Thebe Mabanga
In your ear
Just over a year and a week ago today, Metro fm embarked on a series of changes designed to reposition the once premier English black commercial radio station to help it focus on a slightly younger audience. The station unveiled its Manhattan skyline logo and “it’s where you’re at” slogan. Its staff complement received a radical shake-up, with veterans Mesh Mapetla and Grant Shakoane among those making way for fresh talent. Station manager Romeo Khumalo was crucified for firing DJs who had been with the station for close to a decade, if not longer (which is precisely why they had to make way). A year on and listening to Metro leaves one wondering if the stress Khumalo endured was worth it.
The first and most disappointing aspect of these changes is Khumalo’s lack of courage. Of all the new recruits, none can be said to be a Khumalo discovery. They were all poached from Kaya fm 95.9, Yfm 99.2 and Metro’s favourite hunting ground, Radio Bop.
Penny Lebyane came through an established community station, Voice of Soweto, and even she had to pester Khumalo to be given a chance (she said so in a magazine interview). Khumalo needs to seriously consider listening to community radio (and going through the heap of demo tapes he receives).
The second and most depressing aspect of the new Metro is programming.
Forget the high-flown, ineffective TV ad campaign or the very bland and flaccid print version, Metro’s programming is in dire need of creative inspiration and originality.
The station seems to neglect the upper end of its audience by taking an indifferent approach to its talk slots. Its sports anchor, Robert Marawa, should jerk up his interviewing technique. His style is suitable to chat up a Bafana Bafana victory, but when it comes to extracting facts (such as during the recent controversies in soccer), he falls way short. Talk show anchor Isaac Phaahla seems to be going through the motions on weekday evenings. His show, Conversations, survives on a generic promo and weekly segments (on sex, travel and so forth). It has lost its rabble- rousing, hard-hitting reputation created by Tim Modise (now at SAfm) and later Lawrence Dube (at Kaya Fm).
Moving to the station’s flagship component of programming – music – it does not get better.
To service its popular culture consuming audience, Metro has merely copied the trendsetters among black youth, Yfm. The revival of house music has been largely due to the youth station, and Metro has unashamedly gone to the right of the dial and done what its neighbours are doing, including hosting club DJs in studio, something it could have done before Yfm was born.
Metro should look at 5fm and take notes on trendsetting and introducing audiences to new sounds. Also, one of the most innovative features Metro has introduced is to host live music performances. It did this with British soul artist Lynden David Hall and as part of the Hansa Pilsener tour. There is no reason why this should not be a regular slot, especially with jazz artists.
According to the Saturday Star’s Media & Marketing section, Metro has managed to restore its 1998 listenership, with gains in the English/Afrikaans sector in the Western Cape and Gauteng. But this is only because radio in general has experienced a boom. The most telling indicator for this former great is that it does not feature in the adult population’s top five favourite stations, both nationally and in Gauteng.