Eight years ago, KuGompo City-born Lynden Jafta took a new radio station to the airwaves and now Paarl FM has tens of thousands of listeners and is the voice of the community.
Jafta, 50, who worked in the retail management space in KuGompo before moving to the Cape, listened to static or “white noise” on his car radio for three years before his dream of filling a vacant frequency with his own vibey radio channel came true.
His passion for radio was ignited while working as a marketing and sales manager for a community radio station.
“I experienced the power of radio first-hand,” Jafta who, as a child, dreamt of being a policeman or a lawyer, said.
“After leaving that radio station to pursue other marketing opportunities, the network I established asked me to research the possibility of opening another radio station within the area.”
Intrigued by the notion of his own radio start-up, Jafta spent three years extensively researching the idea.
“I was told of a vacant frequency by my mentor, which I then programmed as number one in my car.
“For three years I listened to that white noise — the static or hissing sound an untuned radio makes — in my car.
“While listening to it, I imagined how Paarl FM would sound.”
Driving around with his car reverberating with scratchy static, Jafta envisioned how he could bring it to life with music and conversation.
“This helped me plan my radio station’s programming, music style, imaging and identity.”
At the heart of his vision for Paarl FM was a desire to fill what he saw as a gap in the broadcasting landscape.
“Paarl is the birthplace of Afrikaans and around 76% of people living there speak Afrikaans.
“I saw an opportunity to start an Afrikaans marketing platform in the form of a radio station.”
But before he could do that there were admin and funding hurdles to address.
“I was lucky to get vacant frequency in 2016, but I had no funding.
“I was scammed out of R250,000 when I started my research for a radio station, but I kept on working hard to make this a reality.”
When his marketing company was awarded a lucrative tender to supply golf shirts to a West Coast municipality in 2018, Jafta was able to apply for the licences necessary to launch his broadcasting dream.
“I had no funders, no silent partners, no investors.
“It was only by the grace of God and His goodness that I was able to buy everything cash.”
My tears started flowing when I could hear music playing where there once was only radio white noise.
— Paarl FM founder and station manager Lynden Jafta
Eight years ago, Jafta went live with Paarl FM.
“I remember that Sunday morning. After connecting those final wires and starting up my computer, I could hear the music in my car, which was parked close to the studio.
“I turned up the volume in my car, loud enough to hear the white noise until I pressed play in the studio.
“When the music started, I walked out of the studio towards my car.”
The moment his car filled with the sound of his own radio station was one he will never forget.
“My tears started flowing when I could hear music playing where there once was only radio white noise.
“Our official broadcast started the next day on October 1, 2018.
“I started with one listener and now Paarl FM has 25,000 weekly listeners and 35,000 online listeners.”
With “your harmony of sounds” as its slogan, Jafta describes Paarl FM as a private commercial station with a community focus.
“We have four standard annual community projects that we focus on, and we help make a difference with NGOs in the community.”
When he started out, Jafta wore all the hats his business required.
Today, with a team at his side, he continues to juggle a number of roles.
“As an entrepreneur, I am used to wearing multiple hats — I learned to perfect that skill while in the furniture trade.
“I needed to do sales, admin, marketing, credit, merchandise and auditing.
“It is the same principles I applied from the start.
“It puts pressure on you because those hats must be changed at short notice.”
Besides presenting the station’s breakfast show, Paarl FM #Brekvis, every weekday from 6am, Jafta also has his hands busy producing other shows, setting up interviews, producing station jingles and advertisements and generating sales.
“With my presenting team, we identify community projects to help make meaningful differences. Sometimes it’s difficult, but it is very rewarding.
“We have so far been able to donate over 10,000 packs of sanitary pads to our Keep a Girl in School Project.
“We have grown our kids Christmas party from 100 kids to 350 kids, and we had our Christmas message flighted on Kyknet.”
Asked if he had an on-air persona, Jafta said the secret was simply being himself.
“I don’t believe in having personas. My presenters know that I like genuine authentic presenting.
“I encourage everyone to be their true self on air.”
He thrives on creating a feel-good morning show that gives listeners a positive start to the day.
And so the Daily Dispatch influenced the currency and relevance of our news reporting on Paarl FM.
— Paarl FM founder and station manager Lynden Jafta
“I love the breakfast show because I help listeners get ready for the day.
“I focus on presenting a vibey, energetic but current show which includes current and trending songs, traffic, fun topics and morning weather.
“I also have standard features with interesting discussion points.
“Some of the most notable interviews we had on Paarl FM #Brekvis are Judy Boucher, Tevin Campbell, Robin S, Sybil, Sipho Hotstix Mabuse and Ali Campbell from UB40.
“I have also once had an Instagram Live interview with the group Ballyhoo who sings There’s a Man on the Moon.
Jafta also has weekly interviews with exciting television personalities from shows such as Masterchef SA and South African actors on Kyknet.
“We also maintain good relationships with record labels and music promoters, so we have regular interviews with new music talent or new songs from seasoned artists.”
Live broadcasting comes with its fair share of bloopers, but Jafta jokes that “no-one should know when anything goes wrong”.
“The most common human errors are when presenters — myself included — share news on the traffic or weather but the mic is not switched on.
“Once I did the traffic directly after doing financial indicators. I was supposed to report an accident on the R101 and I said: “There is an accident on the one hundred and one rand!”
Spotting and nurturing on-air talent is another aspect of life as a station manager and Jafta finds helping presenters build their confidence especially rewarding.
“I had a very small team of four presenters when we started in 2018. As the months continued, the interest in the station grew.
“One Friday morning I interviewed a school debate team and discovered a 16-year-old called Jandre Kruger, who was interested in presenting.
“I trained him to present our Top 30. He was so good that I used him to do on-air training for new presenters.
“Another of our success stories is a 17-year-old introverted young man, Christian Kleinsmit, who grew up in an impoverished area.
“He had difficulty maintaining a conversation but was part of the Paarl Junior Town Council.
“I did on-air training with him and placed him on our Afternoon Drive Show.
“This helped him build confidence and polish his conversation skills. He ended up becoming his school’s head boy in his matric year.”
Looking back to his time in KuGompo City, Jafta said reading the Daily Dispatch sparked his interest in community news.
“My opinion is that news is news wherever you go, but it must be relevant to the community it serves.
“I read the Daily Dispatch to keep up to date on news in my town and surrounding areas. That was my go-to because it was relevant.
“And so the Daily Dispatch influenced the currency and relevance of our news reporting on Paarl FM.”
He still has a strong connection to KuGompo City, where he attended Parkside Primary in grade 1 before completing his schooling in Boksburg.
“My father was in the construction industry and found work in Johannesburg.
“My siblings and I completed our school career in the East Rand but we moved back [to KuGompo] because we were homesick.”
Now he has this advice for young people in his hometown who are eager to pursue a career in broadcasting.
“It’s good to dream, never let anyone talk you out of your dream.
“Don’t share your plans with anyone who would discourage you.
“The world is your oyster. Dream big but do your research.
“Get your facts straight so that you can talk with confidence. Also learn but don’t copy.
“You can do whatever you set your mind to.
“Radio is powerful, but it must be entertaining, current and positive.”
