5FM is launching a four-part mini documentary series entitled Making The Weekender5, showcasing four new DJs the Live Loud brand is bringing on-board next month.
The news follows the departure of DJs Euphonik and Milkshake, both of whom were approaching 10 and seven years on the station respectively.
While the four DJs joining the 5FM family remain a matter of speculation until episode one of the series, 5FM’s station manager, Justine Cullinan, says digital media puts the power of discovery in the hands of the smartphone user.
“There is no desire to keep secrets from our Live Loud community. I am sure that over the course of the next few weeks the truth will be discovered by the smart bunch of youthful South Africans that engage with brand 5FM,” she says, throwing down the challenge to the station’s listeners.
Cullinan says that there is a great appetite from 5FM listeners to understand how DJs and other media personalities succeed in their careers. 5FM TV presents Making the Weekender5 gives the station an opportunity show them visually.
“Every day 5FM is inundated with applications to produce, present, mix, market and program on the station,” says Cullinan. “There is however a great lack of understanding among our millennial generation about the time and work it takes to be ready for a national station like 5FM. An overnight success really does take 10 years!”
5FM’s YouTube channel, 5FM TV, produced by seasoned TV personality and digital entrepreneur Roxy Burger, will follow the four new DJs as they prepare in the month before their first live shows on 5FM. The series will present a personal and reality-style look at how 5FM scouts and secures new talent. It will include interviews with station management who unpack their strategies in identifying and nurturing the next generation of big radio show hosts and music specialists.
The series will also feature personal accounts and words of advice and encouragement for the new Weekender5 from 5FM’s Roger Goode, Ms Cosmo, Mixie and Das Kapital.
Image: Justine Cullinan, 5FM station manager.