With the ever growing disenfranchisement of musicians and artist in the in ability of government entities to enforce stricter and favourable music quota which aim to increase the consumption of local music by increasing the current music quota as it stands from 25 percent to at least 60 percent for commercial radio, with more and more musicians calling for an increase in the current quota. In an open letter to the then Minister of Arts and Culture, Mr Pallo Jordan from the South African Music Quota Committee (SAMQC) (Oct 2007) they voiced their concerns: “The SA content quota of 25 percent for commercial radio is not only too low, it is also often meaningless, because The Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) allows stations to include gig guides, interviews and promotions as part of their local quota. You state, and we agree, that “cultural industries are serious business”. The structures protecting the national interest in iron, minerals, fishing, sport and many other areas are strongly enforced and defended here in South Africa. Why not our music?” More initiatives such as the “Play Local of Die” campaign whose aim is to urge commercial broadcasters to increase their local content with regards to commercial radios stations playlist was launched by South African Hip Hop artist commonly known as JR (Real Name: JR Bogopa) to further exhibit the South African musicians plight in how pivotal it is to their careers and overall financial well-being that the current quota be raised significantly. The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of local content quota on domestic radio broadcasters in South Africa. The population for this study included 100 radio station which broadcast in the republic of South Africa. The response rate for the e-mail questionnaire was 100 percent of the 100 respondents. A Likert-type scale instrument consisted of 39 questions divided into two sections: Section one looked at the demographic profile of the respondents and section two focused on getting responses on the factors impacting local content quotaand domestic broadcasters, namely local content quota, implications for domestic broadcasters, revenue streams, impact on local musicians, governments role in local content quota, success factors, globalisation and piracy. In order to realise the purpose of this study, the following research design was used: Step 1 A literature review was conducted to determine the various factors impacting local artists, local broadcasters and local content quota. Step 2 A questionnaire was composed according to the principles and guidelines in steps 1. Step 3 Empirical data was obtained with the aid of an e-mail survey. Step 4 The results of the data were analysed and interpreted. Step 5 The empirical results were integrated with Step 3. Step 6 Conclusions and recommendations were completed. The main findings from the study were: The study revealed that the radio industry is not unanimous in the call from artists for government to increase the local content quota and thus prefer that the current status quo continue. That local content quota are not the only way to curb the South African music industry‟s woes, artists should seek to maximise their revenue by exploiting the infinite avenues for revenue that globalisation avails.

A Dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Arts, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts. / Community broadcasting in South Africa has been identified as an ideal medium for the facilitation of participatory communiry development. The objectives of community ownership and participation in community broadcasting are perceived as the basis for the empowerment of people who were oppressed by apartheid. The establishment of the Independent Broadcasting Authority (lBA) in 1994 has provided the framework for the development of a community broadcasting sector. However, the interpretation of the IRA Act, and the general policy which is adopted towards community broadcasting will determine the longterm sustainabilitv of the sector in South Africa. It will also determine the extent to which community broadcasting achieves the ideals of local development and empowerment. This dissertation addresses both the objectives for the use of community broadcasting in development, and the policies which are required for the development of the community broadcasting sector. / Andrew Chakane 2018

This dissertation attempts to outline general problems regarding the appropriateness of the concept of public service broadcasting in the late 1990s, a direct result of the liberalisation of the global broadcasting environment. The work is an assessment of the SABC's fulfilment of its public service mandate, the general hypothesis being that the SABC has failed to fulfill its public service mandate due to its inability to remain financially stable and politically independent from the government of the day. The research examined feelings and opinions regarding the concept of public service broadcasting within the SABC in order to discover whether current changes in the broadcasting environment have influenced the SABC's fulfilment of its public service mandate. The assumption is that if the concept of public service broadcasting is shifting, commitment to the principles underlying public broadcasting will shift and therefore public broadcasters are no longer working along traditional lines. The research concludes that the SABC is facing many of the same problems that public broadcasters the world over have faced during the 1990s: the lack of stable funding, the withdrawal of financial support from the government in the face of increasing competition from other broadcasters and the resulting move towards a more business-like, strategic approach are all traits identified amongst public broadcasters the world over. This does not mean to say that the SABC's situation is not unique in some senses, for example it has been far more sUbject to political trajectory than many other public broadcasters due to its past status as a state broadcaster and its operation in a strongly political environment. The SABC also faces large-scale criticism from the South African press, which has proved to be an obstacle for the SABC with regard to its ability to move beyond its past. The fact that challenges facing the SABC are not new suggests that the changing environment is not catering for public service broadcasting and therefore its principle of a distancing from vested interests needs to be rethought. / Thesis (M.Soc.Sc.) - University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2000.

A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Arts in fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of Communication Science at the University Of Zululand, South Africa, 2017 / This study examines the function and purpose of public television broadcasters across two countries (South Africa and Nigeria) in order to highlight best practices in public broadcasting for the benefit of the public (who ought to be the target audience). The original idea of public broadcasting was aimed at informing the public about the truth without commercial or political provocation and influence. This study examines whether society has come to accept inappropriate broadcasting practices because of prolonged exposure to these practices. When incorrect behaviour is practised continually over a prolonged period, it becomes accepted as normal in society and this is referred to as normalcy. In this regard, the study was further aimed at investigating and comparing the attitude of viewers towards commercial advertising interruptions during public television viewing time. Literature review within this study also focused on factors which influence viewer rating of public television in Nigeria and South African which ought to be informative and educational while providing suitable entertainment. This study employed a survey method and was conducted among the inhabitants of Durban in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa and Ibadan, South-West, Nigeria. The study was interesting in that viewers’ attitudes across the two countries differed significantly. Generally, South African TV viewers were more accommodating with regards to accepting commercial interruptions during viewing time. On the other hand, Nigerian TV viewers felt that commercial interruptions are disturbances and must not be included in the programmes of public television. The study confirmed that the motives of viewing public TV and behaviour of viewers during the commercial interruptions on the programmes of public TV stations have greatly influenced the attitudes of viewers towards commercial interruptions. Finally, the study offers recommendations guidelines in areas that need more attention based on findings of the study. The study also indicates the limitations of the investigation and provides suggestions for future research.

A dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Humanities, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy / The thesis critically analyses the potential of digital technologies – in particular, digital terrestrial television – to enable substantive diversity of programming in a public service broadcaster, the South African Broadcasting Corporation. The thesis deploys critical political economy of the media approaches. These approaches argue for a social constructivist approach to technology and not a celebratory determinist approach, which confuses the potential of technology with what actually happens in ‘real world’, contested policy contexts. The research uses qualitative methodologies, specifically thematic analyses of policy texts and in-depth interviews with policy actors and informants. Ultimately, the thesis finds that the changing political context in South Africa, which has moved away from participatory policy making processes, has resulted in missed opportunities to harness the digital potential to diversify programming. The thesis finds that with the government’s deployment of more authoritarian ‘statist’ and market-orientated policies, the policy space has narrowed, ultimately limiting the possibilities for the delivery of substantive diversity of content and programming. Finally, the thesis finds that to begin to reverse these trends in the digital, multi-channel environment, the government needs to (re)commit to consultative policy making processes and to regulation and public funding in the public interest. / XL2018

A research report submitted to the Faculty of Humanities, of the University of Witwatersrand, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts in ICT Policy and Regulation October 2016 / In the current era of the digital television (TV) broadcasting dispensation, the relevance of the Public Service Broadcasting (PSB) mandate in South Africa remains critical, to inform and build democracy in the public interest. Recent debates with regard to the relevance and retention of PSB in the digital era seem to suggest that there are divergent views in this regard. These debates gave rise to this study. The study aimed to assess and reconfigure the role of the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) in carrying the public broadcasting mandate in the digital era. Furthermore, the study explored how the PSB remit can be repositioned to meet the needs of South African citizens in the 21st century. In addition, this study investigated the evolution of public service broadcasting policy and the role played by the Department of Communications (DoC), the policy maker in informing policy. The study seeks to ascertain whether the policy direction provided by the DoC is in actual fact in sync with the developments taking place in the TV broadcasting sector. This research followed a qualitative research approach, by exploring the relevance of PSB in the digital era and also by examining South Africa’s 3-tier broadcasting system, with a particular focus on the SABC. The research analysed the SABC (PSBs), MultiChoice (pay-TV licensee), e.tv (Free-to-Air commercial licensee) and Association of Community Television in South Africa (ACT-South Africa), a body representing Community TV licensees, in their attempts to discharge the PSB remit in the digital era. The qualitative paradigm aided in the process of describing and understanding the research topic. The main findings of this study revealed that the PSB mandate still has relevance in the digital era, however weak this may be. The multi-channel and the competitive TV broadcasting landscape will deplete the commercial advertising market share, on which the SABC heavily relies for revenue income. Secondly, the SABC’s mandate can never be upheld unless appropriate funding is secured by government. Lastly, the findings reveal that the DoC has regressed in providing policy and prescriptions and that there is thus a policy vacuum in the implementation of the PSB mandate. / MT2017

No abstract available. / Thesis (M.Mus.)-University of Natal, Durban, 1999.

The purpose of this treatise is a development of a suitable model for a community radio station which would lead to operational effectiveness and ensure sustainability. The treatise has three phases namely a theoretical phase, a narration phase and an integration phase. Firstly, in the theoretical phase the research study investigates what the literature review reveals about community radio stations and business models. This treatise argues that a total dependency of community radio stations on donor funding leads to operational ineffectiveness which threatens their sustainability. The treatise also argues that a business model could be adapted for a community radio station by identifying the business issues which the literature review revealed, and use these to deconstruct a theoretical business model. Secondly, in the narrative phase the research study investigates the important business issues for a selected community radio station. The treatise argues the board and management of this selected community radio station revealed additional business issues of operations and gave different ratings to business issues which are important in their operations. Thirdly, in the integration phase, the theoretical model deconstructed in the theoretical phase, was revised by including additional business issues of operations revealed in the narrative phase. The research study concludes that this revised model is a suitable business model for a community radio station and can lead to operational effectiveness and ensure sustainability.

M.Tech. (Computer Science) / The Signal Distribution department of the SABC does planning regarding the signal distribution or broadcasting network of the SABC. In order to do effective planning a tool had to be developed to assist in the planning of the broadcasting network. The Rand Afrikaans University was asked to supply a student to analyze the problems surrounding the development of such a tool and supply the SABC with a solution to the problems. The problems surrounding the development of a broadcast network planning model were the availability and accuracy of the information needed for planning. The data needed was spread throughout the country with only manual means to transport the data. The solution to the problem would be to develop a system to cope with the decentralized database and to gather the data in order to supply valuable planning information. To provide a framework for the solution of the planning problem, a broadcasting network was compared with a computer network. The comparison revealed a number of parallels between a broadcasting and a computer network. As a result of the resemblance between the two types of networks, a foundation for the development of a planning model for a broadcasting network could be identified. The ISO IS OSI approach was used as a foundation for the development of the model. The principles of the seven layers along with the three network management models The broadcasting network model was developed using the principles of the OSI approach, object orientation, geographical information systems and graphical user interfaces. A "package" was defined to assist in the logical data flow of the model. The package contains the specific data used in a calculation. A package containing information can be split or combined according to strict rules. The effective management of the package is a central issue in the development of the planning model. A prototype system was developed on PC-Arc/Info, a PC based GIS. The prototype's aim was to prove that the principles used in the model could be implemented successfully. As the developed system was intended to serve as a prototype, it did not implement the full functionality of the model, but only the functions necessary to prove the viability of the model.

Radio broadcasting is usually classified as either a public broadcasting service or as being commercially driven. In the South African context, the concept of community radio has further complicated the definition of a public broadcasting service. While profit motivation and niche marketing characterize a radio driven by commercial means, community radio is predominantly non-profit oriented, directed towards a particular community. A public broadcasting service is, amongst other elements, typified as being geographically accessible to all and of paying particular attention to minority groups. Lotus FM, a radio station that came into existence on 16 January 1983, for the South African Indian community, describes itself as a "national public service-cum-commercial broadcaster with community responsibility". The South African Indian community, a minority group within the broader South African population, comprises of five language groups (Hindi, Gujarati, Urdu, Tamil and Telegu) and three religious groupings (Hinduism, Islam and Christianity). This research aims to explore the feasibility with which Lotus FM is accommodating the conflicting interests of being a melange of all three forms of broadcasting and reflecting it via its programmes. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of Natal, Durban, 2001.