Department of English, Media Studies and Linguistics
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Browsing Department of English, Media Studies and Linguistics by Author "Chari, T. J."
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Item Embargo Adoption of Social Media in Community Radio Content Production and Programming in South Africa: A case of MakhadoFM(2026-05-19) Mundalamo, Ndwakhulu; Chari, T. J.Social media has fundamentally transformed the community broadcasting landscape globally, South Africa included. Social media platforms such as Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), and WhatsApp are increasingly integrated into the daily operations of community radio stations, reshaping how news is gathered, produced, and distributed. These platforms facilitate participatory communication, allowing audiences to contribute insights, opinions, and feedback, and enabling stations to promote their programmes and personalities to a broader and more engaged audiences (Bulani et al., 2023). Community radio stations can leverage on the technological affordances of social media for audience building, branding, accessing expert content, and real-time listener engagement. Technical attributes of social media such as interactivity, network building, and information sharing-support the participatory ethos central to community broadcasting. Despite these benefits, the process of adopting social media in community radio has been uneven and often unstructured. Many stations lack formal guidelines or designated personnel to manage digital integration, resulting in underutilisation of social media’s full potential. This can create a disconnect between on-air listenership and online engagement and restricts the ability of stations to expand their reach and impact (Bosch, 2014). While there is a growing body of research on the adoption of social media in mainstream media, there remains a significant gap in scholarship specifically focused on community radio’s integration of these platforms in South Africa (Bulani et al., 2023). Drawing insights from the Technology Adoption Model Theory (TAM) and Diffusion of Innovation theory, a qualitative case study research design anchored on semi-structured interviews, document analysis and observations was deployed to gain insights into how social media is integrated in the everyday operations of MakhadoFM in Vhembe District, Limpopo Province, South Africa. The study revealed that MakhadoFM deploys a variety of social media platforms for news sourcing, news dissemination and audience engagement to enhance its operations in an increasingly competitive media environment. The study broadens existing literature on social media usage and adoption of digital media in community broadcasting in contexts where communities are underserved by the mainstream media.Item Embargo Popular Music, Student Activism and Contestations of Power in Post- Apartheid South Africa: The Case at a Rural University(2025-09-05) Lukhwareni, Azwihangwisi Kedibone; Chari, T. J.; Chauke, H. F.This qualitative study examines the dynamic interplay and intersection between popular music, student activism and power contestations in post-apartheid South Africa using the University of Venda as a lens of analysis. It examines how students use music to contest institutional power, forge solidarity and articulate their collective identity. Deploying Habermas’s Communicative Action Theory and Gregory Bateson’s Cultural Framing Theory the study addresses three core questions: what type of music is used by students at the University of Venda during their political activism, why do students at the University of Venda sing during student activism, and how does popular music used during student activism shape the identity of student activists at the University of Venda? Empirical data for the study were gathered through in-depth interviews, with nine (9) purposively selected student activists from the University of Venda, a Focus Group Discussion with five (5) different student activists and a discursive analysis of 37 songs that are sung by students during activism at the University of Venda. Findings from the study revealed that students draw on a wide variety of musical forms, such as Struggle Songs, such as Gwijo, Afropop, Gospel and Amapiano, which are used during political activism to articulate their grievances and to sustain morale in the face of institutional repression. Traditional struggle songs, which are frequently modified and contemporised, remain particularly central and fundamental. Findings indicated that what might appear violent in lyrics is, in fact, a symbolic assault on oppressive systems rather than the individuals or officials themselves. Most fundamentally, the study demonstrates that music does more than accompany activism; it is activism. It was also demonstrated that music fosters collective identity, shaping personal narratives into a shared soundtrack of resistance. Contrary to narratives of youth political apathy, students are profoundly engaged, compelled into musical activism by academic and financial exclusion, poverty and administrative shortcomings. The study contributes to an understanding of postcolonial student activism by highlighting how popular music becomes an interactive setting where power is contested.