Life inside the radio booth

Melo del Prado’s voice is his instrument to reach out to his DZBB followers weekdays at 5 a.m. and at 12 noon for Dobol B… Balitang-balita and Super Balita sa Tanghali Nationwide, respectively. His is no Robin Williams in Good Morning, Vietnam. But it simply sounds authoritative and engaging to make a Kapuso listen to and contemplate on the day’s news. His love affair with radio started 22 years ago and it is going strong. Radio anchoring is one job Melo will not exchange for anything in the world.     

“It seems not work to me,” says Melo in the vernacular of his profession. “I think it’s also the same feeling (with those working on TV). Actually, it also applies to any kind of work. If you like what you do, you consider it passion not work. I don’t spend much time with my work. I just do it within my program’s airtime. But what people don’t know is that my work begins long before I go onboard. I prepare a lot. I can’t just go on air and talk without making any sense.”

Created as a news-magazine, Dobol B… Balitang-balita allows Melo to be at the center of issues such as the on-going impeachment trial of Chief Justice Renato Corona. On top of reading today’s headlines, he gets to share a piece of his mind on them. Melo should be abreast with news items ranging from police to national. By the way, Dobol B is No. 1 on its timeslot according to AGB Nielsen Radio Audience Measurement.

“It’s the main opener for primetime shows in the morning,” he shares. “That’s when people turn the radio on before going to work or school. They should know what areas are congested and if there’s an oil price hike. The program was designed to guide the public for the rest of the day… Listeners don’t just listen. They also analyze issues. You’ll get their opinions through SMS. If they disagree with you, there’s an instant feedback about what you’ve said. We have better-informed and intelligent listeners now.”

That’s why the pace of Dobol B… Balitang-balita is fast. “Hindi dapat bumababad sa isang issue lang. It’s like a newspaper na isang pakete lang,” Melo says. After an hour, the anchor must read everything since most of the listeners are always on the go. Their time should not be wasted.

Asked about the challenges of anchoring a radio show, Melo replies, “An anchor should study (news and issues) deeply and thoroughly because you have diverse listeners like professionals, lawyers and economists. You can’t pretend that you know everything — and you are an expert on a particular issue. If you wish to sound (the latter) on air, then you study the issue well. You can’t simply read the news without understanding it… The challenge of doing a morning radio show is for the anchor to sound alive. Kung papatay-patay ka, iiwanan ka nila. Dapat masigla ka.”

With Super Balita sa Tanghali Nationwide co-anchor Gani Oro

According to Melo, the stories are “pabalik-balik. When I was covering the senate as radio reporter, I was doing the same thing and stories were the same. (With my experience,) I could analyze and predict them. This (issue) could turn out this way because it had happened before. Thus, it might happen again.”

If there’s one thing a radio neophyte can learn from Melo’s career, it is the fact that “the more you stay in this job, the more you become sharper (in sensing and knowing things). This is what experience on the job can give you.”

Is the anchor’s voice the be-all and the end-all of a radio career?               

“It still matters,” Melo answers. “If the voice is unpleasant or magulo, the listener can easily switch the (radio) dial to another station… Nakakatakot lang naman kung hindi ka objective. Just present both sides of the issue. From there, express your take on it. There’s no compromise in truth. Kapag mali ka, mali ka.”

Below, Melo shares with The STAR readers what goes on in his life outside the radio booth.

3 a.m. — I wake up for my morning show Dobol B… Balitang-balita. I dress up casually because there are just few people in the office. I just have hot water. I’ll have my breakfast when I come back from my morning show. Mahirap mag-broadcast ng busog. Haponghapo at hingal na hingal ka.

11 a.m. — I return for Super Balita sa Tanghali Nationwide. I’ll just have snack to satiate hunger pangs. After work, I head home and have my decent meal for the day.

Afternoon — I listen to the radio and watch 24 Oras to know the developments of news. Kung nag-move na sila. Tinatandaan ko na lang. When I get onboard the following day, I read newspapers. I also surf the Net and look for stories that need to be discussed further.

Weekends — Nagbubutingting sa bahay. I jog and walk my dog around the subdivision. I do the car wash myself. I do my research for my trivia segment Today in History. By doing this, I’m able to browse news items. When I go onboard on Monday, I’m still abreast with what I have missed in the entire day of Saturday.