Thebe Mabanga
in your ear
The Internet is increasingly becoming an integral part of how stations pitch themselves to their target audiences.
A leisurely browse through the Net to check out various radio stations can spring up surprises ranging from rude to pleasant. You can be jolted into life by the antics of United States shock jock Howard Stern or check out the burgeoning campus radio sector, also in the US.
If you are lucky you might bump into the husky-voiced, former 5fm babe Cleone Cassidy, now enjoying love and limited sunlight in London.
South African radio stations have some way to go in their attempt to exploit the Web as an outlet to reach new listeners. A few have made bold strides, but the rest have only scratched the surface.
The most worrying failure is the stations’ inability to provide content, either by using in-house talent to churn out original content or by partnering with content providers to deliver sports, international news and highly specialised material.
Interestingly, radio DJs across the board do not mention what’s new on their website. I believe that updating websites is as important as the station ID. Stations like Safm (SAfm Online, www. safm.co.za) invest considerable effort in providing content. During the Olympics, they took us to the town of Valhalla, which was completely insulated from the sporting frenzy. Gerald de Kock brought us a lively diary to put the hype in its proper context.
Their recent acquisition of the services of sportswriter Luke Alfred can only serve to improve their service. Now if they can also rope in the talented Darrel Bristow Bovey to write for the site. He is a correspondent for Michelle Constant’s show. Radio 702 has a potentially impressive website 702 Online at www.702.co.za made more appealing by the use of a brightly coloured background. On the site you can check out excerpts of an interview you missed or obtain an important telephone number that was given out or preview your favourite shows. You can also as on radio websites meet the station’s personalities.
Given the calibre of the station’s presenters, I expected a bit more from their site. I would like to know what, say, Jenny Crwys-Williams is reading at the moment and why she thinks I should also read it. I also would not mind a well-written, carefully thought-out column by Jon Qwelane on the latest political developments. A site definitely worth checking out is 5fm’s at www.5fm.co.za. It is colourful and zany, reflective of the station’s energy. At the moment you can test your musical knowledge on Stardom, a somewhat difficult music trivia game.
If you are keen to know what the country’s youth get up to during school hours, spend some time on the Yfm website, Y-World at www.yfm.co.za. The young lions kick butt.
One site that is underused is that of Metro FM (www.metrofm.co.za). It is nothing more than a glossy billboard for the station DJs’ profiles.
Metro seems unconvinced that the black middle class who access the site from offices and tertiary institutions are worth a dedicated team of webmasters and writers. Well they are, for the simple reason that when Metro’s current profit boom goes bust it will, it always does say around 2004, the station will need new revenue spinners. By then the Web will be widely accessible and well positioned to roll in serious bucks.
One way in which Metro can boost content is to provide links to the websites of the artists they hero worship.
Another example was provided by sports anchor Morio Sanyane, who constantly told us how he had letters from Pirates fans after their team’s defeat by Moroka Swallows last week. It would be great to see these on the Web.