Namibia’s Kirtsty Watermeyer at 99 FM, is a New York Radio Festival’s winner of a best talk show shared what qualities a good show has.
She started by sharing how when she first presented her idea to host a talk show, with the aim of sharing stories of hope, they had initially told her the idea was no feasible, and would, citing that good news does not sell. Watermeyer however says, her Master Your Destiny talk show has from 2015 grown to 45 000 listeners.
Watermeyer said her landing a career in radio was by absolute chance and she has never allowed any opportunity to pass her by since. Her show shares stories of Namibians and other Africans, giving them a space to share their authentic stories, who are masters of their own destiny or people who are upcoming masters of their fate. In her conversation she shared some of the stories she has covered on her show, and among them, was a moving account of forgiveness and healing, the story of John Sam who was wrongly accused and imprisoned for 18 years. On his release he started his life anew, finding a job at the local panel beater, earning himself employee of the month for consecutive months.
Watermeyer also has a conservation show, MYD Earth, where she chases conservation scientists to talk about their current studies in the sciences. This however is not all, MYD has done so well on air that it also has a television show with an audience of about 25 000 viewers. With the growth and popularity of the MYD brand, she has also extended the radio show, to a print version which features the top stories the show has covered. As a matter of fact, she has considered making the show its own entity and branch away as an independent storyteller.
Lebogang Bridget Lepere
(Edited by Simbarashe Honde)