The Community in community radio: A case study of XK FM, interrogating issues of community participation, governance, and control

Abstract

This article provides a critical analysis of XK FM as a community radio station for the !Xû and Khwe ethnic communities in Platfontein, South Africa. Various political undercurrents and factors are examined, including the refusal to accept the two groups as separate ethnic communities and the anomalous creation of XK FM as a community radio station under the auspices of the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC). The article concludes that XK FM is not a community radio station in the strict sense, but is an extension of the SABC in a decentralized version of the public broadcaster. Keywords: Community radio, Control, Ethnicity, Governance, Khwe, Ownership, Participation, SABC, XK FM, !Xû