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Founder AMBROSE SOMIDE Tells City People
It is no longer news that ace broadcaster Ambrose Somide has just floated a new FM station called Smailz 98.7fm. He says it is a different kind of FM Station that focuses on Entertainment 24/7. Read on…
When you were planning to set up Smailz, were you not worried about how you were going to cope with Competition and the high number of radio stations existing in the country?
I was never worried. What will give rise to worry is when you aren’t experienced on the job. When we came up with Faaji FM about 12 years ago, the market was somehow saturated, we just had to define what we wanted to be, the market we wanted to serve and we came on stream with the type of programming we want people to listen to and how to drive the audience. But for the challenge of running cost like diesel, electricity etc, and the number of people who run the station is not up to 10. Our news is outsourced. Marketing is outsourced. Engineering is outsourced. We don’t have a big place. Gone are the days when radio stations need big space. From my house in Abeokuta because I have a mini studio there, if I want to override them at the studio, I will just go online. The transmitter will pick it up. If I’m In the UK I can do the same. This interview I’m presently conducting, we just need to set it and the transmitter will pick it up. I know I have to rely on Technology to do that and not on the big gadget.
Tell us about the radio station?
The name of the radio station is Smailz Radio 98.7 fm. Smailz is a coinage from Smile. Why Smailz? This was a name coined by my son: the youngest in the family. Even before he went to the university to study Mass Communications and when he came out, he asked what are we going to call the station?
He suggested Smile Radio and we made effort to register with the trademark but we were told there was a station with the name smile somewhere in the east and we still wanted to maintain the smile. We now said why not change the spelling and still connote the same meaning and sound and that’s how we arrived at Smailz. The essence of the name is bringing smile to the people, morning and night.
What are you doing differently that will attract people to your FM station because we have over 40 fm stations in Lagos. What are you doing differently? For example, if I want to listen to a political news or debate on radio, I now where to tune to. What stands you out?
If you want to listen to political content you know where to tune to at a time! And I’m challenging that. The day of 100 percent loyalty to a radio station is changing or to a particular medium is changing. If for example, I’m able to bring an Emefiele to a morning show and you listened to him on my show today, I can bet it with you that you are not likely to say I know where to tune to but where you listened to Emefiele.
What are people looking out for in radio and how can we best serve it? Everybody is playing music and everybody is talking. But it’s not just talk but quality talk. A lot of them are just talking with out knowing much details of what they are saying.
In the industry you can’t wish away the impact of the likes of Baba Gboin, Abey Fagboro, Yomi Somimu, Ambrose Somide etc. These people still command large followership. Also the younger generation, you don’t want to leave them out. Bring them on board and tell them what to do. Teach them.
Is Baba Gboin part of the new establishment?
Yes, he is part of it. He holds every Thursday morning 9 to 11. I know the industry will give me credit one day because when I came with Faaji FM what I did was to bring the Rainbow style of programming as against the mosaic style of programming. The mosaic style of programming is having programmes for example; Koko inu iwe iroyin from 7 to 7:30 am, from 7:45 to 8, you have exercise etc. So when Faaji started in the morning you have Oye’la from Monday to Friday but presented by different individuals but the same programme. From 10 or so, you have Ise’ya, presented by different people etc. So there is uniformity. What we have done at Smailz instead of doing Yoruba and Pidgin, we did English and Yoruba with some piding thrown in here and there. Looking at the audience too like Ikoyi, Ikeja, Arepo and its environs. The audience mix is also very important in terms of programming. You can’t programme below them and above them. You have to come to their level and represent them well.
There has been a high proliferation of FM radio stations. A lot of them are running these organisations without the pre requisite professional background to for presentation and delivery. Sometimes they launch into subjects they know little about. How do you correct this and also train some young people who want to pass through you?
It’s a worry for all of us. Not only in Broadcasting but Media generally. I’m sure you agree with me that in the last 2 decades you have seen all kinds of manner of people who have tried to mimick what you do and have to pattern the publication they have after City People.
You have seen people even in the name of their publication trying to imitate City People brand. After a short period you see them fall because they can’t sustain it because if you don’t have it you don’t have it. We have always raised this issue even with the regulators. And they say the market and the ecosystem will regulate themselves at a point. As I speak to you there are stations that have been sold off. Because of issues of capacity, issues of fund etc.Because if you are not paying well and you are not investing in capital building, you will have all manner of elements come on air. The only thing some of these elements know about broadcasting is how to put on a microphone and open the phone lines. All the basic elements and rudiments of broadcasting they don’t know. What I have taught in the last decade and half is that, the job of a Presenter is like that of a Pilot. You must be in your perfect state of mind before you can fly. The same thing can be said to a Presenter. As a Presenter you also must be sound.
We will continue to train people about the ethics and broadcasting of now. The broadcasting of now is that you have to speak with the people and you have to engage them. You have to read their mood and put yourself in the mood. Unlike what we used to say that radio is “Aso’ro magbesi” because there’s no feed back but now there was instant feed back then. Now people will tell you what is that person doing there and they will even embarrass you. A few days a go, there was a particular feedback we got through one of our programmes and the person said ‘I am a university Professor. Stop pushing the euro centric narrative on us, we are Africans. I can’t recollect the particular topic or probably it was a callers contributions that he was referring to. Everytime you go on radio, there are people who do not know at all. There are people who know just a little and there are people who know so well and they can teach you and your teacher. So you have to represent the full spectrum. Do not assume too much knowledge but also display a level of knowledge or else you will be flawed.
What does it take to be a good Broadcaster?
Broadcasters are made and Broadcasters are born. But the ones that are made are more in number. But the first basic principle is that, Be Teachable. Some people believe that as long as I can talk and people will laugh, they think they are good presenters. They go on radio say things they shouldn’t say on radio. And that’s why you have many of such things online. Things that shouldn’t be said on air. You must be Teachable, you must be willing to learn. You must be ready to forget all the things you have learnt in the university to really learn the job. The basic principles are the same.
The business of radio is like that of a magazine: to inform, educate and entertain etc. The other aspect is Business angle. For us in the private sector the bottom line is very very important. So, we say to ourselves how do we make our contents marketable? Its not just about going on radio to just talk and say anything. Somebody called me yesterday and asked if we sell airtime and I said no! That’s an old notion of radio station selling airtime. What radio sells now is the audience that you are delivering.
