Starting work at 3h00 in the morning could be a tall order for many, but not for Katrina Andreas who presents the three-hour AM Club show on Touch FM.
This radio presenter said the time slot is ideal for her as it gives her a lot of “freedom”.
“I’m a bit of an insomniac, so the AM Club is perfect for me. That time of the hour allows one to speak freely and truthfully,” the calm on-air personality told VIBEZ!
Andreas added that the show allows her to focus on mental health issues by tackling day-to-day struggles that many experience, adding that she is proudly Namibian and pushes anything Namibian on her show.
The AM Club is part of two programmes broadcasting live in the wee hours of the morning, with Riley Ortman hosting the Midnight Express from 00h00 to 03h00.
Touch FM, the national broadcaster’s commercial radio station established in 2018, has been offering these shows for about a month now, making it the only radio station in Namibia to operate for 24 hours straight.
The new lineup of shows is for listeners who tune into radio at odd hours of the night and feedback from listeners has been overwhelming, said station manager Mario Locke.
“We have so many truck drivers driving at night, nurses who are working in hospitals, and police officers patrolling at night and early morning hours. This was the initial idea for setting up Touch FM – to make it a 24-hour radio station,” he explained.
Locke was ecstatic about this new venture, which he said was once a dream and now has become a reality, adding that in the first two weeks, they gained about 9 000 new subscribers.
“Our social media presence has grown tremendously and this is what people like. Other NBC radio stations stop at 21h00 or 23h40, but now they all link into Touch FM and now we have a nationwide footprint,” he said.
Locke made it known that the station is big on empowering the youth through all its platforms – as presenters as well as the information shared on air.
“The youth are the leaders of tomorrow, so we give them the freedom and platform where they can express themselves and this is what sets Touch FM apart. Not only that, the music we play is what young people want. You should see our song requests…we tackle around 60% to 70% local (music), and we play those nice refined songs, you know. We don’t discriminate here at Touch FM.”
On her part, Ortman said that time of the morning is perfect for her as she is a morning person.
In the first hour of the show, she connects with her audience by finding out how they are doing, and “you will be surprised with the calls I get from listeners telling me how they feel and what they are up to,” she said.
“The most rewarding gesture I get is listeners calling and thanking me for being awake with them. The fact that there is someone active at that hour opens a new world to a listener. I have had people open up to me in many ways on air and I am grateful I am here. It does get difficult in some circumstances, but we manage,” said Ortman.
Meanwhile, Helvi Hishekwa does the Big Breakfast from 06h00 to 09h00 alongside Lischen Kachas. Founa Kavetuna and Marycent Kashuva take over with the Morning Mayhem from 09h00-12h00 and Radelio Lewis keeps the listeners in tune with #What’sTheDelio from 12h00 to15h00.
Joe Mulisa hosts the Daily Dose from 15h00-18h00, with Donald Khariseb continuing with Touch After Dark from 15h00-21h00. Rachel Nghimulitete hosts the Late Night Touch from 21h00-00h00.