CONVERGENCE OF OLD AND NEW. A CASE STUDY ANALYSIS OF THE DEVELOPMENT ONLINE BY A SOUTH AFRICAN RADIO STATION: RADIOSONDERGRENSEI www.rsg.co.za

A thesis submitted in partial fulfIllment of the requirements for the degree of

MASTER OF ARTS

of

RHODES UNIVERSITY

by

VANESSA VASQUES

January 2002 I. Abstract:

This thesis is a case study analysis of the dream on radio station had about creating something new and unique on the . RadioSonderGrense (RSG), an South African radio station, saw opportunities for themselves as a radio station on the Internet and put enormous resources and man-power into their venture. Their vision of what the Internet could bring to their radio station, and what they could bring to a website set the ground for creative and innovative thought. This dissertation is an examination of whether the Internet lived up to the expectations RSG had for it, and whether they were able to use their resources (in terms oftheir audience, their advertisers and the uniqueness of radio) to create something new and never seen before.

The foremost aim of this dissertation is to shed some light onto the up-to-now under researched area of why radio stations have begun to develop on the Internet. Through the analysis ofRSG, their comes to this subject some new thoughts and ideas about the convergence of these two mediums. RSG, and radio in general, are examined historically, practically and in comparison to the Internet. This is done in order to fully grasp the project that RSG had set for themselves and to realize where they had come from and where they hoped to go. It is argued that although RSG had hoped for great things, their innovative thought was not enough to guarantee them their dreams. They were not able to fully utilize the resources available to them in combination with what the Internet could offer them to fulfill the expectations they had for themselves. The foremost conclusion is that although RSG were able to envisage what the Internet could add to the radio station, they fell short of giving their listeners, users and advertisers a tool which could make the RSG website truly unique. Their website gives the user some interesting and useful applications, but it does not make full use of what the Internet and radio together could create. Acknowledgments: I would like to thank the Rhodes University Journalism and Media Studies Department for the encouragement and opportunity to complete a Master's degree of this nature. I would especially like to thank my supervisor, Christo Doherty, for his ideas, inspiration and the patience with which he monitored my work and research. A special thanks must also go to my parents, for their commitment to my education and the constant support throughout my time at Rhodes University, but especially during my last year. Lastly, I thank Brett Malila for always believing in me, even when I didn't believe in myself He gave me the strength to work hard and to finish my thesis to the best of my ability. TABLE OF CONTENTS

~C~HAPT~~E~R~1. ______3

~1~.1~O~v£erv~i~ew~o~f~t~h~e~R~e~s~ea~rc~h. ______4 1.2. Goals and Aims ______5 1.3. Chapter Outline 6 1.3.1 Chapter Two 6 13.2 Chapte,· Three 6 1.3.3 Chapter Four 6 1.3.4 Chapter Five 7 1.3.5 The Appendices 7

~C~HAP~~T~E~R~2, ______8

~2.~1~.~In~t~r~o~d~u~cfi~·~o~n ______9

~2.~2~.~T~h~e~B~e~g~i~n~n~in~g~o~f~R~a~d~io, ______9

~2~.2~. 1~.2B~r~o~a~dc~a~s~ti~n~g~Ar~o~u~n~d~ili~e~VV~o~r~ld~ ______lO

~2~.2~.2~.2B~r~o~a~dc~~~ti~n~g~C~o~m~~~t~o~S~o~u~ili~A~n~r~ic~a~ ______12

~2.=3~. ~T~h~e2B~e~g~i~n~n~in~g~o~f~t~h~e~I~n~t~er~n~e~t. ______19

~2~.3~.lL.~L~e~mws~m~rt~atut~h~e~v~e~~b~e~g~inn~in~g~ ______19

~2~. 3~.2~.~T~h~e~m~t~e~rn~e~t~mLS~o~u~ili~An~ri~ca~ ______~ 20 2.4. Similarities and Diffe"ences between the Internet and Radio ______21 2.5. Conclusion 23

CHAPTER 3 25 3.1. Inh'oduction 26 3.2. RSG as a Radio S