World Radio Day | The Radio Life is really a rollercoaster !

World Radio Day | Radio Life is really a rollercoaster

Imagine stepping in the Radio Station at 9 am and don’t know what will happen till you go home tonight. This kind of adrenaline was what keeps me rolling when I was Radio Reporter at Radio One.

After a traineeship at a weekly newspaper and a certificate in Journalism, I got the chance to be recruited as a Trainee Radio Reporter. Thanks to a dear friend who referred me to the Editor in Chief in 2009. I must say I was amazed by the Radio Station Ecosystem, because I was an early adopter of Private Radios and even participated in events and competitions. Well that another life we can talk about later.

The Radio Reporter life at that time : come to office or to go directly to Daily Events to do coverage or live coverage. At that time Facebook, TikTok or Livestream wasn’t part of Media Landscape.

We had our phone, our sound recorder (with or without mic), a notepad and a pen. As a Trainee, I went to Press Conference at 10 am at Marie Reine de la Paix, Press Conference of XYZ minister and a big Official event at 2 pm or 4 pm or sometime an afternoon event at venues, hotels etc. with presence of Prime minister and eminent personalities. It will be well after 9 pm you come back to the office to edit sound bites, prepare the texts to be read in the news the next day. Apart from daily coverage you must edit sound bites and write the texts for the next main bulletins.

At that time people would wait Noon, 4.30 pm or 7 am to catch on the news about what is happening. Doing this perpetual search and coverage of news made me addictive to information. Everyday we would call our sources, check the information and go record Public Figures. Everyday we would hear my name uttered by the Newscaster after each piece item. It was music to my ears but also people would tell me I’ve heard your name on the radio. That dude makes me proud. ?

Working at the Radio Station would also imply that you must relinquish your social and family life. It means that during time of cyclone approaching, murders, high profile case at the court or big fish arrest you must be ready to run. This also means the typically 9am-5pm would be under the bus.

I had mentors, colleagues and friends which was passionate about the job and the adrenaline. I remember about a Prison Break at Cite Borstal Prison, where we would work till the next day without any sleep. Or even be on standby during a Strike in the Sugarcane Sector.

Also, we would go cover political meetings till 10pm and come at the office to work on that piece. Oh dear, politicians would talk for 1 hour, but we must identity a piece that would be aired for 30 seconds. ?

At that time the fierce competition with Radio Plus and Top Fm was present as objective was to get maximum audience. We can get scolded or harsh comments for missing news items. But thanks to hourly news bulletin we can catch the news or even develop it further. The News doesn’t die until we decide so! We are a journalist not a PR Person for xyz, i've learned it the hard way!

What I did enjoy my time as a Radio Reporter was : ?

-??????? To cover Court Cases, by doing live coverage about sentence, bail motions and release.

-??????? Guide newcomers and meet colleagues on the field

-??????? Work relentlessly to give information to the public

-??????? Fill-in when we are short staff

-??????? Keep asking questions and nagging politicians when they don’t want to reply

-??????? Recording stories

-??????? Recording sources till 11 pm on a Sunday night

-??????? Be an attentive listener to the most vulnerable. Yes, radio station receive the public about daily life ordeals and struggles.

Well after a well deserve two and a half years I decided to move on the web platform which was starting to gain momentum. I’m off to another time to talk about that part of my life.

In the meantime, Facebook live videos, YouTube, Tiktok and many more content sources have emerged and shaped the Radios. But the radio is the most reliable source of information and an incredible Professional experience to live.

I wish a Happy World Radio Day to everyone and especially to my friends and formers colleagues of the Radio Station World.

?? All we hear is Radio ga ga ???? Radio goo goo ???? Radio ga ga ???

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