COMMUNITY radio broadcasting is battling to keep its head above water. The bulk of community radio stations operate at a loss, with sky-high debt; staff lack financial training; and infighting and power struggles further undercut the stations’ potential for growth.
This is according to a detailed industry review of community radio compiled by the monitoring and complaints department of the Independent Broadcasting Authority (IBA) for 1995 and 1996 and completed in April this year.
The document – not released for public scrutiny but leaked to the Mail & Guardian – states that community radio stations “have showed a marked improvement in their financial status compared to 1995”. Despite this, the review notes, some community radios’ financial reports show huge and non-market related, thus unrealistic, broadcasting or equipment rental fees, pushing some of the stations into debt.
Also, some community broadcasters have annual salary bills of between R680 000 and R810 000, which is way beyond their means. However, the report cautions that it is not clear whether these huge salaries result from a misinterpretation of the non-profit making requirement of community radio stations to mean that they cannot make a surplus.
Community radio stations are in dire need of skills and financial training, according to the document, and urgently need more investment. Lack of training in the community broadcasting sector “is the worst with regard to financial management as allegations of financial mismanagement by station managers and board members have characterised the 1996 broadcast year … Most allegations of financial mismanagement, without suggesting that finances have been misused or misappropriated, emanated from power struggles that also characterised the 1996 broadcast year.”
Furthermore the lack of financial management skills by a majority of community radio stations resulted in “proper accounting practices not being followed and thus financial records not being kept properly”, the review says. This could be a contributing factor to the many allegations of financial mismanagement last year.
While 83 licences have been issued to community broadcasters and more than 600 jobs have been created since the advent of community radio two years ago, the authority needs to step in if it wants the industry to prosper. The report argues that the apparent lack of investment in the broadcast activities of community radio, as indicated by the stations’ financial statements, is cause for “serious concern” and “steps to encourage investment must be adopted by the community broadcasting industry as well as by the IBA”.
While the introduction of the community broadcasting sector has brought with it over 60 boards of control and management and more than 2 000 volunteer positions, the sector has also “fostered a lack of accountability” by most community radios, which has led to diminishing levels of community involvement or the “development of personal empires by some people in the sector”.
Conflict situations are on the increase within community radio stations, often arising after the radio station has established itself in the community and has begun to attract substantial advertising. However, the report cautions that “this does not suggest a link between the perceived success of a radio station and the conflict, but rather that after a certain period – maybe as certain pressures abate – new ones come to the fore”.
The newness of the community radio sector as well as the lack of training and development schemes has meant that a huge gap exists in terms of expertise and experience.
“Occasionally certain members of community radio stations’ boards of control tend to see the radio stations as their properties instead of a community venture,” says the report, adding that this is partly due to board members having started up the radio station or invested capital in it.
“In these instances and others the boards’ intentions are to safeguard their investments, but these [board members] are usually people without any media or broadcast experience. They also tend to be the least creative or skilled in terms of media or radio.”
The sharing of frequencies by a number of radio stations has also contributed to the financial crisis of some radio stations, bringing them to the verge of closure.
While the report encourages the IBA to develop the sector by initiating developmental workshops as part of the authority’s “enabling” mandate, the monitoring and complaints department of the IBA stresses the need for financial training within all community radio stations.
The report also says that institutionalised training centres that focus on broadcasting principles, policies and practice should be mooted, or at least supported, by the authority and an independent, all-inclusive body should be set up whose functions should include:
* Conducting a comprehensive human resources or skills audit in the community broadcasting sector;
* Sourcing and raising funds for training and development in the broadcasting sector;
* Administration of the above-mentioned funds;
* Provision of training on areas such as management and financing of community radio stations; and
* Assistance to communities in establishing a community radio and assisting in securing funding.