New And Improved

The newly-revamped TRAXXfm has more to offer listeners.

HAVE you been listening to the new TRAXXfm? The English radio station, which was first known as the Blue Network, and later Radio 4, has a spanking new sound since its recent re-launch.

Blurbs from the national broadcaster RTM claims that it is the freshest sound in the nation.

Over the next few months, TRAXXfm hopes to bring to the airwaves a “bright, brilliant and thrilling” new presentation and sound display.

The revamped radio station aims to become the listeners’ choice as a one-stop travel and holiday guide to interesting places to visit in Malaysia. It promises to deliver it in a fun, informative and entertaining style for everyone. Apart from its interactive banter and contests, the station aims to equip listeners with a better knowledge of the country.

DJ Patrick from TRAXXfm.

What I liked about TRAXXfm’s new programming is the rotating of its DJs.

Previously, the DJs would work the shift from morning to afternoon and it would be rather boring to hear the same voices throughout the whole period. Not that any of the DJs were particularly poor or bad – a change now and then would have avoided the monotony.

The new setup also features a male and female host during the rush hour slot. This, too, adds a fresh feel to the programming, compared to the old format of having DJs of the same gender.

Another TRAXXfm feature that I like is the information on local events – this is not limited to those of urban hot spots but also includes cultural events throughout the country.

Having said that though, I think TRAXXfm would be prudent not to go overboard in its tourism quest.

The broadcaster is, after all, a radio station catering primarily to local audience. It is not an international radio station with overseas listeners.

Apart from tourism information, TRAXXfm also offers sports updates. The station says listeners will get first-hand information on major sporting events such as Formula One and the Monsoon Cup. There will also be updates on sports-related parades, speedboat challenges, motor sports, X Games and even the traditional wau competitions.

During religious celebrations, TRAXXfm will provide more information on the festivities and their significance.

As for music, listeners will be able to hear Bahasa Malaysia, Chinese and Tamil tracks along with traditional and world music.

Poor Xmas Show

News & Features Sunday January 6, 2008

No jingle all the way

AIR RAVES BY ANTHONY THANASAYAN

NOT normally an early riser, I was, however, up by 6am on the recent Christmas Eve. I did not want to miss any of the seasonal fare offered by our radio stations that day.

The morning rush hour seemed as if it would be supercharged with Christmas specials but as the hours wore on, it appeared that for most stations, it was a mediocre effort at best.

Lite fm, for example, had an interesting contest asking listeners to guess the type of gifts presented on the song The Twelve Days of Christmas which was fun to listen to.

But like many others, the broadcaster lacked consistency and a proper build-up to infuse listeners with the spirit and cheer before Christmas Day.

Believe it or not, Traxx fm opened up its telephone lines during the traffic show later that evening to talk about what makes a car sexy!

The show’s deejays, who usually have no short of great topics, should have come up with more timely and meaningful subjects. They could get people to talk about the true meaning of Christmas by reaching out to the needy, reading to the blind, visiting someone in hospital, etc. In short, how to be a Santa Claus!

The only radio station which I thought had done a better job in spreading good cheer was the Bernama-run Radio24. Its deejays were brimming with excitement from daybreak of Dec 24 to 25.

The station’s Tan Su Lin reported from a local children’s home on their festive celebration. Elsewhere, the 24-hour broadcaster gave an idea of how the occasion was being observed in neighbouring countries.

At the same time it did not neglect to cover news happenings in Malaysia and around the world.

It was refreshing to hear the words “Hari Krismas” and “Selamat Hari Natal” uttered repeatedly over Radio24, unlike many of the other Malay broadcasters which mentioned nothing during the times I listened in.

I was puzzled over why the homepages of Era, Xfresh and Sinar omitted to mention Christmas when the rest of the Airtime Management and Programming radio stations did.

Hot fm wished listeners “Selamat Hari Raya Korban” and “Selamat Menyambut Tahun Baru 2008” but was mum about Christmas. Fly fm, on the other hand, had its deejays in Santa hats.

Does this mean that stations that were devoid of Christmas cheer on their homepages have no Christian listeners?

Where does that leave me? I listen to all of them. Have they forgotten that Christmas is a national holiday for all Malaysians?

This reminds me of an interview I heard on BBC World Service recently. An atheist was asked by the London station why she celebrated Christmas.

She replied that Christmas has become so commercialised that it isn’t only celebrated by Christians but by everyone.

“Although I reject the divinity aspect of the occasion, I accept the morality message behind it,” she said.

“I’m a great believer in Santa Claus,” she concluded.

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 under the Top 9 list of The Star's Most Viewed Pages on the same day as it was printed. aNt

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).