“Leave us alone!”
Donald Trump arguably won his 2024 election by embracing the podcasters. His appearance on The Joe Rogan show, amassing more than 50 million views in a few days, made him human and accessible to the voting public in a way that no formal election propaganda or news network could.
The long-form interview style created a bond that traditional media and clever advertising slogans could not compete with. Podcasters have become thought leaders, legitimate sources of news, and real-life protectors of freedom of speech and the democratic process, often through their comments sections.
It is a trend that is replicating across the world. In South Africa, numbers are small, but growing. Government is starting to notice. A white paper with a proposed framework aimed at bringing digital content under the oversight of the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) was recently discussed at a round table event with stakeholders. Our podcasters shared concerns about censorship and barriers to entry if licenses are introduced.
“Leave us alone, bro!” says MacG from Africa’s biggest podcast, ‘Podcast and Chill.’ With over 1.7 million subscribers and a new TV show launching soon, MacG underscored a point made at the round table about podcasts representing not only legitimate forms of free speech, but free markets and entrepreneurship.
“The podcast industry, apart from the informal sector, is one of the very few sectors that is black-owned in a real form. ICASA should be asking how to grow the sector, not stifle grass-roots innovation with regulation. The real opportunity here is growth, not control.”
Podcasts and social media influencing platforms work on the basis of engagement numbers. It is a true open market of ideas. Podcasters can earn money via a traditional advertising model, where large viewership numbers result in sponsors or advertising.
Meaningful income
Platforms like YouTube and TikTok also reward content creators directly for engagement, so it is a new form of income, relying on many small ‘gift’ exchanges. Instead of a subscription, you send a small digital gift worth a few cents at a time. It can add up to meaningful income.
“It’s simple maths,” says MacG. “The more money you make, the more people you can employ.” MacG’s enterprise now employs 100 people.
Gareth Cliff, a pioneer in independent media in South Africa, says he gets nervous whenever governments talk about regulating anything, and the fact that News 24 seems to be in favour of the idea makes him even more suspicious.
“Podcasting is one of the fastest-growing and exciting parts of the SA media’s landscape. In an era where AI is taking over with digital content in which no human was involved, there is value in original content, made by real humans, interviewing well-educated generalists with good taste.”
He interviewed Jonathan Warncke from the SA Podcasters Guild, who agreed with him, adding that the demographic landscape was changing fast. “Another white boy with a podcast might have reached saturation point, but there is a lot of local content to unlock in South Africa.”
He says that in the arena of sports, politics, beauty, and lifestyle, the digital landscape is moving towards ‘creator TV’ where content is becoming more creative.
The simple recipe of two people sitting across from each other talking might not be good enough anymore. “Impossible”, Warncke says of the chances to enforce any constraints on digital platforms. The playing field is too vast and sprawling. He also doubts the government has real intent to regulate.
The evolving landscape now combines entertainment with electioneering. Mbuyiseni Ndlozi and Renaldo Gouws are two examples of politics and podcasting merging. Ndlozi used to be a member of parliament for the EFF, and Gouws for the DA, and currently FF Plus.
Both are now hosting their own shows. Gouws particularly straddles the two worlds unashamedly. You can listen to his live streams and earn ‘stumpies’ ?? for engaging. Many stumpies earn you rewards as a viewer, and presumably get him some votes on election day.
The Daily Friend, the leading platform for liberal opinion, suggests that podcasts are already subjected to the rules of law and existing structures, so any more would serve no real purpose.
“Elite conversation”
Host, Nicholas Lorimer, says: “Ordinary South Africans are not yet that plugged into political podcasts in SA. So I think it’s very easy for podcasters to overstate their importance. That being said, I do think that podcasters do shape the elite conversation, which does have an outsized influence on the public debate. The battle of ideas shapes the terms of the national debate, which in turn shapes elections and policy.”
He says The Daily Friend Show will intensify its local election coverage with more research, opinion, and in-depth analysis, but does not anticipate giving politicians more airtime than they deserve.
“We enjoyed discussing Julius Malema’s recent jail sentence on the firearms conviction, for instance, while not being at all compelled to ask him how he feels about it.”
Street survey:
It is not surprising that the checkout cashier at my local supermarket knows who MacG and Julius Malema are, but has never heard of Nicholas Lorimer. In a succinct summary of this article, she says she enjoys listening to podcasts, because “They talk about things we don’t normally talk about. Or things we didn’t think we were allowed to say. It makes you see the government in a different way.”
I walked by a young man on his way to school, listening to something on his earbuds. I asked what podcasts he enjoyed. He said, “I listen to Open Chats Podcast, Ma’am.”
One is always grateful when they don’t call you ‘tannie’ during these exchanges. Open Chats is an award-winning South African show focused on lifestyle and relationship issues affecting the youth. I asked if he ever listens to MacG.
He dismissed the suggestion with a click of the tongue and a wave of the hand. “Too old. He belongs to a past era.”
The views of the writer are not necessarily the views of the Daily Friend or the IRR.
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