January 30, 2006
By Tammy O'Reilly
VOICE of Wits (VOW) Campus Radio has had an on-again-off-again affair with the airwaves since 1982. But it is now officially on again – and if the commitment of the new staff is anything to go by, then this time it should last for at least the next three years.
The Wits University radio station began broadcasting again in September 2005 from the Matrix Student Centre, with a three-year licence from the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa, on the 90.5fm bandwidth.
It transmits across a 10km radius from East Campus in Braamfontein, which means it can be picked up in suburbs such as Braamfontein, Hillbrow, Randburg, Rosettenville, Bruma, Alexandra and Sandton.
With cheeky names like Oral Satisfaction, Human Traffic and Brunch Out, it's clear that the new blood had plenty fun deciding on names for the features on the programme line-up – but that's where they draw the line at fooling around.
The station's seven-year absence means extra work has to go into making its comeback known, as well as earning the loyalty of the listeners it attracts. And the new team plans on doing this by offering a product that appeals to everyone.
"We have done our research," head of programming Thembisa Mdoda says confidently. "Our listeners are our number one priority so we made sure that we found out exactly what appeals to them, not only in terms of music content, but social issues as well."
Leading from the results of this research, the team has put together a station that has programmes on education issues, life on campus, business and entrepreneurial matters, as well as student lifestyles. Since there is such diversity in music tastes, it offers a blend of R&B, house, kwaito, jazz, rock and pop.
News has not been neglected either, and news bulletins are compiled and presented by the university's journalism department. As part of its attempt to get as much involvement as possible from all students, VOW also offers membership to students from any faculty who want to gain experience in broadcasting.
VOW is now completely independent of the Student Representative Council and this, says Mduda, gives it the opportunity to raise issues and to include programming that previously would have been censored.
While it now has complete say over content, VOW is wary of incurring the wrath of any audience member or organisation. Religion has been found to be a contentious issue, and for this and other such topics a legal team has been appointed to assist and advise.
"We have to ensure that our content is sensitive to not only religious groups but also to age, sex and language groups," says Tremayne D Ward-Smith, head of publishing and media relations. "It's impossible for us to please everyone but we are also making sure that we don't anger anyone either."
The station is run entirely by students and broadcasts daily from 6am to midnight. Ward-Smith and DJ Zeal anchor the 6am to 9am slot, called Resurrection. Like most of the shows, theirs offers listeners lively music, news, information about events taking place on campus and a feature called Human Traffic, where students are placed at spots on campus to monitor and give feedback about the traffic.
"One of our most popular shows is Road Trip, from 2pm to 4pm," Mdoda says. "We have these two energetic girls – Zarcia and Dineo – whom the listeners just absolutely love."
The station's official launch takes place on 17 February, when the academic year has started and all 26 000 students are settled. Mdoda is tight-lipped about the event, but hints that the theme has got something to do with seasons.
"We just want our listeners to know that just like the seasons occur every year, VOW will be here, riding the airwaves through spring, summer, autumn and winter."
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