The Immediacy of Radio in South Africa

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The Immediacy of Radio in South Africa

Postby Tape Splicer » Fri Dec 06, 2013 9:38 am

With the passing of Nelson Mandela news/talk radio in South Africa was immediately on that nation biggest story since they had free elections.
I was listening to 702 news/talk radio and found the coverage absorbing, the station was connecting with the people of South Africa.
Below is a link to 702 news/talk radio....
http://www.702.co.za/onair/player.asp
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Re: The Immediacy of Radio in South Africa

Postby Tape Splicer » Fri Dec 06, 2013 10:25 am

Here is the "twitter" page for 702 talk radio....
https://twitter.com/Radio702
and a brief history of the Jo'berg station....
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radio_702
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Re: The Immediacy of Radio in South Africa

Postby Toomas Losin » Fri Dec 06, 2013 6:07 pm

When I heard the news yesterday I didn't bother with local media. Thanks to the Internet I went directly to South African radio for news coverage. On 702 there's been continuous coverage for more than 24 hours. They even dropped commercials. Redi Tlhabi did a shift yesterday despite being on maternity leave. Good listening and celebration of Mr. Mandela's life.
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Re: The Immediacy of Radio in South Africa

Postby jon » Fri Dec 06, 2013 6:54 pm

But Toomas, wouldn't it be so much more fun if you could pick them up off-air on medium wave?

I must confess that there is some of the same thrill of listening to a streaming radio station as there was DX'ing, but it does not have the same "I may be the only one" feel to it as DX did, and even streaming did much more so in the '90s. I was always attracted by the feeling that I was listening to a local "product" aimed at a local audience, where the announcers never thought it likely that anyone outside their immediate area would be listening.
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Re: The Immediacy of Radio in South Africa

Postby Toomas Losin » Fri Dec 06, 2013 8:39 pm

jon wrote:But Toomas, wouldn't it be so much more fun if you could pick them up off-air on medium wave?

Indeed! When I've looked at the Azimuthal Equidistant map that I use for charting DX it hasn't escaped my notice that Cape Town and the western part of South Africa have an uninterrupted water path to North America. I sigh and dream a little bit more. :-)

I must confess that there is some of the same thrill of listening to a streaming radio station as there was DX'ing, but it does not have the same "I may be the only one" feel to it as DX did, and even streaming did much more so in the '90s. I was always attracted by the feeling that I was listening to a local "product" aimed at a local audience, where the announcers never thought it likely that anyone outside their immediate area would be listening.

Yes, I find there is a thrill to listening to a local foreign broadcast remotely over the net that is different than DX thrill. I've always wanted to listen to the content of a DX station but DX, almost by definition, never lasts long. So part of the thrill comes from actually being able to listen to the content and having clear audio the whole time. It's a better experience than when I used to listen to international shortwave.

I've been listening to 702's stream on and off for a couple of months now. That started when I realized that my only knowledge of South Africa was what I had picked up from news reports in the early 80's during the apartheid era. What has impressed me the most is the incredible multiculturalism as heard through the voices on the radio — station staff and callers. Think Canada is multicultural? Hah! From listening to the voices I've even learned the basics of how to make the click sounds that some languages have.

South Africa will be waking up soon as the night ends. The overnight show on 702 has given me the sense that things have "quieted down" since yesterday, as is to be expected. Other topics are starting to get airtime.
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Re: The Immediacy of Radio in South Africa

Postby Tape Splicer » Fri Dec 06, 2013 10:04 pm

It's nice to see this thread has had some response....
I am adding a link to "Cape Talk 567" as the content seams to be different to "Talk 702. The stations appear to be operated by the same company as the "Mandela splitters" are the same, and both stations use the 'Eyewitness News' name tag for their news casts.
Here are both links. (I know that I posted 702 above,)....
567 Cape Talk
http://www.capetalk.co.za/onair/tunein/tunein.asp
Talk Radio 702
http://www.702.co.za/onair/player.asp
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