Goings and coming over
By the time you read this piece you most likely would be preparing to embark on an Easter journey or already on the journey or just sitting somewhere to mind your business.
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There will be a lot of activities happening all over the country but as has been the practice for some time now, the real action will be on the Kwahu ridge where revelers will most likely throng to celebrate the “Kwahu Bronya.”
In Accra, I have heard about so many events that would be worth checking during the long holiday and they include the MTN Praise and Choral Festival at the Accra International Conference Centre on Sunday; Fashion, Lifestyle and Gadgets Festival at the Trade Fair from Saturday to Monday; Airtel Frendz Waakye Party at the Aviation Social Centre on Sunday; to mention but a few. Not to talk about the numerous beach parties across the length of Ghana’s shoreline.
However, while Easter goes on and people would be enjoying their well-deserved Easter holidays others are also busy finding out how they can continue to be relevant in the radio and television space and in the process their careers after Easter.
There are a lot of such possible movements from one media house to another but there are these three that I would like you to know about.
A POPULAR FEMALE TV PRESENTER: Not long ago I mentioned to you in this column that Vibe FM had been in the process of rebranding since Michael Cooke sold part of the business to an investor. I mentioned to you that while the frequency remains on 91.9fm the name of the station would change to something I gave you a clue about.
For a while now Live FM, as the new station would be known when it is revealed, has been test transmitting and I must say playing some good music too for a good measure making it possible to leave the noisy stations once in a while to “cool off”.
I also mentioned that there would be presenters such Kwame Faakye, George Brun, Giles Bossman, Kojo Mensah who are part of the plan for the new station and yet the station was still in the market to bring in some big shots to add to the number.
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A very popular female TV presenter may be a name you are familiar with. Her face may also be one which has appeared on your television screens for a long time now as she reads the news on one of the most popular TV news programmes and presents other shows on the station as well.
The next time you see her on your TV please take a closer look at her for it is possible that would be the very last time you would be seeing her as I have very strong reason to be believe that in the next few days you would be hearing her presenting a show or two on Live FM.
Some would be asking why anybody would be leaving a flourishing television career to go to a radio station which is now about to start, if indeed this piece of news ends up to be true? Well if it does happen, I am certain it would, she would not be the first and she would also have her reason for doing so is all I can say.
Rumour has it that she will either present the news or host a show or both at Live FM, but we must wait to see, mustn’t we? And, oh, you most definitely must wait to know who it is I am talking about. But just so you know, this female presenter has a colleague male presenter she co-presents with who is also likely to leave soon.
JEREMIE VAN-GERSHON: Another name that came up when I met with Mike Cooke earlier was that of YFM’s Jeremie Van-Gershon but Cooke was quick to point out that even though the deal was sealed he would like to put an embargo on it for the time being.
Well it is now an open secret that Jeremie the adorable sweetheart of many listeners of YFM would be moving over to the rebranded station very soon to join forces with her old pals from Vibe FM like Farkye, Giles, Brun and Dennis Mepuri.
Before moving to YFM, Jeremie had cut her teeth as a teen broadcaster at Vibe FM and stayed on to develop her herself.
Her show on YFM is one of the lynchpins for the station and it gives an opportunity for activations and brand engagements to be planned around it. It is a show that mostly appeals to the core of YFM’s target group and it must be emphasized that at the last Radio and TV Personalities Awards she was named the Female Radio Presenter of the year.
It must be said therefore that Jeremie’s leaving would be a big blow to YFM in their bid to find a replacement for the LAFA speaking presenter. It can however not be said that she can translate the same attraction and level of success she had at YFM to Live FM. Again, we can only wait and see, no?
There are other presenters and DJs who would end up in the stable of Live FM including Benny Blanco and DJ Mic Smith but we would have to wait and see what role they would be assigned to play in the mix of things to know what their contribution would be.
I believe in the coming days, when the station finally launches, there would be a lot for us to say about the new station and the presenters and the programmes and how everybody carries themselves about. In the meantime, chew on the fact that the female TV presenter I mentioned and Jeremie Van-Gershon are likely to be working from the same building opposite Tesano police station in a few days.
ANDY DOSTY: I am sure those of you who listen to his shows all the time would be wondering where Hitz FM’s controversial reggae presenter Blakk Rasta has been off to over the last two weeks and the reason for a sit-in presenter during the period.
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There are rumours in town that he had quit the station. I can confirm however that Blakk Rasta is still with Hitz FM except that he is on a two week suspension. From what I understand he had a punch-up with colleague presenter DJ Awana and being the aggressor in the matter he was suspended and asked to apologise to his colleague.
Listeners of the station would know that DJ Awana takes over from Blakk Rasta to play music before Kwame B comes on to present the late afternoon show. Awana as he had done from his days at Adom FM and Oman FM had always been a silent DJ.
This is where one of Kumasi’s longest serving presenters is Andrew Akwasi Amoh or Andy Dosty as he is popularly known comes in. From next week you are most likely going to hear Dosty presenting the show that Awana had been presenting for some time now when he takes over the ariwaves after Blakk Rasta’s Taxi Driver show.
Andy Dosty has been around the radio scene for a while and he has taken up presenter’s job at some of the big station in Kumasi including Radio Mercury, Otec FM, Hello FM and Angel FM. This however would be his first official job on radio in Accra.
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Since leaving the “shores” of Kumasi to Accra last year Andy Dosty has been seeking to land another job on a radio station and it would seem what he has got from Hitz FM is the break he needed. Between his arrival and getting this new job however, Dosty had been the presenter of Graphic Showbiz on TV.
Presenting an afternoon show in an entirely different city from where he has been familiar with for such a long time would be a new kettle of fish to the former mobile and night club DJ. How he manages this change would be known in the days to come.
So welcome to Accra and welcome to mid afternoon radio, Andy Dosty. We shall be listening to know how you progress in this new role off 355 Fanofaa Street!
By Francis Doku
Email: doku342@yahoo.com