Pretoria - Radio guru Tebogo Jacko Magubane’s new challenge of shaping young minds eager to join the fascinating world of broadcasting has been equally met with enthusiasm, passion, excitement and dedication.
Barely four months into his position as the Tshwane University of Technology (TUT) Tshwane FM’s station manager, Magubane has hit the ground running, zooming in on steering the student radio station to the number one listened-to radio station in the capital.
Being a product of the same radio station himself, back in the day when it was called Top Stereo, the Pretoria-born Magubane’s career in radio spans two decades.
He was approached while working as a programmes manager for Munghana Lonene FM, where he was also the station manager for a while.
“I joined the station (Munghana Lonene) in 2008 as a weekend presenter, I then moved to various roles such as content producer, sound producer, executive producer for education and alternately station manager till 2021 when the SABC had retrenchments. I then moved back to being programmes manager,” he said.
The 41-year-old married father of three adds that he is a radio lover who sleeps with the radio on and needed the challenge.
“I believe the university thinks I have what it takes, hence it gave me the opportunity, and it is now up to me to prove it right.
“I’m a radio enthusiast with over 20 years of experience in media. I possess the required knowledge, experience and skills of a vibrant and insightful radio station manager and programmer, I am a content champion. I am astute and always keep abreast of developments nationally and internationally in the areas of media and broadcasting.
“I’m techno-savvy and a super user of various broadcasting and general-use technologies,” he says.
Magubane’s mission begins with restoring the brand to “its glory days” as the number one campus-based radio station in South Africa and aims to do so by growing its audience, impact and self-sustainability.
Having grown up in Winterveld, Magubane takes his second opportunity at TUT seriously.
He studied for a national certificate in accounting back when TUT was Technikon Pretoria and joined the campus-based radio station TUT Top Stereo 93.6, which is now Tshwane FM, as a presenter for the breakfast show The First Beat.
“TUT is very close to my heart. It is an institution that gave me so much and shaped me as an individual,” he said.
However, he conceded that the brand was stronger now with even more potential and the presenters now were more vibrant and technologically advanced compared with his days when he was a presenter at the station.
Magubane went on to study broadcasting techniques for developing countries at China Radio & TV Corporation for International Techno-Economic Co-operation (CRTV) in the People’s Republic of China and completed a Certificate in Broadcasting Techniques for Developing Countries in 2016.
In 2018 he graduated with a law degree (LLB) from Unisa and last year he completed an Advanced Certificate in Broadcast with the University of Witwatersrand.
“My role at Tshwane FM is to move the station from good to great! In the short term, we are busy transforming the station to become the authentic voice of the capital city youth by connecting with various stakeholders and bringing relevant content to the community.
“In the long term, we want to produce future industry stars and break barriers by setting new trends and broadcasting … I’m here to work and I want you all to join me to cement our position as the capital city’s number 1 radio station,” he said.
Pretoria News