I sometimes feel as if I’ve gone through a time machine that I can longer escape in order to go back. It began at a time when radio, as they say, was the “original social media” to a time now where the medium itself has to reckon forces I don’t believe it was fully prepared for. Millennials and the older generation will remember a time when the 8 o’clock news on e.tv was the main source of news. Listening to morning radio, for example, was not only for entertainment but also allowed us to stay abreast with current affairs.
The radio personalities of the time were larger than life figures, part of a small and elite group of talented people privileged enough to be behind the mic. I could not start my day without listening to Gareth Cliff in the morning on 5FM and if I did, I felt I had missed out on what was going on in the world because even though we already had the internet as well as social media, our consumption habits at the time were vastly different.
TV or video never killed radio, because in many ways TV held a captured audience; you had to sit down and generally watch by appointment. But radio could be taken with you wherever you went, particularly during the day, and it was most effective during peak hour traffic when listeners were tuned in on their modes of transport.
Platform revolution
In other words, TV and radio complemented each other but I argue that in this current era, radio needs to substantially evolve its format and its approach to be part of multi-platform revolution.
We are now in the post-Covid, Gen Z-dominated and multi-platform communication era where consumption habits of users or listeners as well as the technology, have evolved so much that traditional media platforms like newspapers, magazines, radio and television have no alternative but to adapt or die.
During the Covid-19 pandemic, radio listening habits changed where day time programmes started to have higher listenership than the drive show during the week, for example. Kaya 959 experienced this phenomenon but their drive show is beginning to pick up once more with Glen Lewis at its helm. During the height of the pandemic, lockdowns created opportunities for audiences to listen to radio more during the day but they also introduced a way of interfacing with communication tools such as Microsoft Teams, Zoom as the primary form of doing business.
It created behavioural changes from audiences such as increased screen time. Social media was one of the key ways that individuals used to interact and, most importantly, share information. From my cursory observation, it appears that social media platforms break news quicker with regular development of events showcased in real time and are generally reliable.
The Gen Z impact
As a millennial, I look at Gen Z with a sense of wonder! Generally speaking, Gen-Z prefers to engage one another on a macro level in fluid as well as dynamic ways. Examples of this are how some Gen-Zs chase the thrill of ‘trending’ online, not necessarily for monetary value but for the chance to be a part of a temporary community that’s part of a larger discourse. This could be anything from using a trending sound on TikTok and taking part on a challenge.
Gen-Zs, in terms of my observation, prefer to be part of the communication eco-system, not as respondents to presenters’ prompts on air, but as a part of generating the content itself, and this goes beyond the old school ‘user-generated content’ – it’s about co-creation.
An example of co-creation is ‘going live’ on TikTok, and opening up opportunities for ‘requests’ and this maze of large echo chambers, ideas, thoughts, experiences etc. are exchanged freely in a way that radio’s live on air phone calls, audio messages etc. are yet to adequately compete with.
Around 2017 or so when I was a radio producer at Jacaranda FM, radio at the time found a way to use social media as a way to amplify content on air, recycle content and drive audiences back to listening live. In 2025 I am not sure if that would be enough.
How the talent rolls
702 seems to be on the right track, for example, morphing their talk format into video format in relation to vodcasts, but it seems they are doing so strategically such as Politricking with the late Tshidi Madia, which was absolutely brilliant, or feature interviews with Relebogile Mabotja.
Nicky B on Kaya 959 is also doing an excellent job in synthesising social media in her on air execution but when it comes to Nicky, she is singular in many ways because she has built a long-standing listenership community who will follow her wherever she goes, including online.
Anele & the Club on 947 augment their content and do what most radio stations are doing, which is bring a visual side to traditional radio but I believe they do it best at this stage, especially in the short on air moment bits which they curate and share online.
However, I am not sure it this will be enough for radio in particular to weather this new multi-platform storm. With at least three or so social media apps on individual’s smartphones, the options have become harder to fight for a share of voice, so to speak.
Consumer-driven agenda
Listeners are now more prone to consuming content as and when they would like to consume it. For example, with the proliferation of Spotify, and Bluetooth-fitted cars, some listeners may opt to hear their favourite music rather than listen to a radio station that will only play SOME of their favourite music unless, of course, their content is compelling enough to make the switch.
Advertising spend is also moving substantially towards digital spend. I have witnessed this firsthand in my current agency role in through-the line planning etc. and there are many reasons for this. I have written an opinion piece before that radio as a medium can sometimes feel too expensive, not always yielding the conversions sought, and rigid in its application.
Sure in an integrated campaign, radio’s unmatched reach will enhance a campaign, but the options to do more are more prevalent in digital spaces. Herein lies my argument – traditional radio as we know it needs to be amended from ICASA (Independent Communications Authority of South Africa), audience research, and ultimately programming approach – at least for those who compete with audiences lost to podcasters.
Rigid clocks may not be in radio’s favour. Indeed, audiences can use radio as a time check mechanism, expect certain things at certain times but more flexibility may be required. Listeners have evolved and are moving on a journey. Finding ways not just to reach them at different touch points but to have them involved as well as engaged from listening in the car to watching later in the evening, for example.
Fresh approach to content execution
This should include fresh approaches to content execution. I wasn’t always that great in statistics during my varsity studies, but we might also need to deeply analyse how we mine data for listenership figures or RAMS and how we aggregate it, particularly in this new multichannel era.
Radio stations have always been brands but now they truly are but one source of entertainment and their presenters have to compete with highly influential influencers with a large followings, sometimes larger than the on air talent. Missing out of these organic social media spaces can create the perception that the medium, as well as its content, is out of touch.
Speaking about what is trending on the radio show as opposed to being part of the discussion is what makes the difference, and the key here is the involvement of users or listeners in a way in which they can also own the direction of the narrative.
There are many rural parts of South Africa where radio is still the leading form of media consumption and listeners who still tune in daily. I understand that. I argue that in some spaces, augmenting content while keeping the same rigid clock might not be the best way forward.
Kabelo Mekoa is a dynamic marketing creative with a radio programming and television content background. He has over 15 years of experience in the media sector, largely as a producer and programme manager. He holds an Advanced Radio Certificate from Wits University. He holds an Honours BA degree in Philosophy, Politics and Economics from the University of Pretoria. He is currently the development and creative associate at Media Beat – a boutique marketing agency based in Cape Town and Johannesburg, which specializes in integrated marketing campaigns in relation to radio, Television and digital channels, as well as a host of other offerings.
