No regrets for leaving SABC – John Perlman

“I feel great about my new job,” Perlman told Bizcommunity.com at the headquarters of Kaya FM in Newtown, Johannesburg. “Even though I still have to learn basic things around here, I believe that I have joined a strong organisation that has so much potential and a huge listenership.”

Perlman, dubbed a ‘media hero' by certain free-thinking quarters, including Cosatu, for standing up and speaking out against what many observers call the ‘political antics' of the SABC, has been in the ‘touchline' since his last show on 2 March 2007 at SAfm.

Won the hearts of millions

After nine years, one month and two days working for SAfm, where he won the hearts of millions of listeners across SA – some of whom admit they still miss him, he said he needed more time to sort out his mind and plan ahead.

“I enjoyed my break and it has been a liberating period for me,” he remarked. “When you stay at the top, as I did for nine years, your mind works in a particular way.

“So you need some time to sort it out and plan carefully about the future. But I have been very busy during that time. I met a lot of incredible people and did a lot of different work to keep myself in shape.”

Perlman left the SABC under dark clouds and IOL reported that his departure was marked by FXI-led protests and excellent tributes through a full-page advertisement endorsed by Cosatu and 221 prominent people and organisations, including among others, Cosatu, human rights lawyer George Bizos and Jacob Zuma's shadow spokesperson Ranjeni Munusamy.

“No regrets”

“I have no regrets leaving SAfm,” he said. “Believe me I had a fantastic time at the SABC. I have a great respect for the public broadcaster because it gave me an amazing gift and an opportunity to be on radio. In fact, I never clashed with the institution itself but I disagreed with the way certain people were doing certain things.”

And that disagreement infuriated the SABC's top management, which believed that he and his ‘group of rebels' were challenging certain ‘established norms' of the organisation.

Nevertheless, Perlman regrets that their challenge never produced anything concrete, as things are still the same. However, he said all that is history and he is now looking forward to the future with Kaya FM, which he said has a ‘very strong presence' in the community.

Mark Mdlela, Kaya FM marketing manager, told Bizcommunity.com: “We are very excited to have John on board because his expertise and experience will stir the station to greater heights.”

Perlman's show will basically consist of tackling topical issues that make headlines during the day.

Kaya FM, which broadcasts on the FM frequency 95.9, will celebrate its 10 years of existence in August this year. Its current listenership stands at 445 000 per average day and 1 039 000 in the past seven days.