By Humairaa Mayet
We had to create our own stories and we did not want to take them from the mainstream media. – Ismail Variawa
Friday’s #TributeToMuslimBroadcastersSA segment featured Ismail Variawa.
Between 1994 and 1995, people of all races and religions were allowed to enter the media industry, and on 10 April 1997 Variawa began his journey into the world of media as a program manager at Radio Islam.
Media was completely new territory at the time; there were no templates, very little expertise to go around, and the industry relied heavily on external funding. For the first time, South Africa had a three-tier system which comprised of public radio, commercial radio, and community radio.
Variawa explained that the journey was a lonely one, but along the way he built many bonds which he maintains until today – contacts are incredibly important in the field.
In the 1990s and 2000s budding journalists were assisted by training institutions yet as time has passed, these are not as readily available thus the need for mentorship arose.
“The beauty of community media is that it is one of the few spaces where you can learn everything.” Community radio, unlike others, allows for a well-rounded balance.
Variawa reflected on how much things have changed – previously broadcasters and journalists had to use cassettes and fax machines, now everything is digitised and people are a lot more tech-savvy.
The #TributeToMuslimBroadcastersSA segment on Salaamedia is an exclusive Ramadan broadcast on our platform, inspired by the life and times of the late Ebrahim Gangat who was well known for his broadcasting talent.
Watch the full interview here:
