South Africa needs, perhaps more than ever, an independent and robust media, mainstream and community, that can fulfil a range of functions. These include the capacity to:

• Report on policy and delivery at different levels of government
• Reflect on developments and trends in South African society
• Play a watchdog role, e.g. reporting fearlessly on corruption and mismanagement
• Explore the experiences and views of different communities
• Sustain itself

In its first 10 years the OSF-SA focused on community radio as a key new development in broadcasting to diversify and develop the culture of radio in South Africa. A decade later the sector has created a new strata of radio producers, presenters and technicians, many of whom are now employed in the mainstream media or related professions. It is also a mixed bag of successes and failures, but on a selective basis retains the potential to play a valuable role in community development, along with community print.

After the “alternative” grassroots press all but disappeared in the early 1990s, and while much attention was focused on the creation of a community radio sector, a small print sector has begun to take root in towns around the country.

The funding framework has also changed. Where the OSF-SA almost single-handedly nurtured the community radio sector in its early years, a statutory body, the Media Development and Diversity Agency was established two years ago, specifically to support the growth of the small print and community broadcast sectors.

Having reviewed its intervention that Foundation is now focused on the production of quality content, skills development and good governance rather than on equipment and other building blocks required by the sector in its early days.

In both community print and radio there are young, energetic and passionate reporters and producers who deserve support. They can make a valuable contribution to the strengthening of society through investigating and reflecting the concerns of “ordinary people”, holding local government accountable, disseminating information and promoting community coherence and social capital. Accordingly, the Media Programme will continue its work with this sector both at the level of programme content production and sound management, good governance and sustainability.

The importance of the mainstream media in promoting and developing an informed, democratic and open society requires the Foundation to engage with this sector too. Here the challenges include the loss of experienced journalists from many newsrooms around the country, political pressures put on the public broadcaster by political stakeholders, including government and other political parties, and a dearth of specialist reporters and editors.

In defining its strategy, the Media Programme draws a distinction between “media” and “communication services”. Media implies the production of news or information with a degree of contextualisation and interpretation. News media should test the veracity and relevance of information before distributing it by whatever means (TV, radio, print or internet). On the other hand communication services may simply relay messages from a particular source. An example of this is the Government Communication and Information Service (GCIS).

The Media Programme currently focuses on four areas:

• Production of quality content for an informed and vibrant society
• Good governance, sound management and innovation for sustainable community print and radio
• Promotion of media freedoms, access to information and advocacy
• Use of ICT to enhance the efficiency and efficacy of the media

For more information please contact Fortune Sibanda