Looking Beyond the Public Outcry: A critical investigation into the training and assessment system of media professionals at Safm.

By Sebolelo Taole (1997)
Published: No
Type of product: MA. Thesis
Copyright: Centre for Cultural and Media Studies, Faculty of Humanities University of Natal, Durban.

ABSTRACT

In March 1995, the radio station Safm was launched to cater for South African English speaking listeners of all races in line with the political transformations taking place in the country. Some time after the launch there was public outcry over the fluency and general professionalism of some of the new stations' presenters. As a result the station rapidly lost its audience. Stenhouse (I995) in her thesis, notes that the stations listenership dropped from 400 000 to 230 000 by September 1995.

This outcry brings to light questions of the qualifications, selection criteria and training of both the presenters and journalists working at the station. In view of all this, this paper will investigate the professional training of Safm media professionals, the part, if any, it played in the station's decline of listenership, and also the internal assessment system of the presenters and journalists.

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