Radio Pretoria

Last updated

PretoriaFM
Radio Pretoria logo.png
City Pretoria
Broadcast areaGauteng, North West, Limpopo, Mpumalanga, KwaZulu-Natal
Frequency 104.2 FM
Slogan "Hoop, glo, leef in Afrikaans" (English: "Hope, believe, live in Afrikaans")
Programming
Language(s)Afrikaans
Links
Website

PretoriaFM, formerly Radio Pretoria (1993-2015) is an Afrikaans community-based radio station in Pretoria, South Africa. It broadcasts 24 hours a day in stereo on 104.2 FM in the greater Pretoria area. Various other transmitters (with their own frequencies) in South Africa broadcast the station's content further afield, while the station is also available on Sentech's digital satellite platform. The station was founded during the twilight of apartheid, seven months before the 1994 elections. From the start, it identified itself as a radio station for the Boere-Afrikaner community. For a brief period, it broadcast illegally from a make-shift studio east of Pretoria, with armed right-wingers preventing attempts by the National Party government to shut it down. [1] Broadcasts were made possible with the help of disillusioned SABC employees who defected from the corporation's Afrikaans service. [2] Post-1994, Radio Pretoria struggled for years to secure a permanent broadcasting license from the ANC government. Although tolerated in the post-1994 dispensation, it attracted controversy for broadcasting programming widely viewed as apologetic of apartheid and generally dismissive of the idea of the New South Africa. [3] In 2015, civil rights group AfriForum gained control of the station and renamed it PretoriaFM. Since then, PretoriaFM adopted a more moderate political tone and started attracting a broader audience from Afrikaans speakers in the country's northern provinces.

Contents

History

Radio Pretoria years (1993-2015)

PretoriaFM was founded in 1993 as Radio Pretoria by the Afrikaner Kultuurbond (en: Afrikaner Cultural Union), led by Afrikaans reverend Mossie van den Berg. It was immediately controversial, as the South African government saw Radio Pretoria as a thinly disguised mouthpiece for the Conservative Party. [4] The station management obtained a one-day broadcasting license for 10 hours from the government on condition that the programming was aimed at promoting the Bible Society of South Africa's Bibliathon '94. Thus, on 18 September 1993, Radio Pretoria started broadcasting, after being officially opened by General Constant Viljoen, who later founded the Freedom Front Plus. [2]

When the government found out that Radio Pretoria did not comply with the above-mentioned conditions, the Minister of Home Affairs rejected its application for another temporary broadcasting license and, only three days after the first broadcast, the station was ordered closed down. However, broadcasting continued illegally. On 21 September 1993, a barbed wire fence was constructed around the studio premises, while right-wing supporters guarded the site with firearms to prevent the authorities from shutting down Radio Pretoria. [1]

Over the next few months, the station was in a constant battle with authorities over licensing issues, [3] while its staff continued broadcasting with or without permission. Occasionally, right-wing groups were still called upon over the airwaves to patrol the premises as the police threatened to disable the station's equipment. [5]

Along with a few other radio stations like Bush Radio (Cape Town), [6] Radio Pretoria took the lead in changing the South African radio broadcast landscape to stake a claim for community broadcasters. At the time, the state-controlled broadcaster, South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC), had a monopoly in broadcasting. [7]

However, the station also come under criticism from some corners for its racially-charged programming. [3] In instances where the names of provinces, cities and towns in South Africa were changed by the post-1994 government, presenters and newsreaders of Radio Pretoria consistently used the names of the former dispensation, for example, Oos-Transvaal (Eastern Transvaal) instead of Mpumalanga, Warmbad (Warmbaths) instead of Bela-Bela and Suidwes-Afrika (South West Africa) instead of Namibia. [3] During the years that Radio Pretoria only broadcast from 05:00 to 23:00 daily, each day's broadcasts commenced with a recording of a verse from Die Stem van Suid-Afrika, [3] followed by one of the two anthems adopted by the former Boer Republics, notably Kent gij dat volk. The same sequence repeated when the station closed each evening. From 1997, Radio Pretoria was closely aligned to Die Mediaklub, an association of conservative Afrikaner journalists and media professionals advocating for Afrikaner self-determination. [8] Two founding members of the Mediaklub, Henk van der Graaff and Annemarie Joubert, [8] presented Radio Pretoria's late-afternoon actuality programme. Joubert's daily sign-off was: "Die Vierkleur sal weer wapper." (The Vierkleur will be raised again.) During the early 2000s, Afrikaans pop singer Steve Hofmeyr occasionally joked about being "banned for life" from Radio Pretoria, although his increased political activism in later years made him a prominent champion for the station.

Rebranding to PretoriaFM

In May 2015 at the MTN Radio Awards, Radio Pretoria was crowned as the radio station with the most loyal listeners. [9] On 9 May 2015, it was reported that, following 17 months of negotiations between the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) and Radio Pretoria, ICASA agreed to issue new community radio licences to Radio Pretoria and eight other community radio stations who broadcast under the Radio Pretoria banner in the five northern provinces of South Africa, being Radio Drakensberg, Radio Dagbreek, Radio Magaliesberg, Radio Tafelkop, Radio Naboom, Radio Kransberg, Radio Ysterberg and Radio Wolkberg. [9]

On 20 July 2015, Radio Pretoria announced its renaming as PretoriaFM. The aforesaid eight community radio stations would also be broadcasting under the PretoriaFM brand. [10] On 6 March 2021, PretoriaFM introduced a new transmitter on the frequency 107.9FM, servicing Rustenburg, Brits, Marikana, Mooinooi, Kroondal, Broederstroom and parts of Hartbeespoort. [11]

The station's acting chief executive officer is Hennie Koortzen, who is also a sports presenter for SuperSport and kykNET on DStv.

Transmitters

PretoriaFM operates 14 transmitters in towns in Gauteng, Limpopo, Free State, Mpumalanga, North West and KwaZulu-Natal. On the farm Kleinfontein just east of Pretoria, there is a 100m mast transmitting on 104.2mhz.

Broadcast languages

Broadcast time

Coverage areas

Target audience

Format

Listenership figures

Estimated Listenership [13]
7 Day
Feb 201356 000
Dec 201248 000
Oct 201238 000
Aug 201251 000
Jun 201245 000

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References

  1. 1 2 "Regses span draad om Radio Pretoria-ateljee, uitsendings gaan voort". Beeld. 22 September 1993.
  2. 1 2 "Talle Afrikaanse omroepers wil Radio Pta help". Beeld (in Afrikaans). 20 September 1993.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Swarns, Rachel L. (7 October 2002). "In a New South Africa, an Old Tune Lingers". The New York Times. New York. Retrieved 6 June 2018.
  4. ↑ "Radiostasie behoort aan AKB en nie aan KP". Beeld (in Afrikaans). 10 September 1993.
  5. ↑ "Kommando moet sender beskerm". Beeld (in Afrikaans). 14 December 1993.
  6. ↑ "Bush Radio se stem nie stil". Beeld (in Afrikaans). 29 April 1993.
  7. ↑ "SAUK weer in die spervuur". Beeld (in Afrikaans). 12 May 1992.
  8. 1 2 "Keeping Afrikaner culture alive". Mail & Guardian. 7 March 1997.
  9. 1 2 "Radio Pretoria gets new licences". Bizcommunity. 9 May 2015.
  10. ↑ "Radio Pretoria hernoem en kry filiale". Netwerk24 (in Afrikaans). 21 July 2015.
  11. ↑ "PretoriaFM brei uit na dié gebiede". Netwerk24 (in Afrikaans). 21 July 2015.
  12. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 The Annual Guide to Radio in South Africa (AdVantage 2012). Media 24. 2012.
  13. ↑ SAARF RAMS (Presentations)

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