Thirty years after it began as a modest campus initiative, UCR FM in Mthatha is reaching more than 450 000 listeners and being hailed as one of the Eastern Cape’s most trusted community voices.
Deputy Minister in the Presidency Kenny Morolong led the tributes at the station’s 30th anniversary gala dinner in Mthatha on Friday, describing the broadcaster as an important platform for information, dialogue and local development, SAnews reported.
From campus project to provincial institution
UCR FM was established through the vision of the late Professor Tokollo Moleah, then Vice-Chancellor of the University of Transkei, who wanted a platform where the voices of people in the province could be heard.
“What began as a modest campus initiative soon grew beyond the boundaries of the university,” Morolong said, describing a station that has become part of daily life in homes, taxis, workplaces and villages across the province.
The station’s winning formula is a programming mix of 60 percent talk and 40 percent music, delivered in isiXhosa, English, Sesotho and isiZulu. That multilingual approach, Morolong said, is central to giving people access to information in languages they understand and trust.
A launchpad for talent and a partner in democracy
Over three decades, UCR FM has provided a platform for local artists, entrepreneurs, educators, faith-based organisations, traditional leaders, young people and community activists, and it has launched media careers, with former station figures such as Sizwe Kupelo going on to prominent roles in national media and the public sector.
Morolong linked the station’s milestone to the 30th anniversary of South Africa’s Constitution, noting that community radio gives practical expression to constitutional rights such as freedom of expression and access to information.
“In many ways, our community radio sector really is constitutional democracy at work,” he said.
Good news for the whole community media sector
The anniversary also brought welcome news for community broadcasters nationwide. Morolong reaffirmed government’s commitment to the sector, noting that the Media Development and Diversity Agency has supported hundreds of community media initiatives across radio, television and print with skills development, governance support and infrastructure upgrades.
He announced that the Government Communication and Information System is finalising a Media Buying Policy to give effect to the provision that 30 percent of government advertising expenditure should be allocated to community media, a move set to strengthen the financial sustainability of community radio, television and print outlets.
“We do not see community media as an optional extra to South Africa’s media landscape,” Morolong said, calling the sector a critical partner in deepening democracy and advancing development.
Photo: commons.wikimedia.org
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