The daily challenges of a radio jock

September 09 2014

By MARY LOUISE LIGUNAS

 
Some may think that being a DJ is effortless as they only have to sit and talk for hours on end.

Barangay LS DJs Papa Dudut and Ate Liza took us through a day in their life to show that it’s not as easy as it seems.


Think about every word they say

Millions of people can tune in to Barangay LS so one wrong statement or foul remark can make a lot of noise. The extensiveness of their reach requires them to become more responsible.

“Bilang maraming nakakapakinig sa ‘min so hindi kami puwedeng magsabi ng mga bagay na hindi maganda pakingan. Syempre so every day kailangan conscientious ka sa mga sinasabi mo,” Ate Liza said.

Reinvent

“Dapat every day meron kang ginagawa sa sarili mo, meron kang ginagawa para matuto, mag-aral so kung ano natututunan mo sa labas, kailangan ina-apply mo,” Papa Dudut disclosed.

If listeners keep hearing the same stories or jokes, no one would tune in the next day anymore. This works to their advantage too as constant reinvention keeps them young.

“Challenge din ‘yun syempre dahil hindi naman kami bumabata pero kailangan nakukuha namin lahat ng market. Feeling ko ang gandang maging trabaho ng paigiging DJ kasi nagiging bata ka forever,” he added.

Everyone’s friend

They have to gather their listeners’ various interests and look for the common ground. This is not easy as it seems as they have to be relatable to as many people as possible.

“Meron (dapat) makaka-relate sa sasabihin mo,” Papa Dudut noted.

“Yung challenge namin is maka-relate ‘yung tao sa ‘min, regardless of age, gender, designation, social class, trabaho. (Sana) maka-relate sila sa ‘min in some way so ‘yun ‘yung malaking challenge,” Ate Liza agreed.

One-man show

If there are dozens of people behind the camera of a television production, only one person works for a radio show. The DJ is the host, the researcher, the director, the tech guy and so many more.

“Kami ang responsible for our own programs. So kunyare si Papa Dudut saka ako, kami ang in-charge sa lahat (for Barangay Love Stories),” Ate Liza shared.

When audience response is overwhelming, that’ a reason for them to celebrate, but when a technical glitch is encountered, it’s also their fault.

This calls for alertness for the entirety of the program. “Kung smooth ‘yung programa, that’s because of us. Kung may mali ‘yung programa, that’s because of us,” she declared.
 
With all these in mind, maybe the next time we tune in, it would be a more special experience.

For all we know, our favorite DJ could have spilled his coffee on his desk or hit his toe on the edge of a table while on air. We will have no clue, though, because they’re going to put on a great show anyhow.