“I am speaking to you from the attic and I hope my words are reaching all of you staying safe at home,” announces RJ Joseph Annamkutty Jose from his home at Karukutty, near Angamaly.
While some FM stations in Kerala have minimised operations from office with few RJs coming in, presenters in Red FM, Big FM, Radio Mirchi and Radio Mango have completely moved to work-from-home mode in view of the current lockdown to contain the spread of Coronavirus.
“All five RJs of our station have been provided with the equipment to set up a radio booth at our homes. Although a basic frame to play the songs has been put in by our scheduler, our RJs can change the song using their phone, if needed, or can make suggestions,” says Firoz A Azeez, RJ and programming head, Big FM – Kerala.
Listeners have been informed that their favourite RJs are working from home, so live calls cannot be taken. Instead, the jockeys interact with listeners through their official or personal social media handles. “They can send us messages to our official WhatsApp number or Facebook page. Technical snags might be there, but we are looking at the brighter side. Although we had the option to play songs back- to-back we want to work this way to keep the listeners engaged,” says Parvathy Nair, senior programming head, Red FM-Thiruvananthapuram. Some of them post videos about how they record their shows at home as well.
- A software has been installed on their laptops in place of the studio equipment. The arrangement is such that recordings on their phones are transferred to the laptop and edited using the software before they are sent to the music scheduler/manager who plays the song. In some stations the schedulers too are working from their homes.
The content has been revised without games and comedy capsules. RJs have been directed to be sunny and positive instead of concentrating on the downside of the outbreak. So they give pointers about social and physical distancing, as well as remind people about precautions to be taken. “We give information about how many people have recovered after testing positive for COVID-19, air their bytes and get brief interviews from ministers, health experts and celebrities on how to stay safe. We have tweaked the content to include topics such as ‘how to stay healthy and positive while at home’,” says Firoz.
According to Ravindran Nair, director of programmes, Radio Mango-Kerala, Association of Radio Operators for India (AROI), the official association of the private commercial radio stations in India, has formed a group with officials of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India, who disseminate information and updates related to the disease. “This information is passed down to the listeners by our RJs. We also get constant updates from the District Collectorate and the State Government. We try to keep our listeners calm and make them stay at home,” he says.
Joseph adds, “Our motto is ‘be a ray of sunshine’ and give a daily dose of happiness.”
