IN a nation like Zambia where football is considered like a ‘religion’, any radio station that discusses that number one sport will always attract listenership.
And to the contrary, a radio station that omits programming of a football nature, risks losing out listenership to others who have.
Sports programmes come in different names, times, presentations and styles; “Sports Cuisine, Talking Football, Sports Review, Soccer Zone or Soccer spot.”
Zambia, being ‘football crazy’ has abundant men and women capable of analysing the sport in any which way they understand it.
Maybe, what is worth considering are the times and days on which such reviews or previews are supposed to be presented, a day before or after games would be ideal timing.
In this case, Fridays or Saturday mornings would be better days for reviews, while Sunday night or Mondays better days for previews.
This timing comes about, considering that most Zambians would like to hear information about the teams and games scheduled to be played.
Likewise, sports fans would like to hear what happened and what could have been done in the matches they could have watched.
Those familiar with Radio Chimwemwe in Ndola would attest to the thoughtful soccer analysis of Tom Munkondya  and Lameck Zulu also known as Four Legs.
Live commentaries of a sport like football on radio is, however, highly valued by most listeners, who, despite watching the games live would fancy hearing the commentators’ views.
SUN FM
On Ndola’s Sun FM radio comes ‘Family Focus’, a programme hosted by Zacchaeus Kasalu, who is also known as Rowliv featuring Pastor Daniel Chuunga every Sunday Mornings.
Over the past weeks, Family Focus has proved an exciting programme that addresses marital challenges common and uncommon in most marriages.
What makes this particular presentation enlightening is that Dr Chuunga articulates marriage issues with the aid of biblical guidance.
It is no doubt that going by the number of listeners calling to the programme, the programme has become popular, infact, a good number of listeners have requested that the programme be rescheduled to another time.
This column agrees with listeners calling for, either a repeat of that programme later in the night or it being accorded a time suitable for both husbands and wives to tune in.
It is on that programme we are told that Dr Chuunga has actually authored books that explain much of what he shares on radio.
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Listeners would feel that Reggae Revolution, a programme which is supposed to exclusively play reggae music on Sun FM every Tuesday night for two hours has been ‘chocked’ with other programmes in between.
Imagine a flow of reggae songs, then interrupted by sports hints followed by another discussion programme and a religious presentation before reverting back to music.
Obviously, for listeners who could be tuned in to hear music and be ‘interrupted’, not only once, but twice switching back and forth to music and discussions.
RCV
It was Kafula who was playing contemporary gospel music which she pitted against that from the old school on Radio Christian Voice (RCV) last Wednesday.
As it would have been, the old school gospel tunes garnered more votes than today’s, a confirmation that musicians do not make their music better any more.
RADIO 4
Marian Chigwedere, ‘Lady MC’ is undoubtedly queen of the airwaves.
What qualifies Marian as one of the best female radio Deejays is the fact that she easily flows whenever she is on radio.
Request Marian to play any genre, type and kind of music, she will suit without difficulties, mixing well in between songs.
Marian was on Zambia National Broadcasting Corporation (ZNBC) Radio 4 last Sunday afternoon interacting with listeners who phoned through for their requests.
One song she played was that done by Mapiki in ci-Tonga about a man she called a ‘Tonga bull’ complaining about his body letting him down such that he could no longer do ‘anything’ he wanted to. Umubili wangu wandilekelela, (my body has let me down).
Other songs she played had chants like, Jerry fingers and Salt Mulisupu!
PLAY LIST
If we have complained about some radio deejays playing songs without giving out titles and their singers, then one who played song after song for 30 minutes without word last week was not fair.
Stay tuned, don’t touch that dial! – jackmwewa@gmail.com   0955115777