Young women make FM waves in Kerala

9 June 2009

Thiruvananthapuram: As FM radio emerges as a major medium of entertainment and information, young women professionals seem to be making their voices heard above their male counterparts in Kerala. It is difficult to ignore it as a mere coincidence that women in their twenties head the three main FM radio stations in the state capital - Club FM, Radio Mirchi and SFM.

Battling the all-round financial crunch and the dominance of the visual media, the young trio - Sreevidya .K, Nidhi Sudhan and Deepthi .S Sivan have carved out a niche in the hearts of thousands of Malayali listeners within a short time.

"It's a pleasant coincidence that women hold key positions in three leading FMs in the city. Actually, ladies suit the job better than men as co-ordinators. Women can be tender, humane, and patient as well as strict and wise in their dealings, which are essential for an FM leader," 25-year-old Sreevidya of Club 94.3 FM said.

In the visual media, there could be many persons to look after various tasks. But in FM radios it is the station head who plans, coordinates and execute everything from programming to human resourcing and from idea-generation to marketing. It is here that a woman's managerial capabilities count, she said.

Sreevidya came from an IT background and went on to work as production Entertainment Head of BBC in the Middle East and in the Ras Al Khaimah Broadcasting Authority before joining Club FM.

"Because of my initial experience, I knew the challenges of FM and this helped my job in the fast emerging FM culture in a highly competitive atmosphere in Kerala, where media houses and corporates have made their entry, she said.

But, Nidhi Sudhan, 29, Progamme Head of Radio Mirchi 98.3 FM, who came from the visual media, easily adapted herself to the challenges of the audio format. "I knew that studying the local pulse was the initial step to launch a new product. So having a firm understanding of local tastes and preferences was the challenge before me," Sudhan said. Though she is quite young, she never faced any problem in leading a team with many senior members.

"It is only talent that matters here. Age, seniority or academic qualifications wouldn't help you much. Though people are sometimes reluctant to obey and co-operate with a young woman as team leader initially, they will accept you if you are capable of executing the tasks cut out for you," Nidhi said.

According to Deepthi S. Sivan, Station Director,93.5 SFM ( of Sun group), the trend favours the youth. "If a 27-year-old woman like Agatha Sangma can be a central minister, what's wrong with us holding positions in the entertainment industry?" she asked.

Commonsense, sharp wit, sound general knowledge and the ability to play with words as the occasion demands are skills expected of a radio professional, whether the person is a Station Head or an RJ (Radio Jockey), Deepthi said.

Though FMs have hit the air at a time of economic downturn, all three young women are of the opinion that radio has come to stay as a major medium in Kerala and is set to grow in the coming days, overcoming initial challeng