Metro's Matona Ntshona wants to take station to greater heights

"First of all, I will make sure that our station continues to be the number one choice for listeners of all races and a reliable advertising platform for companies willing to do business with us," she says. "They must rest assured that as a woman I have come to give this industry in general and Metro FM in particular a fresh and new perspective."

Born 32 years ago in Durban and raised in the Eastern Cape, Ntshona has been involved in radio since her school days, having worked as a DJ of Campus Radio at the University of Durban-Westville. She says her appointment, in a complex and evolving mass-medium such as radio, shows that women can be trusted as they can contribute a lot in this industry.

"My wish is to see more women embrace radio career and be given the respect as radio personalities and not only as women," she says.

Challenges

But the world of radio is becoming fast-paced and exciting, where new trends and influences mingle and push the industry to a multidimensional landscape. So, to meet these challenges, a radio station needs to have a dynamic team led and inspired by a quick-thinking leader who takes the interest of listeners and advertisers at heart.

Ntshona, despite having no experience in managing a radio station, is optimistic in her ability to fulfill this role. "Without listeners and advertisers, there is no station," she says. "In fact, radio needs people. It is just logical that I work hard to bring a sense of belonging to our audiences and deliver services that will please them and reinforce their faithfulness towards us."

However, it remains to be seen how she is going to achieve that feat as she declines to divulge her plans for the station before doing what she calls "reevaluating the business".

Oozing with self-confidence and a strong personality, she explains: "I cannot say much at the moment. What I need now is to sit down with all stakeholders, discuss with them and assess our current way of operating. Then I will spell out my strategies for the station in terms of strengthening our weaknesses."

Nevertheless, she says that she has already identified what needs to be tightened and cleaned up in order to consolidate the station's black pride and status as a powerful brand - something she attributes to the great work done by her predecessors.

Asked where the South African radio landscape is headed, she replies: "We have come to a point whereby radio is being influenced by social, technological and economic patterns such as listeners' lifestyles and choice of music, availability of various entertaining gadgets and advertisers' determination to reach out to consumers.

"This new landscape has brought a fierce competition, with stations rethinking their strategies to make sure that they deliver a quality product to stay ahead of others."

Fresh strategies

It is perhaps in this spirit that many radio stations have recently announced some interesting changes in their line-ups. Asked if she believes these 'floor-crossings' constitute a threat to Metro FM, she says: "Not at all. Look, 5FM is our sister station and taking Fresh is part of their overall strategy.

"Randall Abrahams, General Manager of Public Commercial Stations (PCS), is in charge of 5FM, Metro FM and Cape Town-based Good Hope FM. It is his responsibility to make sure that we operate within our respective mandate and do not clash. So I do not see any threat. In the contrary, we compliment each other as we are all part of the SABC."

She says it would be inappropriate to comment on YFM line-ups as the two stations target different audiences. Asked about Pabi Moloi's departure from Metro FM at the end of this month (she is tipped to replace Fresh at YFM), Ntshona replies: "Well, I do not read anything into that. She is a talented person and I am glad we were the first station to give her a break on radio. We just wish her good luck in her career."

But, are these changes enough to make a radio station stay ahead of others? "There is something more important than this," Ntshona says. "Do a qualitative and quantitative research and update it in the listener point of view. One more thing, I am not here to change trends but to monitor them and do the groundwork to prepare the station to face any kind of challenge."