Lovely post on her job on the radio, giving in-depth emotional insight on what goes on in a day working in a radio station as a Mdantsane FM newsreader intern.
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Having started working at Mdantsane FM, I’ve had the most amazing time working within a vibrant yet supportive team of people who love their jobs. It is an environment of Love for the community and it is never about self- dissipation where most of us get the foundation to learn about this industry. There are a number of things I learnt from this job. I must say it took me a while to really work through them because I’m still learning and will continue doing so as there are always new challenges everyday.
Putting others before you
Working on radio can be hard because you actually do not have much time to prepare and you cannot erase your mistakes unlike when writing. This therefore requires someone who is truly dedicated to what they are doing and who love it. You always have to remember that it is never about you but for your listeners.
The true value of Time
There is never enough time. you just have to forget whatever that you had on your mind and focus on your work. 5 minutes is enough for a quick rehearsal just before you go on air, it will be all you need. As a newbie, I still use as much time as I can and try to be as early as possible, sometimes being early can be a waste because as a newsreader on radio, there are new stories for every hour, at-least I have to arrive an hour before reading on air for any new news that had just arrived.
Resilience
Bouncing back became my best friend since I came here. I am usually someone who beats herself up for mistakes. I took longer to recover from that sulking, which I now admit was such a waste of time.However you feel at the moment before you read news on air, you will have to snap out of it. Reading on air can be difficult as you have to pronounce really hard words and names of people whom you’ve never called before. There will be mistakes but you will have to move on from those mistakes and forget about them, but the next time you go on air, recognise what could have caused those mistakes and correct them.
Adapting to new challenges
When I started, I read Headlines 30 mins before the full bulletin. At first it was challenging, then it became easy, I got comfortable in that area. Then I had to start reading the full bulletin at 11, I was excited about this, but it was so challenging, and just when I got used to reading news at 11, I was assigned to read news at 8 in the morning during the Morning Experience show which is run by two naughty and silly guys, they did a great job at distracting me so I could relax before reading, and I could never be more grateful for their efforts. But the minute I had to start, I would have had forgotten my words and how I personally prepared to present them live to listeners. I then got used to their funny distractions and continuing to learn to adapt to the new challenges of working on radio as a newsreader.
A loving and caring young mom, journalist, writer, blogger and radio newsreader. Siphosetu is a proud African woman who loves fashion and originality. Her blog is
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