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Tv & Radio > News & Features Sunday April 23, 2006
Strong signals from Wfm
AIR RAVES BY ANTHONY THANASAYAN
A MONTH ago in this column, I bemoaned the fact that Radio Wanita Berhad (Wfm) was still producing feeble and miserable radio signals, even after a whole year of test transmissions in the Klang Valley in 2005.
Well, imagine my surprise when a fortnight ago I found that I was able to pick up the signal, loud and clear, on the FM88.10MHz frequency.
Listeners may have first noticed Wfm’s robust radio waves during lunchtime on April 4. Since then, the broadcaster which originates from Jalan Kampar in Kuala Lumpur has been, for the most part, giving good feed on the FM bandwidth.
The strong signals place Wfm as the latest competitor on the local radio scene in the Klang Valley. But will it succeed as a worthy challenger to other FM stations?
I kept tabs on the bilingual Malay and English station during the first two weeks since it went loud. Here’s what I thought:
The music: Wfm’s forte is unmistakably its music selection. There’s almost something for everyone within its target group of 25-year-olds and above – contemporary, jazz, instrumentals and even Malay classical such as keroncong. The station, however, has to add more genres as well as albums to its music databank. I’d like to hear English classical music and country songs that the station promised during its launch in February last year.
The deejays: Called “navigators”, here’s where Wfm has some serious work to do. Some DJs sounded unsure, others seemed to lack experience.
A few said the wrong things and tried to laugh it off. On the plus side, there are no rapid-fire talkers like many DJs on other stations; Wfm navigators take pains to speak clearly. The challenge here is to keep their presentation from getting boring in the process.
Wfm’s language broadcasts on weekdays are: 6am-2pm in English; 2pm-4pm in English and Malay; and 4pm-6am in Bahasa Malaysia. On weekends, Wfm broadcasts solely in BM.
Red on fire
DID I mention how absorbing it was on the afternoon and evening of March 31 listening in to Red 104.9’s coverage of the Ninth Malaysia Plan?
I had tuned in to Red, shortly after the 9MP was unveiled by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi in Parliament.
Red’s Tim and Shareena were not only already on it, they broke it down into simple terms and concepts which helped the man-in-the-street make sense of the national mission.
To accomplish this, Tim played the “confused” Malaysian whilst Shareena patiently explained how the 9MP would have an impact on his life.
Listeners were also invited to SMS or phone in to Red with their questions on the 9MP.
The Red jocks later revealed to me that they had help from special updates provided by The Star which they used on their show.
Well done, guys!
Anthony Thanasayan, who was born disabled, is an avid radio listener. His work, training special dogs for the physically handicapped, has been featured on local and international radio. His dogs, he says, help him ‘stay in tune with life’. E-mail him at athanasayan@hotmail.com.
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