Radio guru Joel Isabirye has congratulated Talk n Talk show host Kasuku upon winning the best entertainment radio presenter award in the inaugural Uganda Entertainment Awards. He also shares the secret to the success of Kasuku’s radio show.
Read his full statement below:
“As the congratulations continue pouring out to Kasuku and the Talk and Talk team, for those who could have missed the story; on Sunday evening in the April of 2011, I walked into my home and found the maid watching a guy on Star TV. He was doing a gossip streak and sounded opinionated, fun, interesting and he had attitude. I think he spotted an Afro too. I recall he was telling holiday makers how to spend their holiday (and you know how he talks).I laughed for a few seconds.I listened to him and watched him for about five minutes and knew this guy was gold.
The next day I arrived at Dembe fm and asked the staff who did work at Star TV as well that I was looking for his number. I also sent feelers to Namanve where I was told he was based. He came in one hour for a meeting and walked out of my office with his appointment letter to do two things One a gossip show at 7.30am and at 5.30pm, then a talk show strictly on entertainment.
We worked on a panel joining him and we called the show Talk and Talk…meaning endless talking…over the years the show became huge and right now it is the leading show on Saturdays at 10 am where Kampala is filled with talk shows on almost every radio station.
There are several reasons why the show became this huge but the main ones are that the team (and their leader Kuku Wazabanga) is talented. They are also serious. They may laugh on the show but they understand what they are supposed to do and follow up. If you recall their discussion on Miss Uganda over the years you could see a team that made sure they had content before they appeared on air. Above all they are friends, it means they gel and they have a good conversation.
They can decide to talk about a trailer that fell in Bweyogerere for the whole show and you will still find the show interesting. That is one of the things that made Kaliso liso powerful…the friendly banter.
Talk and Talk and Kasuku are observant story tellers very selective on the detail to speak about in the chit chat that is going on. That works significantly for their relatability. They are comfortable downtown as much as they are comfortable uptown, so they have no problem discussing Bwaise and Kololo and still have a conversation that is fun to listen to.
The lessons for me are that it is important to stick to the principle of merit when recruiting anyone for anything. Most of the time I have only recruited on merit and I tend to see that if you do not recruit on the basis of friendship but recruit capable people later you can become friends with them. But at the onset of recruitment look for capable people, they will make things happen.
The show was huge from day one and it has grown to become major…I wish Kasuku and his friends the best in future because they have transformed into agenda setters.
When a show becomes an agenda setter, it becomes a show that can be discussed in parliament. Very few shows ever reach that level in the world. Talk and Talk is a show that will survive over the next decade even with the demographic shifts in listenership that we have been realizing over the last thirty six months. It fits in right at the middle (of the old generation and the new generation of radio audiences). It is a show Moses Matovu will listen to and it is a show that Barbie J will listen to. I cannot say the same for most other shows in the radio market today.
Kasuku supplies punchlines every time he talks. That for a presenter who is not a comedian is hard to do, but every single time he is on air the end of a break is impactful…you must be talented and are a very good communicator to achieve that.
To cut the long story short, continuer à faire du bon travail!!!!”
BigEyeUg Staff
