Jozi FM (formerly known as Soweto Buwa Radio) is a local radio station that started in 1995 as Soweto Community Radio. In 1999–2000, Soweto Community Radio and Buwa Radio merged to form Jozi FM, to form the largest community radio station in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

, broadcasting in several languages including:

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

isiZulu Zulu (), or isiZulu as an endonym, is a Southern Bantu language of the Nguni branch spoken in Southern Africa. It is the language of the Zulu people, with about 12 million native speakers, who primarily inhabit the province of KwaZulu-Natal of ...

Sesotho Sotho () or Sesotho () or Southern Sotho is a Southern Bantu language of the Sotho–Tswana ("S.30") group, spoken primarily by the Basotho in Lesotho, where it is the national and official language; South Africa (particularly the Free ...

, Sepedi,

Setswana Tswana, also known by its native name , and previously spelled Sechuana in English, is a Bantu language spoken in Southern Africa by about 8.2 million people. It belongs to the Bantu language family within the Sotho-Tswana branch of Zon ...

and

Xitsonga Tsonga () or Xitsonga ( ''Xitsonga'') as an endonym, is a Bantu language spoken by the Tsonga people of southern Africa. It is mutually intelligible with Tswa and Ronga and the name "Tsonga" is often used as a cover term for all three, als ...

. The station's radio format is 50 percent

music Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspect ...

and 50 percent discussion. The studios are based at Khaya Centre in Dube,

Soweto Soweto () is a township of the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality in Gauteng, South Africa, bordering the city's mining belt in the south. Its name is an English syllabic abbreviation for ''South Western Townships''. Formerly a s ...

and covers regions all across

Kagiso Kagiso is a township situated in Krugersdorp west of Johannesburg in Gauteng Province, South Africa. The word ''kagiso'' means peace in Tswana. Kagiso's administration comprises five wards, each headed by a councillor. History Kagiso was establis ...

Lenasia Lenasia, often called Lenz, is a suburb south of Soweto in the Gauteng province, South Africa, originally created to house Indians. It is part of the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality. Lenasia is approximately 35 kilometres sout ...

Krugersdorp Krugersdorp (Afrikaans for ''Kruger's Town'') is a mining city in the West Rand, Gauteng Province, South Africa founded in 1887 by Marthinus Pretorius. Following the discovery of gold on the Witwatersrand, a need arose for a major town in the west ...

Randfontein Randfontein is a gold mining town in the West Rand, Gauteng, South Africa, west of Johannesburg. With the Witwatersrand gold rush in full swing, mining financier JB Robinson bought the farm Randfontein and, in 1889, floated the Randfontein Est ...

, Kempton Park,

Germiston Germiston, also known as kwaDukathole, is a small city in the East Rand region of Gauteng, South Africa, administratively forming part of the City of Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality since the latter's establishment in 2000. It functions a ...

and Alberton. Jozi FM was first broadcast in 1999 and can claim a competitive audience of 564,000 (RAMS Nov 2009). Jozi FM is the first community radio station to be listed on the

DSTV Digital Satellite Television, commonly abbreviated to DStv, is a Sub-Saharan African direct broadcast satellite service owned by MultiChoice and based in Randburg, South Africa. Launched on 6 October 1995, the service provides multiple audio, ...

's audio bouquet. Jozi FM attributes its success to the relationship it has with its audience. The radio station is a voice for the surrounding communities and focuses on delivering on the demands of its listeners. The subject matters range from

education Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty. Va ...

information Information is an abstract concept that refers to that which has the power to inform. At the most fundamental level information pertains to the interpretation of that which may be sensed. Any natural process that is not completely random ...

and fun and

entertainment Entertainment is a form of activity that holds the attention and interest of an audience or gives pleasure and delight. It can be an idea or a task, but is more likely to be one of the activities or events that have developed over thousa ...

. Being a

community A community is a social unit (a group of living things) with commonality such as place, norms, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given geographical area (e.g. a country, village, tow ...

radio station is not only a geographical aspect but entails responsibility to the community in terms of

advertising Advertising is the practice and techniques employed to bring attention to a product or service. Advertising aims to put a product or service in the spotlight in hopes of drawing it attention from consumers. It is typically used to promote a ...

, sales and

marketing Marketing is the process of exploring, creating, and delivering value to meet the needs of a target market in terms of goods and services; potentially including selection of a target audience; selection of certain attributes or themes to emph ...

to grow local businesses using radio as a

medium Medium may refer to: Science and technology Aviation *Medium bomber, a class of war plane *Tecma Medium, a French hang glider design Communication * Media (communication), tools used to store and deliver information or data * Medium of ...

History

As a community radio station, Jozi fm was expected to fail from the on set. Many were skeptical about the lack and insufficiency of reliable equipment and the station battled to secure a loyal

listenership Audience measurement measures how many people are in an audience, usually in relation to radio listenership and television viewership, but also in relation to newspaper and magazine readership and, increasingly, web traffic on websites. Someti ...

. The station was involved in numerous scandals which included fired deejays and numerous changes of station managers. various deejays such as the late Fana Khaba, Penny Lebyane,Penny Lebyane
/ref> Zanele Magoso-Luhabe and Mapaseka Makoti launched their careers at the station, not to mention Phindi Gule, Patrick Guma, Khanyi Mkhonza, Vusi Langa, Hlengiwe Mabaso, Nyakalo Leine, Christ Matshaba, Owatile Jacobs, Siphiwe Mtshali, Papa Moalusi and Khumbuzile Thabethe. Roughly 80 percent of the deejays moved on to join bigger stations such as

Kaya FM Kaya FM 95.9 is a commercial radio station that broadcasts from Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa. History Kaya FM was launched in August 1997, and was one of the first frequencies to be approved for private commercial radio in South Africa. ...

Metro FM Metro FM is a national radio station in South Africa owned by the South African Broadcasting Corporation. The station broadcasts on FM Stereo as well as the DStv Bouquet Channel 801. Telephone : History The station started broadcasting in O ...

Motsweding FM Motsweding FM is an SABC radio station based in Mahikeng, South Africa, broadcasting mainly in Tswana language. Formerly known as Radio Tswana, the country-wide broadcast station evolved from a Bophuthatswana Broadcasting Corporation, which had ...

Lesedi FM Lesedi FM is a South African PBS radio network owned by the South African Broadcasting Corporation The South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) is the public broadcaster in South Africa, and provides 19 radio stations ( AM/ FM) as we ...

SAFM SAFM (official callsign: 5SSA) is a commercial FM radio station owned and operated by Southern Cross Austereo as part of the Hit Network. The station is broadcast to Adelaide, South Australia from studios in Franklin Street. History The stati ...

and

YFM YFM (99.2 FM) is a "Youth" radio station in Johannesburg, South Africa. Established in 1997, the station is formatted to mostly play urban music genres such as Kwaito, Hip Hop, and R&B along with a minority of its airtime being dedicated to ...

and East Coast Radio. Among the few that remained include Dudu Gama, Andrew Tshaka and Rich Twala. The station continued to be the main DJ provider for many radio stations in Gauteng, Free State and North West. Jozi FM was involved in a dispute regarding management and control of the radio station by various groups, which accounted for the skepticism surrounding management and board. The issue of contracts became a recurring one and programme managers were often accused of nepotism.

Target audience

Although Jozi FM is a community radio station, it broadcasts nationwide, allowing for a more diversified audience range. The radio station targets a working-class, multi-cultural and educated audience.

Line-up

* Late Night Affair * Youth Connection * Angels of The Morning * Morning Cruise * The Discussion With... * Imvelaphi * Ghetto Radio * Mid Morning Chat * Big Breakfast Show Line-up * Lungile Masondo * Zama Mncwango * Andrew Tshaka * Lucky Moeletsi * Refiloe Motsei * Fino * Aphelele * Mangethe *Iminam Tatiya

Listenership Figures

References

External links

* http://www.jozifm.co.za * https://web.archive.org/web/20110928222923/http://www.laurahird.com/newreview/khabzela.html * http://www.tvsa.co.za › Actors * http://www.sowetanlive.co.za/sowetan/archive/2008/01/02/jozi-fm_s-amazing-rise * https://web.archive.org/web/20101017045008/http://www.themediaconnection.co.za/JoziFM.htm * http://www.sowetanlive.co.za/sowetan/archive/.../jozi-fm_s-amazing-rise * https://voiceovers.mandy.com/view.php?uid=193598 * /www.saarf.co.za SAARF Website* /www.sentech.co.za Sentech Website {{coord missing, South Africa Radio stations in Johannesburg Community radio stations in South Africa