 Alright, a very warm welcome to wine the morning right here. This is your daily dose. We always come with great conversations, fun fair, and laughter to kickstart your morning from 7am to 10am all right here. And I'm so excited. But before we get further with the rest of the conversation, you can always jump on to our social media, and that includes Facebook, Instagram, and on Twitter as well, which is at Y2 for 4 channel. Instagram is Y2 for 4 underscore channel. And you can find me personally at Brian's corner one. Sorry, I lost my voice. Thank God I recovered. I got some for you today. But anyway, welcome back. My name is Brian Sakwa. So today we are marking Wild Radio Day in style. And before we get into it, I'd just like to give you a brief history of what this means. This was actually directed by UNESCO to celebrate radio broadcast to improve international cooperation among radio broadcasters and encourage decision makers to create and provide access to information through radio, including community radio stations as well. And it also is an occasion that draws attention to the unique value of radio, which remains the medium to reach the widest audience and is also currently taking up new technological forms and devices as directed by UNESCO. It also encourages all countries to celebrate this day by undertaking activities that include diverse partners such as national radio broadcasters, regional and international broadcasting associations and organizations and governmental organizations as well. So these very days aim to actually, the theme of it being radio and peace, how do we harmonize and unite people from different communities, diverse countries as well as diverse cultural backgrounds to come together through the power of radio. And joining us live in studio to actually give us a version of his experience as well as to get to know him. Here's Mosheena Malomba. He's a radio presenter as well, by the way. He'll tell us more details about his profession and how he got into the profession as well. And you can always continue to interact with us on that hashtag Y in the morning. Good morning to you, Mr. Mosheena. Good morning, Brian. Nice to meet you. Nice to meet you again. It's really funny. It's really funny how, you know, there's somebody was telling me that MIDI is just a small bedroom. It is. You meet someone here. You walk with them here. Next time they have the boss here. Yeah, I know. Next time, you know. So it's really funny. It is. It's interesting at the same time. It is very interesting. How you're meeting on this platform. But how are you? How are you feeling? I'm well. I'm not a really morning person. I really struck me like I'm working up in the morning. Really? Yeah, because I mean I am such a night person. I do my work at night. So by the time I go to home, I sleep literally almost the whole day. So working up today was a struggle. Hey. But here we are. But look at you. Is it because of your radio show? Yes. Yes, yes. Because of that. Because I mean, I finished with short around 11 p.m. But the time I get home, it's like midnight. So I sleep better part of the day until in the afternoon again and I get to go to work. So. What is that word that describes animals that work at night? Noctano. Noctano. Noctano. Exactly. But away from that, just tell us a little bit, you know, who you are, your little background, blah, blah, blah. And what you love us to know? What you? So my name, as you've said, Mushina Malumba. I am a radio presenter at Kisofam. I am very passionate about just life generally. I love life. I love going out and exploring. I love traveling. And I love radio. I love doing something I think I knew from an, not really an early age. I knew I am talkative. I knew I really wanted to get into media. I didn't know radio would be the medium I use. But it's just, it's a very interesting media. And I'm glad to be part of it. So, yeah, basically that's just me. I'm a very full of life person, but also very shy. Really? Look at this person who's saying this. Quite shy. Very funny. I'm also interested to know, like, from your experience as a radio broadcaster, radio is quite different from TV. TV is like a combination of love radio and TV now. Because we are seeing you. We are hearing your voice as well. We are judging your image, your personality, because it's more visual. From your experience as a radio personality or broadcaster, what exactly is radio to you from your experience? Radio is really real time. Yeah. And in terms of, like, giving real time information. And also, radio is very interesting. Like, it's all about feeling good and making the person listening feel good, you know? It's about the music. If it's a Monday morning and you're in traffic, you're so stressed about whatever you're stressed about. And you hear radio and how someone is feeling good about music. You're gonna feel good about it. So, radio is all about, like, feeling good. And when you talk about the difference, you can't tell how nervous I am right now. I can't say that. I can't say that. I can't say that. You're really used to this. You are confident as hell. Yeah. Because radio, I mean, you don't get to see visuals. It's just about your voice. But also, it's how exactly you articulate your words. It's how, you know, there's a lot of, like, showmanship you need to have. Like, you have to sell, if it's a song, you have to sell it to be as big, you know? So, it doesn't matter really how crazy your day is. You really just have to be on real time and be able to, you know, sell music or sell yourself. Yeah. I remember with my co-host before we went on a break, we were talking about how radio is all about music. Yeah. And I really like to know, like, how do you connect to music? Because I believe even as a radio broadcaster, you first connect to the music itself. Yes, yes. If you don't like your playlist, then definitely your listener doesn't like your playlist as well. Exactly. That's what I was saying, like, you have to really sell the music. I started listening to, of course, music when I was very young, but there's just something about music that makes you happy, you know? Like, they usually say music is a universal language. It doesn't matter what language it is. I mean, you listen to music from Latin and they will literally make sense to us, not just by the words, but how we feel and how our radio presenter puts it out there by saying how good this music is or something. You sort of relate to that, you know? So, music is a big part of radio and it's just very interesting that it can... it changes moods, you know? I'll be in a bad mood and listen to radio and I feel good about it. That's fantastic. Yeah. My first time I listened to you before we worked together was in Amatatu as well. And when you said your name, I was like, I know this guy, I know him. And when we met, you were really shocked to actually learn with school together. Yes, yes. And it's really crazy, like I said. Funny thing, my co-host as well is my schoolmate. Same class, same course. Oh, wow, this is interesting. And then somebody was telling me, like, Sako, the universe is telling you something. Something. If you keep on meeting people you school with, you homies, blah, blah, blah, this profession, something is happening, which is very interesting. That is very interesting. Funny. Now, away from that, in terms of content preparation, because we live in a world of diversity right now, there's so much happening in the world from... I remember we just came from the pandemic, the COVID-19 pandemic, people are trying to recover. Yeah. Now, radio is a medium to actually give people a platform to be entertained or to entertain. Yeah. For you, how do you actually entertain your listeners on radio? Or your listener? I'm told it's listener, not listeners. Listener, we talk to one person. Not only one person. Only one person. Right. So, how do I prepare? So, the thing is, you have to be really relatable with your audience. You have to, you know, real-time what exactly is really happening around you. But also, as I've said, radio is about feeling good. People tune into radio to listen to you, not because they want to hear, okay, especially like commercial radio stations. They don't want to hear what is happening in the country or who is bombing who. It's all about just, they want to escape. It's like an escape road, you know? Some therapy session. Yes, they want to listen to you because they've gone through so much during the day. They're tuning the radio because they want to feel good. So, you have to really relate with them in terms of, yes, I know this is what you're going through, but here we are. Let's just jump to these hits and enjoy ourselves and tomorrow is another day. But for now, let's just enjoy ourselves. So, you have to be really relatable in terms of how I get to prepare my content. It's just about the people I talk to. I'll talk to you today. You'll tell me something. I'll watch on media, Tiktok. What's really going on? This is happening. This is happening. And that's how you put it out there, yeah. Right. Interesting. Because like you mentioned, you're connecting to this person who's listening or as a presenter in the studio, you're talking to this person behind the mic. You're not seeing them. You're not. But you're believing it could be the president listening. It could be your future wife, your ex, your neighbor, your mom. And you have to actually like just tell them facts without even knowing who they are. So, it actually becomes some sort of a theater of the mind. It is actually theater. It's like theatrics because you have to really, in a way, be able to relay your information, not really knowing if that person is sad, is he mad, is he, what is he going through? But you have to really, that's why it's so dramatic, honestly. As in the days I go to my show and I am so drained, I am so stressed about something. But the moment the mic is on, I have to show out and I have to make you feel good. It doesn't matter how I feel. It's not about me. It is about you. So, I'll have to show out and be able to make you the listener feel good about it. Right. Yeah. It's interesting you mentioned that because I can already imagine, on your hard days, I'm on your worst days, the times you feel resentful, you're tired, you're exhausted, like you mentioned, but you have to come on and swag it up and laugh. It's showbiz and I think that is one of the things which is one of the challenges, honestly, to do radio because it doesn't matter what you've gone through. I've known people who are presenters, lost their parents while on air and they'll still continue to do the show because nobody really cares about you. Like, come on, you're just a voice there. You need to make people feel good. So, lost your parents, you've got a call. There's nothing you can do about it. You have to continue to make it. Oh, yes, I love this song so much. You don't love it. You've lost your parents. You have to tell people the way Alicia Keys is amazing on the playlist. Yes. It's really funny. It is. It is just so... That is quite challenging, honestly, because sometimes you're just not in the right mindset. You're feeling maybe you've gotten a call, there's something going on with you, but you can't show that. You have to put on a show, you know? Yeah. But sometimes, when you're done, you go back to... Somebody was telling me when I was at the Zako Komlanga studio, when I was in gear, when I was in a super store, I would talk to you about your depression. Yes, you will get back to whatever. Wow. Now, in this modern age as well, there's a lot of trends in radio broadcasting. When it comes to content, now there's a convergence where we have TV, radio, digital, meeting all social media and all that being devoted in the same platform. From your experience, how has it been for you? I think it's very important at this age, especially to be able to have that link to digital and radio, because radio is a very old media. People used to listen to radio before because that is the only media that was there, right? Right now, there's so much. I mean, in the age of TikTok right now, we get to know what is really happening in the country very fast, what is happening worldwide very fast. So it's very important for radio, TV, all these other old medias to be able to have that sort of convergence to link to the digital world, because, I mean, it's 2023, everyone is digital, and it's very, I think, refreshing to be able to see that you can be able to stream. Somebody from the US can be able to listen to me on radio. That is what, you know, it's just so nice to see that. Exactly. You've made me remember, when you mentioned the US, I remember the, you know, Angela Yeats and the, you know, Shalom and the Gods. I'm sure you follow them. The breakfast club. Yes, yes, yes. Actually, I followed that. And in this show, in A2R 106 and Park, do you remember it? Yes, yes, I do. I remember it. From Manzeh, I want it to be like Bawaw, I want it to be like Terence Jay, but look at me. Look at me. Am I almost close there? You're right. I believe so, I believe so. But now, when it comes to, you know, captivating your audience, bro. How do you actually make that striking connection with your audience as a broadcast? Even for someone who is watching right now, before you tell us what are some of the hits and misses that you get and, you know, how to actually have that spark. How do you strike your listener and get them hooked up? I think you have to really understand the person listening to you. And I mean, this is how you get to know that is by, you know, we get people who call us, tell us this is what's going on, you know. Sometimes you just sit there and listen to someone who's crying because she just got broken hearted. And, you know, it's that connection to, from a presenter to the audience that really helps us to have that connection. Because people tell us their stories. People tell us what they're going on. This is what is happening. This is what I'm feeling right now. And with that information, it's very keen for you to be able now to put out a really good show. Something that somebody is going to relate to, you know. Yeah. So it's somebody, I think it's called a parasocial relationship. They say, like, someone who knows you on radio. It feels like they know you or even on TV. They know everything about you, but they have never met you. Exactly. And it's crazy. You meet people in town. They were like, hey, where were you from? Like 15 years ago. Like, really, you can remember me. I'm so grown. I think I'm old. But it's really interesting at the same time. Now, when it comes to, like, the hits and misses from your experience, what are some of the, like, mishaps you've come across? I'm one of those mistakes you've met on radio and you're like, if my boss hears this, and one thing about radio is you can't un-say it. You can't un-say something. Once you say it, you know, for TV, you can apologize and say, oh, it's microphone. Yeah. But for radio, it's boom. If there's anything I've learnt is mistakes are there, but you don't acknowledge the mistakes. You just move on. Like, it has happened. It has happened. Say it's something that you're not supposed to say. You can't go on and apologize because you're not sure if somebody listened. If somebody not listened, like, you can't start a poll. If you apologize, people will realize, oh, there was a mistake being made. There was who didn't listen to that mistake. So you make a mistake and you just go on. But remember the first time I think I was getting into radio, it was just so nerve-wracking. Because you're like, oh, there's so many millions of people listening to you. One. And secondly, you don't know what exactly what button you're supposed to touch. And I was making so many mistakes, but I kept hearing it. You're running the desk on your own. Yeah. If you're a solo presenter. Yes. You run your desk on your own. You need to pick the calls. You need to know what song is coming, what song you're coming out. And you need to understand which, who are these artists? Like, what are they up to, you know? So how did you hack that? Because I know, I know. How did you hack it? It was a lot. I think at first, I remember the first time, because there's this thing called Graviate Shift, where we get to start, when you're starting radio, you start mostly midnight to in the morning, like midnight to 5 a.m. or something. So you're given that show. So that even if you make mistakes, not so many people listen to you, right? And I was just so nervous because there were things I was supposed to do. There's a time I went on air and I thought I was talking to people. I was talking to myself. I turned on the microphone. I turned on the microphone. I realized, what? I had already faded out the music. Yes, yes. Good. Boy, you were in trouble. It was crazy. You were in trouble. But at some time, I think you just get so, like, comfortable. You understand your audience. You understand your desk. You get more confident. And yeah, it's just so much fun, honestly. I think I have the best job to be honest. Really presented. In the world. Yeah, it's just about making people feel good, listen to music and have a good time. Right. And thanks for mentioning that. You know, having a good time and making people, you know, I was told you must be likeable. You must be fluid. Now, how did you hack that skill of presentation? Yeah. Because, you know, there's someone in my training as well. Yeah. Where, anywhere. You know, I was told you're not presenting. You are speaking. Speak, don't present. Yeah. Now, from your training, how did you hack it to now becoming the person who you are today from where you practice? You know, so weirdly, I was actually a radio producer like professionally, adding to broadcast. But broadcast is, I remember the first time I was in my first lecture in college. We were told to, you know, say our names. And I was there, I'm Shina Malumba. Then the lecturer said, it was very good for us. I was like, what do you mean? I was never, nobody has ever told me that. You're trying to fall for me. I was wondering what he was saying. We had a school radio station. He asked me to join that school radio station, which I did. It was at ECN, at KMC. And it was such, I was like, oh my God, this is what I really want. It's just really nice to be, I just felt really at home being able to present. I had a show of my own that time at school, the radio station. And it was just, I was like, I felt really at home and being able to make people feel good, be able to communicate to people without people really getting sick. So I go to work with shots sometimes. You will not know because it's just my voice you listen to. So I found that I'm not an eight to five person, which I like, because radio, you do your four hours, you go home. So I think that is one of those things that I was really attracted to, to radio very quickly. And from there, here you are. Yeah. Now, when it comes to even content, a lot of, there's something called audience segmentation. Remember, there's a time we hosted the director for media council of Kenya here. I think that should be last month. And we talked about audience segmentation, meaning there's people who prefer to listen to machine on keys and people would prefer to watch Saqwa on TV because they can relate maybe to Saqwa's model of broadcasting or they relate to motionless model of broadcasting. From your experience, even in Kenya, especially when it comes to mainstream stations as well, do you feel like we are hitting the muck when it comes to capturing our audience, feeding them with the right information, not only just write also what they need after they've listened to your show or watched your TV show as well. I think people go for, if you ask me, people go for personality more. It's who is Brand Saqwa? Who is Mishina Malumba? It's not how they do it. I think before that was the thing. Like, oh, this is how, let's say, those old presenters, those legendary presenters, how they used to do it. Oh, I am whoever and whoever. How they used to say their names. But nowadays, it's more about your personality. It's who you are. Do I relate to Brand Saqwa more? It's what Brand Saqwa will say during his show that I'll be like, oh, I think I relate to that, you know? So it's not really about, for me, I don't think it's how somebody presents it's who a person is. But I think capturing that, we're doing it very well because it's very distinct. You can clearly tell the people who love this person, the people who love this person and it's because of who they are, really. When you mentioned legendary presenters, I remember this time, there's this girl called Sheila Manege. Yes. She was legendary way back in the days. You'd listen to, I think it was easy, back in the days. And you'd think you're listening to Kina Shalaman the Gods on the breakfast club. So I also think that also motivated me as well. And on that note, I'd also like to know who are some of the people that used to listen to on radio that when you looked up to them, you were like, man, I really want to get on that platform so bad. I was such a huge fan of Maena. Maena again. I think even my lecturer told me I need to stop listening to Maena because I was being influenced on how I speak because of him. Because you just want to be someone so bad that you want to copy them. But really, Maena is a legend, of course. And you work with him. Yes. The first time I saw him, I was like, oh my God, this is like a king of radio in our country. So Maena is like a legend, honestly. Shayla Kwonboka is really good at what she does. I listen to people, other people like Willie M Tuva also is such a legend in the industry. So those are people like I've been listening to and I draw my inspiration from them. Okay. So they're very inspiring for at least almost every radio presenter. Right. Now, when it comes to dynamics of radio, there's a lot that happens in the mainstream space as well as just the whole general platform of radio. How do you handle competition as a broadcaster? For example, someone is watching Back at Home and they've started a podcast. Right now, you can start your own podcast and start becoming a radio show as well. For a person who's watching Back at Home, they have a vision of becoming a radio broadcaster. How can they manage that Steve competition? Because it's very cutthroat as well. You must bring something on the table for you to be considered into a space. You need to be really hungry for it. It took me six years to get to radio. It took me such a long time and it's because I was very hungry about it. I knew what I really wanted. I really just took myself out there. As cliche as it sounds, just never give up. I was told so many no's and I was almost giving up or not even really because at that point I was like, I don't want to do radio anymore because I'm not getting a job. But just being persistent about it. Nowadays, with the internet, as you've seen, you can be able to start your own podcast, start your own YouTube channel. That's how people also get discovered. But if you really just want to get into mainstream, I mean, that's what I was told when I was getting into radio. What do you think you're going to replace? Everyone is there. You're not going to get a job. But you just have to be passionate about it. You have to be hungry about it. You have to not give up, honestly, and put yourself out there. Apply to as many places, do the podcasting, do the YouTubeing, put yourself out there. And after that, just let it be because there's nothing else you can do. Do what you have to do and then let it be. And then if it comes to you, perfect. If it doesn't come to you, make it work. Because, like we said, it's a lot of competition and you have to be fit for it. Somebody was telling me you're either made for it or you make yourself for it. Now, today's theme, which is radio and peace, and I'll read for you a little bit, an excerpt a little bit later on as we complete the show. This is the theme for this year. And when it comes to uniting people, radio is like the fast, fast, fast, fast tool that actually gets people hooked into conversations. When a president addresses the nation, you realize that, and can you have over 200 local radio stations that speaks in vernacular languages as well, in terms of outreach and reaching out to the minorities, especially marginalized people that can't access a TV, like a TV set, they'd rather listen to radio as well. When it comes to when that widespread and outreach, do you feel like we are achieving it as a country? Amma, you feel like there's more to be done and maybe we should give ourselves time to be fortified at levels like international radio distribution platforms. I mean, radio is king. Radio has been there for such a long time and even right now in 2023 with the internet and all that is happening around because we all get information from our palm of our hands, radio is still king. People listen to radio every day in the morning coming to work. We are doing a good job, but I'm sure that we should be or could be doing much better in terms of especially bringing, converging the digital and radio together. I think as Kenyans, as the industry in Kenya, we need to do more about that because other people are doing it so perfectly well, right? But I think radio is just king. I don't think we need to try hard about it because it's been there for a long time. It is there right now and it is just doing the job. Like people listen to radios in cars whether they like it or not, they listen to it, you know. And it's just very interesting to see that after so many years, radio is still one of the leading medias honestly in the industry. Let me just read for you an excerpt here that says the early history of radio is it dates back to its technology that produces and uses instruments that use radio waves within a timeline of radio. Many people have contributed to the inventions and the theories as well that started off from a radio development program of wireless telegraphy. And then historical wise they're saying it dates back to 1895 where a young Italian named Guglielmo Marconi. I believe this should be France or a Greek Guglielmo Marconi who invented what was called the wireless telegraph that was used in an experiment and then it was later on used to transmit radio wave and then later on radio became the cheapest form of entertainment. It was the most popular medium during World War II. Its accessibility and availability meant that it fueled propaganda and could be used to reach a large number of citizens and it also helped to entertain and inform population. From your experience as a broadcaster do you feel like a lot of people in Kenya listen to radio more or the balance between radio, TV and print? I think there's a balance. I mean you find people who are like older generation who are just so used to listen to I mean to read newspapers first and foremost in the morning and listen to radio. But there's also a balance because the younger generation are more into digital. People just want to know what is going on, they'll go to Twitter, they'll find TikTok and they'll get involved. And as much as there's a balance that old media is something that you can't really just get rid of easily honestly. I mean TV has been here for four years and you guys are still here you know and you're doing the job. People if you want to find authentic they know they might hear stories on Twitter but for them to make sure they'll come to the TV and see what is really going on is that really what is happening. And it's just very interesting to see that those old videos are still there and yeah. Right, great. Now when it comes to mentorship before you become anything or before you become something you might as least go through training and I believe even in a generation where young people are more enthusiastic we have a lot of ambitious young people like you listen to a radio station right now there's 18-year-olds talking on radio as compared to like way back like you mentioned there's 50-year-olds. So in terms of mentorship if a young person has a vision of getting to radio how can they get to that place where they have someone like for you you said you had my Nakagene how can they identify a person that can mentor them and nurture them to a place where they finally hack it and now get be ready to be a professional on a platform because I believe you have to go through all of that especially right now. Yeah you have to and also you don't have to in a way that yes like for me I went to a school yes there are people I used to look up to my Nakagene didn't mentor me but it's just somebody I used to really look up to and you relate with people as I've said before you relate to the people because of their personality who they really are if you feel like William Tuva is or Mina or whoever is Sheila Kwonboka or Bina you look up to them and realize okay this is what they do like follow the sort of follow them in terms of like what they're doing how like I was very invested to know the presenters in the industry what they what their life story was or is like how did they get into radio but with all said and done it just comes down to you and what you really want. Like you have to make sure this is what I really want you have to be hungry about it you have to really be passionate about it listen to as many presenters as possible find out somebody that really speaks to you and be able to sort of follow their footsteps find out do you have to go to school you can go to school but sometimes nowadays it's all about personality whatever degree you're on as long as you have a talent to speak to people and make people feel good that's just what it matters right. Alright which is great amazing I love that and I think on that note we're going to take a very short break when we come back he'll be telling us how exactly can we use radio to influence people's cultures or to actually you know borrow people's ideas and get to experience diversity as well as how do you hack a radio job in Kenya he'll be telling us that and much more so we take a very short break we come back please stay on that hashtag why in the morning why 254