Campus Radio in the Digital Era: A Case Study of UNESWA FM

Abstract

This chapter examines and discusses the uptake and use of online and mobile digital media platforms by young people who operate UNESWA FM. It interrogates the potential that such platforms have, to open-up and democratise radio as an institution and extend spaces of audience interaction in the Kingdom of Eswatini. The Internet, social media, and mobile phones have recontextualised radio production and consumption. Their appropriation by private, public, and community radio is transforming radio, making it more accessible through webcasting, mobile streaming, blogging, podcasts, and social media platforms (Moyo, Telematics and Informatics 30(3):214–222, 2013; Moyo, Telematics and Informatics 30:211–213, 2013). These technologies have profoundly impacted radio’s institutional practices and cultures, especially the production and dissemination of content. The digital era does not mean the end of over-the-air radio but brings many new possibilities for the industry (Miller, Educational engagement: College radio, digital media, and organisational change, PhD thesis, 2017). The research utilises the concept of convergence and social determinism theory and content analysis of the campus radio station’s social media accounts and in-depth interviews with content producers. We argue that there is a convergence of traditional and digital media platforms in the station’s operation leading to the production of programmes that resonate with the lived experiences of their audiences, though challenges of the digital divide and little engagement persist.