Introduction

This chapter outlines the various practices and uses of radio by citizens in post-apartheid South Africa. Radio is the most widespread and popular form of communication in the country. Unlike television and print media, the medium of radio has managed to create a ‘common’ space for a national dialogue on critical socio-economic and political issues, in the process producing a sense of imagined community for citizens, including those in marginalised communities and rural areas. In South Africa, the apartheid state drew a sharp distinction between citizens and subjects. Whites were considered citizens with all the rights bestowed on them, while the black majority was viewed as subjects with little or no entitlement to any rights. Even though current-day South Africa has inherited some of the severe material, racial and class inequalities of the apartheid past, radio has played an essential role in promoting active citizenship to those who were previously disenfranchised.