My Bulawayo had the chance to sit down with Godwin Phiri the first station manager for the first commercial radio station in Bulawayo Skyz metro 100.3 fm broadcasting live from 902 pioneer house in the heart of Bulawayo.
My Bulawayo (MB) and Godwin Phiri (GP)
MB. who is Skyzmetro fm
GP. Skyzmetro fm is a station for people in Bulawayo.for artists in Bulawayo to see their talent being heard on air, its an station for people in Matebebeland , our desire is to give people of this region a voice. give them an opportunity to speak about their issues whether older or younger Skyzmetro fm is for everyone. we are basically a station that caters for listenership targetting from 12 years to the 50s, our programming responds to a broad range to the population, from the rural areas to the urban areas. our programming is diverse and caters for every age group.
MB.What is the mission of skyzmetro fm
GP. is to provide best entertainment in the region, to provide a platform for people to speak of any issues , to speak to each other and of each other and we do this by providing the programming that caters for everyone.
MB. define your listener
GP. our listeners are diverse from the school going children, from people in the rural areas, our aim is to bring Bulawayo closer, kombi drivers listen to our radio. Our listernership is broad, we have listeners who are company executives, farmers, vendors we are happy we are achieving our aim of bringing Bulawayo closer.
MB. Skyzmetro fm also covers Plumtree, Beitbridge, Gwanda, what can you say about this in terms of your coverage
GP.Skyzmetro is a station not only for people in Bulawayo, we are a radio station for Matebeleland. for us it tells us we have achieved what we wanted to achieve,it means our programming is on the journey of achieving an exclusive radio station in which everybody finds a home
MB. playing local music any comment on that
GP. our policy is to play 70% of Bulawayo or Matebeleland music. we talking of everybody who is in Bulawayo or Matebeleland, regardless of language, basically we want to promote talent from this region, playing locla music is a source of pride as we have given young people the platform to be heard and we have uplifted them.
MB. can you say so far you have achieved your mission and vision
GP, so far yes, but mission and vision can be achieved in long term, we are happy that from the response we are getting we think the people are appreciating what we have brought them locally and international.
MB, People have said Skyzmetro fm is the only relevant thing in Bulawayo after Highlanders, what is your comment on that?
GP. we are learning from Highlanders as a big institution , we are looking at Highlanders on how to be gounded in the community, how it has been sustained for so long and remained relevant, we are proud and humbled when people compare us to Highlanders.
MB. challenges faced by Skyzmetro fm
GP. everyone has a challenge the realities of the economy has been a huge challenge as we delayed broadcasting live, As an organisation we all face challenges here and there and we have been finding ways around them.
MB, tell us about your line up
GP. our shows are made up experienced presenters and we have given opportunity to new talents from Bulawayo. wehave got the breakfast show hosted by Babongile Skhonjwa with Khaya Moyo known as Khaya Drastiq, we have the hangout with Tkp and BK we have Patience Phiri, Donna Ncube, we have Arthur Evans just to mention the view
MB. can we say the station has created empoyment for Bulawayo people
GP. Oh yes oh yes we have directly employed 40 people, we have created employment for artists as well through playing their music, we do advertising for companies and that has been form of employment,
MB amongst all the shows which show does it for you?
GP. all our shows are my favorite shows. i do not think there is a better Breakfast show that the Vuka vuka breakfast show , there is no show better than the Hangout at the moment, The transition, and the vibe,all these shows are created in a unique way and for me all these shows are the best shows in this country.
MB. with the start of the Premier soccer league this year 2017 can we look foward in live commentary in terms of soccer?
GP. yes by the time the league kicks off we would have finalised all this as we are currently working on it at the present moment,
MB.what is important in terms of your presenter line up talent or qualification?
GP. both but the most important is attitude, talent and skill will be there but if the attitude is not right ultimately there is no one bigger than the radio station , if you find yourself thinking you are bigger than the radio sttaion you are saying you are bigger than the listener , advertisers. attitude is the key.
MB. what can people liik foward to receive from Skyzmetro fm?
GP. expect innovation, entertainment, we want feedback from the listeners, we are a very interactive station, we will be sitting down to look at where we are coming from and where we are going,,so we want feedback from the people.
MB, in future would we wxpect to see Skyzmetro fm broadcasting in Mzilikazi, Luveve, Gwabalanda
GP. oh yes that is certain Skyzmetro fm ngesabantu bantu, so we would love to interact with the listener on that level,
MB. thank you for your time Sir
GP. kubonga mina