Listeners in for a treat

Wednesday September 17, 2008

Treat for listeners

AIR RAVES
By ANTHONY THANASAYAN

HERE’S a treat for listeners of 988. In case you don’t already know, the Chinese language broadcaster operated by The Star has been rebroadcasting its highly popular Idol Drama series. Broadcast on Saturdays (7pm-10pm) until mid-October.

Each programme features the voices of local and foreign artistes, among them, Hong Kong’s pop queen Joey Yung, Dylan Kuo (Taiwan), Shi Xin Hui (Singapore) and Gary Cao (Malaysia),

The station’s deejays May and Mike also take part in the drama.

Also tune in to:

U-Turn in Love (Sept 20), Lovebirds featuring Fiona Sit (Sept 27),

Confession of Superman featuring Genie Zhuo (Oct 4) and I Still Remember... Promise with Fish Leong and Ah Niu (Oct 11).

During the holy month of fasting, Sinar FM offers its listeners an opportunity to show their love for the less fortunate.

Together with Nestum, the station is inviting its listeners to bake and share their Nestum recipes. The best cookies will be bought by the broadcaster and donated to a local orphanage of the winner’s choice.

The contest ends on Friday. Visit www.sinar.fm for details.

Other Ramadan specials on IKIM fm:

Fadhilat Ramadan (The Virtues of Ramadan) (daily, 7.15am and 7.30pm in Bahasa Malaysia/ 2.15pm and 11pm in English): Catch daily Ramadan tips.

The Blessings of Ramadan – Month of Mercy (Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 4.30pm): Find out why Ramadan brings extra blessings for the faithful and why the month is also known as The Month of Mercy.

Hallo Good Morning on 988

Wednesday July 23, 2008

Fun show

By ANTHONY THANASAYAN

Start your day with Hallo Good Morning.

Need a really good reason to wake up in the morning? Let the joyful sounds of DJs Sam, Jeff, Anson and Moon kickstart your day.

They come on weekdays on 988’s Hallo Good Morning (HGM).

HGM can be heard from 6am until 10am on the Chinese language channel that is operated by The Star.

The cheerful and energetic antics of the DJs make the difficult job of getting up in the mornings much easier and fun.

They not only have lots of interesting stories to share , but are also absorbing when it comes to interacting with listeners.

The boys crack jokes that keep you in stitches and their discussions are equally witty. There is no lagging behind on the latest news and the hottest gossip in town when one is tuned in to the programme.

You will also be in the know of the opinions and issues faced by the local community.

HGM is generally divided into four one-hour segments.

1. Early Morning War (6am): The battle is on as the DJs pick a daily hot topic that concerns both the sexes. Listeners can join in the discussion by calling 03-4042 0988 during the session.

2. North South East West (7am): Focuses on language and phrases. This informative hour sees the DJs highlighting words or phrases for the day and uncovering their origins.

3. PiliPala What You Say (8am): The boys turn their attention – and charm – to be our guides in the use of language. Recently, they taught listeners how to use the correct dialect in various situations.

Currently, their spotlight is on the English usage. 988 listeners had a delightful surprise recently when local artistes John and Desiree and Hong Kong’s Jason Chan played English language guides on the show.

4. I Am Not Master (9am): Spotlights on how to handle people around us through effective communication, especially at the workplace.

Meanwhile, for those of you into the habit of burning the midnight oil, The Late Show with Jeremy is the show for you. It is aired on Red FM, that is also operated by The Star.

The programme airs from Monday till Friday (10pm - 2am).

Jeremy is the latest addition to the channel’s stable of DJs. He’s a fast talker, but almost always concise in his presentation. So, listeners will not be bored by him.

Occasionally, he speaks a little too loud over the microphone, causing his voice to come across distorted.

The DJ should check himself on that. He presents a lot of western entertainment news.

It would be good, though, for him to balance it up with some local happenings for local appeal.

The interesting bit is that listeners get to call in and talk to the DJ during the show.

Wednesday July 2, 2008

Tasty new show

Air Raves by ANTHONY THANASAYAN

WHO among us dares to say that he or she does not love food? Now’s here’s a great radio show that delves into our favourite pastime.

“1-4 with Terry” is the name of this new show that is being served on Red FM on weekdays. And from feedback received by this column, the programme has been working up quite an appetite among midday listeners.

From 1.30pm until teatime, Red FM’s lunchtime DJ Terry takes listeners on a culinary cruise through a number of gastronomical delights. He not only unveils great places for us to dine out in the evenings, he also offers hints on what to wear and the kind of reception we are likely to get at these places. Then comes the tantalising details of the food spread in the various restaurants. The way this “on air connoisseur” talks about it, you can almost taste the dishes yourself!

Terry, who hails from Penang, recently spoke about the mouth-watering Penang laksa and chicken rice at Nipah, a restaurant at the Equatorial Hotel in Kuala Lumpur. Listeners got to hear how the Chalet, also at the Equatorial Hotel, has waiters to whisks eggs in front of their guests as a live band plays music in the background.

Terry is bright and lively – even better than he has been as a deejay for Red FM! What I like about the show is that it is fast moving.

Terry doesn’t elaborate too much, instead he gets straight to the point. And he always has vouchers from various venues to give away throughout the week.

Meanwhile, Chinese broadcaster 988 is all set and ready to kick off its Global Chinese Musical Concert (GCMC) Live Musical Party on July 12. It will be held at 7.30pm at Auto City in Prai, Penang.

As one of our country’s top events for Chinese music lovers, GCMC will feature local and international stars such as Jason Chan (Hong Kong), Kenji Wu (Taiwan) and Kelly Poon (Singapore). DJs Sam and Nick will host the event.

“It is going to be a truly unforgettable event,” Gladys Yew from Star Rfm told Air Raves last week.

In a run-up to the event, listeners have until this Friday to win VIP entrance tickets, goodie bags and RM100 cash. Tune in to 988 Laughter Noon (2.30pm-5pm), K6 Gang (5pm-8pm) and 988 Star Light Café (8pm-11pm) to win the prizes.

Despite living in the cyber age, the writer insists that radio still provides a unique window on the world. When he isn't scanning bandwidths, he helps to raise awareness of positive living with pets through his organisation, Petpositive (Malaysian Animal-Assisted Therapy for the Disabled and Elderly Association).

Note: This article was rated as No 1 under The Star's Top 5 list for the Most Viewed Category and No 4 under The Most Emailed story.

De-Stress With May

Witty K6 Gang on 988

Wednesday May 14, 2008

Witty K6 Gang

Air Raves by ANTHONY THANASAYAN

MOST of us who work in offices just cannot wait for the clock to strike five. That is when we at last get to head for home. After that, it is relaxation all the way.

Now, there is no need for the long wait anymore. Not even if you are caught in one of our notorious traffic jams.

All you need to do is have your car stereo tuners switched on. And then, make sure that your radio dials are pointed at 988.

Operated by The Star, the radio station’s current attraction is a team of two deejays called KK and Luke. They host the K6 Gang Show from Monday to Friday (5pm-8pm).

“The witty duo are sometimes mischievous, but almost always quite funny – providing the perfect ingredients to help listeners unwind during their journey home,” said a spokeswoman for 988 last week.

The DJs are also on hand to help listeners solve their boy/girl problems and offer tips on how to finally give your boss the message: “Where’s my pay rise”.

In one recent romantic segment, the guys succeeded in getting a young man to propose to his girlfriend live on the programme.

In order to get the deejays' attention, all you need to do is type and SMS your question to 32733.

Meanwhile, be sure not to miss Friday’s instalment of K6 Gang. Popular Hong Kong singing sensation Eason Chan will be making a live guest appearance at 7pm in the studio.

KK and Luke will take a full one-hour to get all the exciting low-down about Chan direct from the performer himself who has won numerous acclaims including from Time Magazine.

Chan will be quizzed on his upcoming concert next month. He will be asked about other things he has been busy with lately, including his once in a lifetime experience of taking part recently in the Olympic torch run exercise.

Fans can put their questions to the singer during the programme via SMS and send to: 32733.

Finally, last Thursday was World Thalassaemia Day. Few Malaysians knew about it until we tuned in to Bernama’s Radio24.

The station’s broadcast journalist Tan Su Lin, who frequently reports disability stories, presented some interesting insights into the condition.

The brief report included a couple of audio clip interviews from a medical expert and someone who has the condition.

Tan’s report emphasised that support from all quarters was essential for thalassaemics to lead a high quality of life.

Thalassaemia – simply put – is an inherited disease of the blood in which haemoglobin fails to form properly.

Rat On The Radio

News & Features Thursday February 7, 2008

Rat on the radio

StarTwo, The Star

Air Raves: By ANTHONY THANASAYAN

IT is the first day of another brand new lunar year again. And our radio airwaves are full of seasonal sounds from the Orient especially among the Chinese broadcasters. Here are some of the specials that are being aired to mark the start of the Year of the Rat:

Radio 988 (Operated by The Star)

From now until Valentine’s Day next Thursday, listeners are invited to SMS in their felicitations for CNY and Valentine’s Day to 988. All one has to do is to key in the festive day they are referring to in their mobile phones and follow it up with a space. Next, include the name of the person you wish to send your greetings to and follow it up with another space. Finally add your brief dedication message. When completed, promptly send your message to 32733.

The cheery 988 deejays in the studio will take it from there. Expect to hear one of them read out your SMS dedications and song requests anytime throughout the day.

For those of you who prefer to hear forecasts of what might await you in the Rat year then listen out for specially recorded interviews with Hong Kong’s Feng Shui Master Edward Lik Kui Ming’s expert reading of the zodiac signs.

Music wise, 988 will also feature, among others, a special interview with upcoming Hong Kong boy band SunBoyz.

988 is also offering RM100 in cash to anyone who can correctly identify the voices of the radio station’s deejays conveying their CNY greeting on the air.

The numbers to call are 03-4048 1198. Good luck to each caller!

Note all of the 988 features are a daily affair on the broadcaster.

MY FM (Operated by Airtime Management and Programming))

MY FM 12 Animals Capsules has been a popular feature on the station for several years during the lunar celebrations. The Chinese Zodiac forecast show returns this year with a new set of predictions in the Chinese horoscope.

Listeners can catch the forecasts daily until Feb 15. Listen out for them every hour from 9am to 9pm.

The capsules feature the expert views of well-known Taiwanese astrologer, Yu Yang, covering many different aspects of an individual’s life – love, career, health, etc.

China Radio International (CRI)

Finally, how about going for a more original feel of CNY by tuning in to China Radio International?

The Beijing broadcaster has been talking a lot about the lunar New Year to its international audiences explaining to them that no one knows exactly when and how the 12 animals in the zodiac calendar were chosen to represent the special years which are also known as the “12 earthly branches.”

CRI can be heard daily at the following times: 12am – 2am, 8am – 10am, 2pm – 4pm and 6pm – midnight.

The frequencies to tune in to are: 7.325 kHz, 41 metres; 9.730 & 9.870kHz, 31m; 11.650, 11.885 & 11.980kHz, 25m; 13.645, 13.590 & 13.720kHz, 22m and 17.710 kHz, 16m.

NOTE: This article ranked at Number 4 in the Top 9 list of The Most Viewed Pages in The Star Online on the day that it was published.