A MONTH INTO THE JOB

By MODIRI MOGENDE

Wednesday, 14 April 2010

In March, deputy editor of The Voice newspaper and entertainment commentator, Moses Maruping, who is best known as ‘Rude Boy Necta’ quit the newsroom amid much fanfare only to resurface live on air as the new co-host of Duma FM’s breakfast show, The Crossover.
A month into his new job we caught up with him to get a précis of how the airwaves have been treating him after 10 plus years of cutting his teeth in print. “I’ve noticed that there is a pretty thin line between radio and print, just that radio has a bit more pressure due to the live element which obviously forces one to be on their toes all the time.” said Moruping.
On his departure from an industry he had seemingly conquered, Rude Boy said that in his view the time had come for him both personally and career-wise to move on after he was approached by the station to put on dual caps as a News Editor and a host.
“The Crossover is an ambitious breakfast show with a lively feel, a lot of sports and news.” Rude Boy said of his breakfast show, which he co-hosts with former Yarona Fm presenter Kevin Thipe, also known as Keppie. He says their main objective is to feature new material and in some way revolutionise breakfast as a male duo.
Though the show is relatively new they have garnered some much needed loyal listeners even though the station has gotten some unpleasant publicity due to their newly installed rebrand and departure of some of their key presenters.
Rude Boy’s cut edge journalism in entertainment nearly became his own Achilles heel as it created excessive hype about his arrival on the air. As he lays testament, a lot of the listeners expected him to have the same vigour in his voice, some later accused him of having a soft approach to issues that they discuss on air.
“Well, it did put me under pressure but just like everything new one has to crawl before they walk, in a short space of time I will have gained a lot of confidence and I promise people will be blown away,” Rude Boy asserted.
Maruping says he looks forward to taking on his competitors from other radio stations and sent them a firm warning: “Those who have been in radio for a long time had better watch out.”