Workers World Media Production

WWMP was started in 1997, after a group of NGO’s recognised the need for alternative community media that addressed the needs of poor and working-class people. At the time in South Africa community radio stations flourished and were present in over 100 poor black communities. WWMP is a registered Non-profit organization. Our main work is centred around practically promoting freedom of expression through grassroots mass media development, education and training and organising support. Our mass media platforms included weekly shows 40 community radio and TV channels nationally, online print media and video documentary inserts via social media. Our successes include a two decades long broadcast partnership with up to 40 CR stations and SAFM (English public radio station), the establishment of Cape Town TV (CTV) with a weekly 1-hour long live show that is broadcast nationally on DSTV with high audience numbers, Elitsha community newspaper, a campaign against violence against women in the mining industry that resulted in the conviction of a perpetrator, a feature length documentary film, "Freedom Isn't Free" that won international plaudits and awards and regularly broadcast on ENCA since 2019. We've assisted four vulnerable groups (waste-pickers, community healthcare workers, ex mineworkers and farmworkers) with organising themselves. All these groups now take up their issues with authorities. We have also developed several Labour Community Media Forums in 16 poor communities consisting of between 20 - 30 regular participants. They are supported with education, leadership and media training and organising support, including training them to be journalists. From 2020 we've started working on enabling them to do Mobile Journalism (MOJO) but this was disrupted by COVID-19 lockdowns. In 2021 we initiated and developed the People’s Media Consortium (PMC) to consolidate and co-ordinate our partnerships with 20 NGO’s including the trade union federation SAFTU and 6 member