702, where talk IS the walk

"I was told 10 years ago that 702 would have to become a black radio station with black presenters to survive," says 702 Talk Radio afternoon drive-time presenter David O' Sullivan. "The logic was that black listeners would only listen to black presenters talking about black issues. But that's been disproved when you look at the audience we have, which is 60% black. We have so many black callers phoning in now that a former colleague of mine, Neil Johnson, asked, 'Do you have a policy to only take black callers?' To which I answered, 'No. That's all we've got'. What matters is that we're talking about issues that affect listeners, issues that are relevant regardless of race."

After reinventing itself five years ago, 702 has hit its stride with a balance of programming that mixes hard-core news with lighter programming and good news stories. The focus is strongly parochial, focusing on "backyard issues" that affect the Gauteng-based listenership. "People clamour for news of what is happening in their back yards. International news doesn't matter that much to our regular listeners, it's more about what's scaring people locally and making them uneasy," says O' Sullivan. "People want a reassuring pat on the back and for us to say: 'There, there. It's all right. Julius Malema may be scaring the living shit out of you, but everything will be alright.' People really need us to reassure them."

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