INTERVIEW: Radio Jambo Presenters Speak Of Their Experiences When They Went On Air For The First Time

A wise man once said that a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. Literally speaking, taking a step while walking towards a place is a very simple thing but if the saying is applied to other things, the first step is, sometimes, the most difficult and challenging.

It is with that in mind that radiojambo.co.ke spoke to some of the presenters at Radio Jambo to share their experiences of the first time they went on air at Radio Jambo or any other radio station for that matter and the following is what they had to say.

1. YUSUF JUMA

"For me it was terrible and I almost gave up on reading news that very same day. I was very nervous and my bulletin was filled with "samahani" (excuse me) and "niwie radhi" (please bear with me). I was rushing and made so many mistakes that I feared I could get sacked. After the bulletin, I let out a huge sigh of relief because the "torture" was over and I even contemplated not reading news because the experience made me believe it was not something that I was good at.

The funniest thing about it all is that I was so psyched before that first bulletin and was perfect in me rehearsal but when I got to the booth everything and I became nervous. I got to the booth a bit late and I think that is what made me nervous and confused. However with guidance and encouragement from my colleagues, I was more composed and calm the second time I went on air and from then everything has been smooth."

2. BRAMWELL MWOLOLO

"Everything went so well. In fact I, together with Mzee Toldo, were the first people ever to go live on air on Radio Jambo and everything was went as planned. We were not nervous or anything of the sort. The fans received us so well and we went on to have one of the best sports show in Africa."

3. JACOB "GHOST" MULEE

"Like Bramwell, mine first time on air at Radio Jambo was perfect. At that time I used to present the Breakfast Show together with Carol Radull and Bernard Otieno. I had the role of the street-smart guy from the ghetto and used to speak in Swahili and Sheng' whereas Carol spoke in English and Bernard spoke in both English and Swahili."

4. DAVIS OJIAMBO

"By the time I went on air on Radio Jambo I was already a veteran in this field if I can say so and I was not nervous or anything. Perhaps the only challenge I had were the technical hitches that used to occur at the time and that would force me to pause for almost five seconds on air because I could not find a script or an audio clip refused to play. That is what used to give me problems at the time because a five-second pause while on air on radio is quite a big sin.

Anyway for my first time on air at a radio station was a disaster and I almost wet my pants. I was just fresh from college and there I was reading the news on Classic 105. I was so tense and nervous and worse is the booth I was in had a glass partitioning so please outside could see me read the news."

5. EUDIAS KIGAI

"By the time I came to Radio Jambo I already had on-air experience at Waumini FM and Milele FM so being behind the mic was like a duck taking to water. The only difference though was that at Radio Jambo, the audience was much bigger because the station was heard in many parts of the country.

However my first time on air at Waumini was full of drama. I was not even a presenter because I was the one handling the technical side of things but one day I said that I could do better than a presenter who I was working with at the time. There and then, I was told to go on air and it was baptism by fire. I just did my own things. I skipped some adverts, did not play some songs and even had a problem picking calls.

From there I was told to read the news and I had became so nervous that when I was to go on air, I left the booth saying that I would not read the news. I was so tense but luckily our boss at the time was a very patient person and much as he was not pleased, he was happy to guide me and show me the ropes. With time I improved and became better."

6. EMMANUEL WANJALA

"I messed up big time and to make matters worse, mine was a recording. I was coming in to replace Bruce Amani who had left for Germany to work with Deutsche Welle. There was barely no time for any smooth transition and orientation so there were things that I had not grasped well. I was hired on Fenraury 24th 2011 and did my first news recording on February 28th 2011 and the recording was very horrible.

I was to record a four-minute clip for the 8PM bulletin for that day but ended up doing an 8-minute clip which took me one hour to complete. Despite being a recording, I was so nervous and rushed through words and it was almost impossible for anyone to hear what I said. Being a recording, the clip was to be played several times till the following morning and so my mistakes were played over and over again.

Bruce Amani had not left for Germany yet and as he was at the airport, he happened to listen to my news recording and he called me immediately to pass me some useful tips. First he noted that my recording was too long and second, I was not calm and composed. He then advised to make work easier, I should only focus on three key news item and one or two items from sports. That I would be able to have a shorter clip and will not have to rush through.

Following Amani advice and reassurances, I am happy to say I had a much improved presentation the second time.

7. DIAMOND OKUSIMBA

"Mine was a disaster. When I went on air for the first time at Radio Jambo I was shouting so much and because I have a very soft voice, some listeners complained that I was whining. The fact that I was doing the show together with Peter "Daddy P" Kirumba and Yusuf Kaona did not make things better for me because they had roaring and booming voices.

What gave me confidence to go on was the fact that fans still appreciate my being knowledgeable in matters football and sports in general."

8. MBUSII AND LION

"Well we already had experience from Ghetto Radio and the only thing we were concerned with when we came here is if our show was going to pick up. Things is till we came here, Radio Jambo had never played reggae music so we were coming to break new ground and we did not know how things would go.

Our first time on air on Radio Jambo was in Gidi Na Ghost Asubuhi because we had to hype our show and all and to say the truth we did not do ourselves any justice by arriving late for that show. Traffic was bad on that day and by the time we got to the studio we were sweating and panting because of the running we had to do to make up for lost time.

Being in Gidi  Na Ghost Asubuhi we realised that Jambo fans were eager to hear from us and that made us even more excited. We can equate their expectations for our show to the upcoming Mayweather-Pacquiao fight. From that, it was up to us to make a good impression and we are glad we managed to do just that.