It is always a tricky decision to make by employers when it comes to finding a perfect replacement for a star employee who has quit. It is always tricky and challenging when it comes to the media especially radio and settling on a host for its flagship programme.
There have been many cases of radio shows scoring low ratings whenever the main host makes an exit. Finding the perfect fit to navigate the show whiles keeping the ratings up is a conundrum employers are faced with.
A good example is how Joy FM struggled to find a replacement for the late Komla Dumor. Kojo Oppong Nkrumah manned the Super Morning Show quite excellently until he also left. Before Joy FM settled on Kojo Yankson, the station had lost some of her listeners to Citi FM.
This might be a situation the Global Media Group, owners of YFM, would want to avoid. Such concerns must have been considered in settling on a new host to fill the big boots and seat of Ms. Naa, who had for the last 5 years been steering their popular morning show Ryse N Shyne.
Ms. Naa quit YFM a couple of weeks ago and has since travelled back to the United States where she was previously domiciled prior to joining the Global Media brand. She literally nurtured the show from infancy, turning it into one of the most listened to shows within the metropolis for the youth and people who are bored with the many moribund politically fuelled morning radio shows.
From the early days of the show- when it was Ms. Naa and her producer cum side kick E-Boggie played ‘whatever’ music they wanted- till she exited, Ryse N Shyne had chalked huge endorsement from listeners.
The drafting of DJ Vision (following the exit of E-Boggie) did the show a lot of good. DJ Vision brought on board his good sense of music. He played hit songs of different genres popular with the majority of the station’s youthful listenership. For the two years that the two individuals manned the show, Ms. Naa and Vision became a formidable team and the absence of one affected the show.
Avid listeners of Ryse N Shyne would recall how the show lost it shin when Baby Dapaah was called to sit in for Ms. Naa whiles the latter was on leave. Babe tried her best but still couldn’t live it up. Other YFM mates-Giovanni Caleb and Jay Foley have had stint on the show; done their best but there has always been a shadow lurking behind them.
So, after weeks of hosting the show, Giovanni and Jay Foley are giving way to a new host. According to E-newsgh.com, the new anchor is former Citi FM employee, Nana Akosua Hanson.
Akosua Hanson is not a stranger to radio and/ or a novice on the entertainment scene. She had for years been the producer of Citi FMs mid morning show Lunch In the Citi when Jessica Saforo was the host and presented the entertainment segment on the show. She had occasionally hosted the show during Jessica’s absence.
Aside these, she co- host 30 Minitz, an entertainment magazine show on TV. She is the assistant editor of Radio & TV World, an entertainment magazine which focuses on issues within the media (radio and TV) in Ghana.
These qualities will surely come in handy as she replaces the ever bubbly, straight talking and sometimes witty Ms. Naa.
The challenge Nana Hanson will face would be to keep the listeners happy and willing to stay with her for the three hours she will be on air. Also, how she will engrave her own signage on the show is important. That is, she must own the show; let the show reflect her personality and not that of the former host.
I believe she knows the enormity of responsibility ahead of her and has a strategy to scaling it.
Though I’ve not been an avid follower of her on radio or TV, I’m pretty sure she will make us all forget about Ms. Naa as time goes on. With Dj Vision by her side and Quarps Hansen handling production, Nana will serve her listeners the perfect, mouth-watering and refreshing breakfast that will keep us all smiling as we journey through the city’s thick morning traffic to our workplaces.
Nana Akosua Hanson surely knows what she is being hired to do: make the show the one of the biggest must listen to in Accra and beyond.
Submitted by: Rahim Munir/Swaye Kidd