RADIO PRESENTERS CALLED TO RESEARCH

By Cameron Henderson (Projects Abroad)

Radio presenters have been urged to carry out effective research to enhance their service delivery in the media.

Frederick Ofuri-Nuako, aka DJ Mystic Man, revealed this to Central Press Newspaper when we caught up with him at Radio Central this week.

Frederick Ofuri-Nuako, aka DJ Mystic Man, has been a radio disc jockey for 12 years now. A graduate of the University of Cape Coast between 1999-2002, Mystic Man was studying B.Ed Social science with a major in economics and management. His interest in DJing started before he attended university and during his time of study and then teaching at Aggrey Senior High School he developed his passion for the radio game. Leading a double life, Mystic Man worked his day job at the school while also holding a solid position as the drive time presenter at GBC.

“I’d close from school, and then come to play the drive over here, the moment I’d stop teaching I’d have to rush to the studio to come and present the drive from 4 until 6”.

Clearly leading a busy lifestyle, we asked Mystic what inspired him to lead such a demanding career path. “I am always someone who is interested in giving information to people”. From information on world news to local events happening around town, Mystic is clearly a man passionate for making a difference to the community in a positive way. During his drive time show on GBC he opens the phone lines, allowing listeners to call in and inform the public on incidents such as accidents and other hazards to watch out for while travelling around the region. He is also interested in the environment and uses his show as an avenue for distributing good advice on successful upkeep of the general environment so all the people can benefit.

 Mystic is also responsible for running the GBC chart show on Saturdays, ‘Hits of the Week’, which airs from 2-4pm. The show features all the hottest music in Ghana at the moment with Hip-life and Gospel beats regularly dominating the airwaves. Mystic is dedicated to bringing the most popular new music to the charts show every week, playing the top 20 hits in various genres that are loved by the people of Ghana, “we try to come all over Ghana, to ask them what is going on in the area of music”.

His dedication can also be seen through his personal commitment travelling to markets around the Central Region and asking questions of salespeople who sell music CDs about what their highest selling items are each week, gaining an insight into what styles of music are being purchased by people in Ghana and how the trends change from week to week. He also seeks information from other popular media outlets to keep up to date with what music they are also playing to their listeners.

Mystic also enjoys looking up information on the internet for the Saturday show about popular international celebrities, giving the opportunity for Ghanaians to hear some international gossip, adding a little bit of excitement to the show while breaking up the airplay between songs. All this dedication is paying off to ‘Hits of the Week’ because it is currently one of the hottest programs in town at the moment, with the listenership increasing every week.

“The sky is the limit!” exclaims Mystic when asked if he has any aspirations for his future. Even after so long at GBC he had not made his position permanent until recently as he was still teaching. But looking towards the future and his passion for radio, Mystic explains, “the job is about talent, if you have talent you cannot press it down you have to let it come up”. He says this having just finished his teaching job, explaining that while he enjoys teaching he wants his information to reach a wider audience and radio is the best way that will happen for him as he broadens his career at GBC, expanding the amount of shows he is doing.

The undeniable passion Mystic has for his job truly shines through in the way he conducts himself professionally though Central Press was interested to discover how he made time for himself and his family while maintaining such a hectic career. He doubles up as a producer for the GBC morning show on weekdays too, so he is always at the studio from 7-10am, organising programmes and lining up interviews with professional sources in whatever field the day’s stories will be about, then he returns later in the day for his drive time slots as well.

“I am married with 2 kids, one is 2 and a half and the other is 4 and a half years old”, Mystic reveals to us. He says he spends time with his children and his wife in the day between his morning show and his drive time show. He is thankful to have a phone with internet connection, meaning he can research the latest stories conveniently and leisurely at home when he has the time, allowing him to spend more time with his family while he is on the go.

To any upcoming or aspiring radio presenters Mystic advises that they must have a passion and a drive behind what they do, with a willingness to always be thinking about the work they are doing, even when not at work.

“If you want to be a radio person, and you want to go higher in the area of radio you have to do a lot of research, its not about you and your style of music, the style is part of it but anybody at all can just go to the market and buy a cassette or CD, you can get everything to buy”, he explains.

The people that listen to the radio are not just looking for music and Mystic believes that in order to make it in radio presenting, you need to do more research and actually analyse and source what people want to find out about. It is the responsibility of a radio presenter, he believes, to give to the people information that reflects their society and discuss issues that affect their day-to-day lives.

“Its not about sitting down, just playing music and then turning off, you have to move a little bit higher”, and a little bit higher is where we see Mystic Man going in the future, because in his own words, the sky is the limit.