Starting on Wednesday 4 November, Grocott’s Mail citizen journalists will be hosting a news show called Izwi Labahlali (Voice of the Citizens) on Radio Grahamstown (102.1 FM).
Starting on Wednesday 4 November, Grocott’s Mail citizen journalists will be hosting a news show called Izwi Labahlali (Voice of the Citizens) on Radio Grahamstown (102.1 FM).
The show will be based on content researched, collected, produced and presented by the citizen journalists, who have all completed a six-week training course in the Grocott’s Mail Citizen Journalism Newsroom, which launched in September this year.
The objectives of the show are to give ordinary Grahamstown citizens a chance to contribute, feel a sense of belonging and engage with their community.
The half-hour slot will be piloted over a period of four weeks to see how Radio G listeners respond to it.
"Citizen journalists are reporters who are more citizens and less journalists, they help journalists in fulfilling the watchdog role and informing society, " said Khaya Thonjeni, the schools outreach officer at Rhodes University and the facilitator of the radio show.
The show’s content will be pre-recorded as a way of making sure that all the information provided is factually sound.
As a way of engaging their listeners, the show will have an SMS competition that will give people a chance to voice their thoughts and opinions about contentious issues.
The lineup will consist of news, sports, events, arts and culture stories and all of which have to have a local angle.
Station Manager at Radio Grahamstown Phumlani Wayi said "We are very happy with the way the show has been structured and the involvement of the community because the station is for the community."
The show is planned to serve as another form of output in addition to the online pages dedicated to the citizen journalism course. Tune in to 102.1fm from 5 to 5.30pm on every Wednesday in November.
