Ekow Shalders to host Class FM morning show
Takoradi’s Apotitimati and former host of the morning show on Goodnews FM in the Twin City, Ekow Mensah Shalders, has been tapped to host the morning show on Class FM, the latest addition to the competitive radio landscape in the nation’s capital.
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The issue of who would be hosting the morning on the station has been one they have kept from the public up until now. Although the station had mentioned names of other presenters likely to be hosting shows on the station when it starts full transmission, that of the morning show host had been kept a secret.
Come Monday November 23rd 2015, the station will roll out its full programming schedule after about two of months of test transmission and the station’s morning show will feature prominently in the scheme of things.
It is in view of this that Ekow Shalders, who until recently was based in the United States of America, has been announced as the man responsible for making sure that the morning show on Class 91.3FM will become one of the most listened to in Accra.
The morning show in Accra is one of the most competitive, especially in the higher LSM segment of the market where stations such as Joy FM, Citi FM and Starr FM operate keenly and very competitively for listeners and advertising budgets.
That notwithstanding, Ekow Shalders thinks he is qualified for this job. “As a credible and compelling Morning Show Host for Class 91.3 FM, I intend to bring to bear matters and topics that will inform and educate Ghanaians as a people and as a nation, their needs and concerns, as well as possible solutions to help propel their way forward.”
Ekow Mensah Shalders is an experienced broadcaster. He is a motivated professional Broadcast Journalist, who is well-travelled and has extensive interest in variety of subjects. He has had more than fifteen (15) years’ experience in the media industry. But this will be the first time he would be hosting a major show such as the morning show in Accra.
His radio journey began with being a host at Kumasi-based Kapital 97.1 FM, before moving to Takoradi to work on Goodnews FM and then to other radio stations in Ghana.
Shalders traveled to the United States and he picked up the role of Communications Officer and Talk Show Host at the Institute for Democracy and Press Freedom at Coral Springs in the United States of America. He continued as a Community Relations Officer at Safe Water Corporations in Atlanta, Georgia until this call-up by Class FM.
Initially known as Great FM and then became known as Adinkra FM, Class 91.3FM is a station owned by Class Media Group. Although they are new and now about to launch their programming, according to them, they are here to compete with those already existing in the market.
“We are very much aware of the intense competition on the media landscape. However, we believe there is still room for improvement in delivering great content to our audience, as well as value to our business partners,” says Mr. Donald Entsuah, Chief Operating Officer at the holding company, Class Media Group (CMG).
CMG at the moment has two radio stations operating in Accra. Besides Class FM, CMG also has Accra 100.5FM which is the rebranded station formerly known as Meridian FM.
According to Mr. Entsuah, the two stations would focus on different segments of the market and thus it would determine their programming content as well. Class FM will operate in the upper end of the market with programming mostly in English while its content would be 70% talk and 30% music.
Accra FM, on the other hand, will compete in the lower or mass end of the market with most of its content presented in local languages, especially Akan. “Class Media Group is entering the media landscape at a critical time in our broadcasting history,” but he and the entire team at CMG are convinced that they would take the market in every city and town in which they have a radio station.
Besides their Accra-based operations of Class FM and Accra FM, CMG also has acquired nine more radio stations across the country all of which will start operations very soon. They have two stations in Kumasi, one in Takoradi, one in Tamale, one in Ho, one in Tarkwa, one in Sewhi Akontombra and others.
To ensure that they would be able to achieve the goals they have set for themselves and to draw listeners to the stations, CMG has recruited some of the leading presenters and behind-the-scenes people at both Class FM and Accra FM.
The man who has been charged to head programmes at Class FM is former producer of Super Morning Show and Newsfile as well as head of Thought Leadership at Joy FM Sedem Ofori who brings with him a worth of experience in programming and production.
Also joining Class FM as news editor is former assisting news editor at Joy FM Alex Kobina Mensah who promises that Class FM will “deliver accurate, creative and distinctive news with speed to listeners as it unfolds, providing unparalleled perspectives to stories we cover.”
As morning show host, a lot would be expected of Ekow Shalders as that would be one of the key battle grounds that would either ensure that the station succeeds or not.
“At Class Media Group (CMG) we understand that media is no longer just a driver of marketing messages. We believe it is a critical component of our clients’ businesses. And that is why we seek to deliver business impact beyond marketing and communications,” says Mr. Donald Entsuah.