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13 April 2018
Photo Moeketsi Mogotsi
A brisk morning at work in studio with the Breakfast show team, Richard Chemaly, Sam Ludidi and Orefiloe Kelane.
Kovsie FM’s breakfast show is in the race to win the “Best Breakfast Show for Campus Radio” in this year’s Liberty Radio Awards. This comes after the station’s first national radio awards-nomination in the history of Kovsie FM.
The Kovsie FM Breakfast show has evolved over the years, and was dubbed the #MonateFelaBreakfast in January 2018 by co-presenters Richard Chemaly (Chem) and Orefile Kelane (Fifi).
“The one thing you want to avoid when you wake up is being miserable, and the only way you can achieve that is by focusing on being happy,” said Chemaly. This realisation was a crucial turning-point for the show. The hot -duo carried on to say they wanted to make a distinction between themselves and other radio breakfast shows locally and nationally.
Inspired by a need for revolution and a closer relationship with its audience, #MonateFelaBreakfast re-examined and focused the crux of its content on the heartbeat of society, allowing the topical interests of the listeners to determine the subject of discussion or theme choice.
The appeal of the show does not rely on bringing super famous personalities as guests, but to allow up-and-coming artists to use the show as a catalyst to break through to success in their respective industries.
Chemaly and Kelane attribute their chemistry to understanding the old and new school elements of radio. They said transformation also plays an important part in the show’s lucky charm.
Lecturer’s debut novel wins ATKV Prize for Fiction
2015-10-14
Dr Francois Smith
Photo: Johan Roux |
Kamphoer made its debut on the literary scene just over a year ago, and on 11 September 2015, it was declared the best novel by the Afrikaanse Taal en Kultuurvereniging (ATKV). This is not the first time Kamphoer has been recognised as literary gem. Earlier this year, the novel was shortlisted for the W A Hofmeyr Prize as well as the Huisgenoot Tempo Award.
Dr Francois Smith, the author, joined the University of the Free State (UFS) as a lecturer in the Department of Afrikaans and Dutch, German and French at the beginning of this year. Prior to entering the academic sphere, he dedicated about 11 years of his life to editing for a publishing house. Certainly, helping other people write and produce books thoroughly prepared him for authorship.
For three months, Smith spent eight hours a day creating his award-winning masterpiece. The secret of success lies in the ABC formula. “The ABC for writing is Apply Back to Chair. You have to go and sit down and start typing,” he says.
That is when passion meets imagination, albeit at times, one might also need inspiration. Smith applied this winning formula meticulously, and it has resulted in over 30 000 copies of Kamphoer being sold since July 2014.
He was taken aback by the novel’s warm reception. “I wrote a book, finished it, and knew that it wasn’t bad but I never for one moment imagined that it would be such a big commercial success,” he said.
About Kamphoer
The book which Smith describes as a good but not an easy read about a disturbing subject is the true story of a woman who was brutally raped during the South African War and left for dead. After the traumatic experience, she dedicates her life to helping others deal with similar ordeals, re-encountering her rapists in the process.
About the award
Kamphoer emerged as an exceptional contribution amongst two other finalists. Kerneels Breytenbach’s Ester as well as Harry Kalmer’s ’n Duisend stories oor Johannesburg were also competing for the prestigious award.