Radio

Scientific contribution to the early development of radio

South African researchers Alfred Jennings and Hendrik Johannes van der Bijl gained international recognition for their pioneering work in developing the technology leading to radio broadcasting.

Broadcast radio in South Africa

Amateur radio broadcasts

Their work was followed by the endeavours of the radio amateurs in Cape Town and on the Witewatersrand, who transmitted music and speech to othe amateurs in the early 20th century. Friends and family gathered around sets at night to listen to these "broadcasts". As a result, a variety of institutions began functioning as radio stations in the 1920's. The first were radio broadcasts by the South African Railways in 1923 and this was followed in 1924 (?*EC) /1927(?*PF) by broadcasts organised by the Johannesburg Scientific and Technical Club (known as JB) on 1 July, the Cape Peninsula [Publicity] Broadcasting Association (15 September) and the Durban Municipality (Durban Calling on 26 November).

Commercial broadcast radio begins

In 1927 I.W. Schlesinger obtained permission from the South African government to establish a commercial Organisation, the African Broadcasting Company (ABC). ABC offered a number of novel services, including time signals, reports on market prices, news, sports reports, weather forecasts, and advertisements. Music was also provided by a live studio orchestra. By 1928 an ABC Drama Company had also been formed and it broadcast its first production - the marriage will not take place (by Alfred Sutro) in the same year. This sparked off a tremendous interest in radio drama as a medium. ABC was active till 1936. *

Founding of the SABC

In the meanwhile a number of investigations and commissions had been studying the potential and regulation of radio broadcasting with the view of making recommendations to the government. In 1934 Sir John Reith (Director General of the BBC) was approached to advise the government on the future development of radio in South Africa. The advice was that the government found a public broadcaster for the country. This was done with the publication on 1 August 1936 of the Broadcasting Act (No 22). In terms of this act the ABC was taken over by the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC), which was to broadcast in English and Afrikaans on two separate services. The first broadcast in Afrikaans would only occur in 1937, while 1940 saw the first broadcast in an African language and 1950 the introduction of a commercial service (Springbok Radio?*). * The SABC was to be the public broadcaster (also of television) for the rest of the century and beyond, and by 1996 was in charge of 22 indigenous radio stations broadcasting in 11 languages, plus an external service (Radio RSA) broadcasting to Africa and Europe in 10 languages. In 1976 the SABC also began broadcasting television.

BBC programmes for South Africa

Depending on the range of the radio set used, BBC programmes from London could be heard in South Africa for 18 hours a day - ie, right round the clock except for the period 01:00 to 07:00 hours.

The General Overseas Service was audible from 07:00 TO 10:00 and from 15:00 TO 01:00 hours; the African service from 13:50 to 14:45 and 18:30 to 23:59 hours; and various European programmes from 13:30 to 16:30, 18:30 to 19:15, and almost continuously from 22 to 00:45 hours.

Nineteen minutes airtime for "42" Air School

No. 42 Air School (Port Elizabeth) had 19 minutes of broadcast time or to sell on BBC home wavelengths, to enable RAF personnel on the unit to send messages to their wives, parents and friends in the United Kingdom.

This is a direct result of negotiations originated by The Woodpecker unit magazine in August 1943.

On a census of station personnel, individual qualifications to broadcast were considered, and the names of three officers, 22 NCOs and airmen (and messages they were to broadcast) were submitted for approval before Christmas, 1943.

Although at the time of going to press, the messages had not yet been recorded, it was expected that this would take place at Grahamstown on January 28, 1944. The recorded messages were later re-broadcast.

That the BBC, London, requested "a special message program from the RAF, Port Elizabeth" to last 90 minutes was revealed in a letter from the SABC Controller of Programmes, Johannesburg.

An earlier letter from the Assistant Director of Publicity at the BBC, London, stressed the "entirely sympathetic" attitude of the Corporation towards broadcasts by service personnel.

"The BBC would like to be able to give time on the air to everybody who asks; unfortunately, the time that can be devoted to message programs in the Home Service is limited."

No. 42 Air School was therefore considered fortunate in obtaining a program for itself.

The School's broadcast was to be one of many from the Union.

During 1943, the BBC, in collaboration with the SABC, arranged two programmes of two-way conversations between airmen in South Africa and their wives and relatives in Great Britain, and two programmes for the men of all services in St Dunstan's, South Africa.

For an interesting item regarding the experiences of some South African Prisoners of War, see Radio in Prison Camps.

Commercial and Community radio

Besides the public broadcasting service, provision was gradually made for a number of commercial broadcasting stations. ***** *** as well as community radio and television stations * **** By the year 2000 there were more than 80 community service broadcasters in the country.

Regulation of broadcasting and the media

Besides the original Broadcasting Act of 1936, other important acts governing radio broadcasting in South Africa were the Radio Act no 3 of 1952, which regulated broadcasting signals and signal distribution; the South African Broadcasting Act No 73 of 1976, which also introduced television broadcasting; the Independent Broadcasting Authority Act of 1993, which provided for the regulation of broadcasting through the Independent Broadcasting Authority (IBA) and paved the way for independent community and other stations; and the Independent Media Commission Act No 148 of 1993, which was to institute the Broadcasting Complaints Commission of South Africa - a non-statutory regulatory body which judicates complaints against the electronic media in terms of a Code of Conduct. This idea resurfaced in 2010 when the government tried to introduce a new media law**

The terms: radio drama or radio play

Radio drama, also referred to as radio theatre or audio theatre, is a dramatized, purely acoustic performance using radio scripts (also referred to as radio dramas or radio plays. In Afrikaans: radio drama or hoorspel or Hoorspele in the plural). Sometimes referred to as a "blind medium" since it has no visual component, any radio drama depends on dialogue, music and sound effects to help the listener imagine the characters and story. Radio drama includes plays specifically written for radio, as well as dramatised versions of works of fiction, including stage plays, musicals, opera and films.

The term can also refer to dramatised works broadcast as single radio plays or as radio serial[1]s.

(EC , PF & TH)

Sources

The Woodpecker, January 1944.

See also the entry on South African Broadcasting Corporation

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radio_drama

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serial_(radio_and_television)

Eben Cruywagen 1993. The radio drama and the radio feature in South Africa : a comparative study. Unpublished master's thesis. Durban: University of Durban-Westville.

Eben Cruywagen 1999. Luister-leer: die opvoedkundige moontlikhede van die hoorspel in Suid-Afrika. Unpublished doctoral dissertataion. Stellenbosch: Universiteit van Stellenbsoch.

Margaret Elaine Logan. 2009. The Whiteness of South African English Radio Drama: A postcolonial study of the rise, decline and demise of a dramatic sub-genre. Unpublished M.A. Thesis, University of South Africa.

Eric Rosenthal 1974. You Have Been Listening. Cape Town: Purnell & Sons.

H.J. Schutte. 1984. Die Radiodrama: "blind" met klank en ideëryk. In: Charles Malan (ed.) Spel en Spieël. Besprekings van die Afrikaanse drama en teater. Johannesburg: Perskor: pp.165-176.

Jan Schutte, 1978. "Die radiodrama". In. J.H. Senekal, Beeld en bedryf, Pretoria: Van Schaik.

T. Ullyatt. 1995. Ideology and South African radio drama in English. In: Textures 9,19-31.

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