How 2007 ended on the airwaves

News & Features Sunday January 13, 2008

Downside to countdown

AIR RAVES
By ANTHONY THANASAYAN

StarMag, Sunday Star

THE recent 2008 New Year celebrations might have witnessed larger countdown crowds than usual at special events across the nation. But how was it like on radio, especially for home listeners who didn’t join the throngs at outdoor parties?

Picking out the best radio station for its “New Year feel” on the last day of the outgoing 2007 was frankly not difficult. Regrettably, not many radio stations went all out to make the occasion memorable for the audience.

The station that did its best to get listeners excited about sending off the old year and embracing the new was the all-news channel Radio24 run by Bernama in Kuala Lumpur.

Throughout the day the network had detailed some of the defining moments of 2007. These ranged from groundbreaking stories such as the space mission of Malaysia’s first angkasawan Dr Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor in October to the first ever appointment of a disabled person as senator in December.

The top stories were highlighted right up to the midnight countdown. Additional anchors were put on duty to provide for an interesting live chat with listeners.

Good or largely unmatched though it was with its features, there were somewhat weaknesses in Radio24’s presentation.

I found it difficult, for example, to continuously stay focused. Two reasons, perhaps: the weak delivery by anchors who were reading from prepared scripts, or as the night show demonstrated, the indiscriminate mix of serious stuff and unfunny jokes.

In hindsight, for the daytime and night features, I think it would have worked better if Radio24 had pre-recorded the show, say, a day or two earlier, before airing it. Then the irrelevant bits could have been edited out.

Sound clips of historic events, too, would have made the show more interesting.

The four-month-old broadcaster should realise that, as an all news channel, it probably has the toughest job on the airwaves to keep its listeners locked on to its frequency.

TraxxFM’s Greenman and Navsta of The Wake Up Show were the only other deejays to give listeners something worthwhile to think about as the year closed.

“Pay more attention to your mental health and never be shy to seek the help of a psychiatrist or a friend when you need it,” was their timely reminder to the listeners for 2008.

Traxx101, on the other hand, had what I thought was a most inappropriate topic on New Year’s Eve: male circumcision (ouch!).

Although the doctor who spoke on the topic was excellent, and the deejay (Jezza) who interviewed him was just as good, it was not quite the right talk for the day.

I would have liked to hear a local writer recount the best movies for 2007. Now that would have been a fun and fitting topic for the special day, don’t you think?

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 APPEARED AT NO 2 UNDER THE MOST VIEWED SECTION OF THE STAR ON THE SAME DAY THAT IT WAS PRINTED.

Memorable Disabled Day Celebration On TraxxFM

101 on the disabled

AIR RAVES
By ANTHONY THANASAYAN

The Star, Sunday, Dec 16, 2007

DID you know that there are 650 million disabled people around the world today? And that this number more than qualifies them as the largest minority on this planet?

And what about the fact that 80% of all persons with disabilities (PWDs) live in developing countries like ours?

In fact, in nations where the life expectancy crosses 70 years, individuals spend on average about eight years – or 11.5% of their lifespan – living with handicaps?

These vital statistics are from the World Health Organisation in Geneva, Switzerland, and the United Nations Development Programme in New York.

They were shared on Traxx fm recently to mark the International Day of Disabled Persons (IDDP) on Dec 3.

That was the day I tuned in to Traxx 101 on the RTM English-language broadcaster, which airs weekdays from 10am to 1pm. The station has commendably been promoting the yearly UN event on-air.

On the day itself, Traxx 101 regular hosts Jezza and Najee made the occasion memorable for their listeners.

Najee played songs from a host of disabled artistes, like Don’t You Worry ’Bout a Thing by Stevie Wonder. He also gave a quick rundown of the blind singer’s many hits from the 1960s to 1986.

Another splendid selection was The Whole Town’s Laughing at Me by Teddy Pendergrass. The singer has been confined to a wheelchair and speech-impaired after a car crash 26 years ago.

However, what I appreciated most was the 10 minutes dedicated to Beethoven’s 9th Symphony. The composer, Traxx 101 noted afterwards, was deaf when he wrote the piece. He also had asthma.

Fellow host Jezza too had a few surprises for listeners.

The deejay who has had some exceptional guests on his daily interview shows did it again on IDDP. He got a group of harmonica players from the Malaysian Association of the Blind in Kuala Lumpur to perform several numbers “live” in the studio for Traxx fm listeners.

The group’s best take was the William Tell Overture (most famously used as the theme for the old TV western The Lone Ranger).

I was spellbound by the amazing harmony produced by the musicians who relied fully on their hearing to create the glorious music with their mouth organs.

After the harmonica performance, Jezza did what he is good at: conduct an interview with some of his guests on what it felt like to be visually impaired.

It was not all fun and play, though.

At one point the programme spoke to a local activist in a wheelchair about the job problems faced by disabled Malaysians today. Employment was the focus in line with this year’s IDDP theme, “Decent Work for PWDs”.

Finally, kudos to RTM’s Tamil broadcaster Minnal fm for also conducting a one-hour interview session on IDDP. Their guests were members of the Independent Living and Training Centre in Rawang, Selangor.

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).