Qualities of a radio bride, idol

Of all forms of communication, the spoken word has an unusual power that is both constructive and destructive.

It is the most pervading method of communication, which other forms only complement. With the spoken word, you can easily gauge mood, strength and character.

The advent of radio has taken the power of the spoken word to an extremely unique level, giving it the ability to convey the same thing at the same time to large and diverse audiences spread over different climes and territories.

Here lies the challenge: in radio, you don’t have to see the people you’re talking to, you don’t need to have met them personally or one-on-one.  Yet you must relate with them on air as if you’re part of them.

Indeed, you should be part of them, because you’ve got to understand them intimately: their yearning, their strengths, their weaknesses, and their potential  with other radio.

Radio, like other media of mass communication has as its function, information, education, entertainment, and cultural transmission. A radio man, whether he is working in a public or private system cannot successfully undertake these functions without understanding the values of his audience, even if his purpose is to correct or change the values.

There is no doubt that there’s a lot of glamour and fun behind the microphone, at least to the listener who gets hooked to what he listens to on his favourite Radio.  The man or the station that he gets hooked to therefore becomes his idol who he loves to see, meet and relate with at the slightest opportunity.

There’s a tendency to think that radio talent is a natural thing, without much effort from the idol. So, those who admire the man or woman behind the mic want to be like him.

 There are quite a lot of young people who are only thrilled by radio but lack the training and discipline of the profession. They soon end up making a mess of not only themselves but the station.

A good Radio person does not force himself to the mic. He is first a raw gemstone that must be mined, discovered and polished before being presented. Even then, the presentation is not automatic, as the audience’s response to his presentation will still need to be monitored before he becomes a regular feature behind the mic.

Oh! That’s a wonderful voice! Who’s that guy who presented that programme?  Such other compliments are what superiors would wait for in a potentially good radio person before they make him a permanent feature behind the mic. In essence, while a good radio person would not force himself behind the mic, a good radio station or a good radio manager will also not force a potentially good person on the audience. It is like a marital relationship in which the audience is the suitor.  There are usually so many suitors, whereas beautiful brides are rare.

Becoming a radio bride, elegant and acceptable to all takes more than having a good voice.  A good voice is necessary no doubt.  But more important is who owns that voice.  What is his make-up?  There’s a saying that what you don’t have you can’t give”  So what is the wealth that the owner of the voice has to share?

*RADIO PERSONALITY*

Personality refers to the totality of a person’s make-up, influenced by heredity education, training, upbringing, peer relationships the environment and other factors psychologists and sociologists have identified. A person projects his personality consciously and unconsciously.

 For a Radio personality, however, it has to be a conscious effort because he at all times must play the role of a model. He is first not supposed to project his interest but the interest of a diverse audience. He is to speak to a diverse audience without offending them. Her is to let them see reason without telling them they are foolish or ignorant. His relationship is not like  *I versus you, but we.*

Because the demand of the radio audience does not allow for experimentation, a radio personality must have been well-made before he gets behind the mic.

 Let’s get some characteristics of the radio audience clear:

*He is discerning and has choices.

*He is knowledgeable at least to some degree.

*He is subjective because he has his viewpoint.

*He  is patient  yet he has a lot to do on air within a limited time

*His interest is catholic diverse

Given these characteristics, the task of the radio personality is to aggregate the various demands, giving voice to them in such a way that the diverse audience has something to benefit from even if they do not share all the radio personality is offering.

To be able to do all these successfully, therefore, the radio personality must embody a high degree of maturity. Maturity comes with education, training and interaction.

Of course the challenge of radio today requires that anybody coming into it must be sufficiently educated because the audience today is no longer ignorant, as they too are exposed and educated.  The difference is that the radio personality is only trying to call their attention differently to what they already know.

The radio personality therefore cannot afford to be ignorant.  He must be continuously updating his knowledge of events and issues as they unfold around. Intelligence and creativity are hallmarks of good radio personalities.

 Since most of what a radio personality will be doing will be based on initiatives, he must have an unusual capacity to think through and fast, because he has time to rest in meeting the audience’s demand. He must also be creative to the audience’s extent that he must be able to innovate to sustain the interest of the audience.

Radio cannot be interesting if there is no passion for it or in it. And if radio is not interesting, it will not command audience listenership and participation.

The passion that a radio personality brings to his presentation defines how personally he is in touch with listeners.  Incidentally, listeners love radio personalities who can connect with them, even without seeing or knowing them physically.

Despite the intimacy that a radio personality ought to cultivate behind the microphone, he still has the burden of being both objective and critical.

 Since his audience is diverse, he has an onus to ensure that all the segments are carried along and their interest is sustained.

A radio personality should never give room for a tune off or move the dial” One single factor that guarantees this even if the radio personality has the necessary skills knowledge and education is his mind.

 The mental balance and emotional stability of the man behind the mic will reflect on his delivery of a programme.

The man behind the mic cannot afford to be down or dead for a moment. As long as he is behind the mic, he must be living and kicking.  He must exude life and happiness – Never a dull moment because his duty primarily is not to himself but to his audience who are waiting for him to spice up their lives.

 His happiness must primarily come from how well or how much he can serve his audience and not how life is treating him.

  If this is the case, he must demystify his or her vicissitudes, and be able to share them with others while behind the mic so that they can mutually benefit from such experiences.

In summary,  the man behind the mic must possess a catholic interest that is his interest should be diverse more so that he will be speaking to a diverse audience.

 The more general or universal his interest, the more he will be inspired to tackle or present any issue behind the mic effortlessly.  And the more he will be able to attract and sustain listenership and loyalty to his radio.

What this invariably translates into is credibility for his station.

The men and women behind the mic in a radio station are the idols and brides, the darlings of the masses or the audience out there who have taken radio as their intimate friends and companions for consolation in these trying times and their voices in their miseries, hopelessness and anomie. Radio is their light and life, giving them options, chances and choices. The man behind the mic that must give the public all these, or *EMPOWERMENT* cannot afford to be *a nonentity upstairs* or *an empty bloke* *He’s an IDOL. She’s a MODEL*