New DJs on the block
By Rebecca Sou

Joan Lei, Virginia Tai, Angel Seak and Alice Chong.	Vivian Chiang, Primrose Che, Vanessa Josefina das Dores, Angel Yung.

"It will be a fantastic chance for me to show my talent," said Primrose Che, "and it is also a challenging job." Che, a year-four student in UMac, is one of the eight students who have been selected by Teledifusao de Macao S.A. (TDM) Radio to practice as DJs. Their radio programmes, catering specifically to teenagers, will be on the air this month. 

The new radio programme will be hosted by Communications students in the Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities (FSH) in the coming months on TDM Radio. It is the first time for TDM to set up such a programme especially for students in FSH to practice DJ jobs. The purpose of the programme is to let the young DJs attract young audience in a new and fresh way.

The programme training was offered in August, eight groups (four students in each group) joined in the training course. They were taught about some talking skills, and how to produce a radio programme. At the end of the month, two groups were chosen to be the programme producers and DJs. They are: Angel Yung, Primrose Che, Vanessa Josefina das Dores, Vivian Chiang, Joan Lei, Virginia Tai, Angel Seak and Alice Chong.

In the following two months, these students need to have training on radio programming and audio techniques. They are given full autonomy in designing and producing their programmes. They can come up with any topics and in any way of performance. The real show, a live radio programme, will start in October. Two groups will take turns to run the programme from 3p.m. to 4p.m.every Sunday afternoon.

Che, Yung, Dores and Chiang are in one group. They have decided that their programme will be conducted in a relaxing and entertaining way. "We want to discuss some youth problems or things in a relaxing way in order to make the young audience absorb the messages more easily," Yung explained. There will be a short play, song-order time, and the "Hit Topic" within their one-hour programme.

Lei, Tai, Seak and Chong form the second group. For their programme, they are going to deliver some interesting information and topics for teenagers. They may have some interviews or guest talks in their programme. 

To play a DJ for the first time, all of them are feeling both excited and happy. "I feel surprised and happy that our group can be chosen, since at first, we just joined the training out of curiosity," Lei said. Yung and Dores are at the same time worried about the response they may receive once their programme is on air.

Most of the informational or entertaining radio programmes run by TDM are hosted by full-time DJs. There are also some university students who are hired as part-time DJs, but are responsible only for some music programmes. It is an innovative move on the part of TDM this time to have part-time DJs to host an entire entertaining programme all by themselves. 

Many teenagers think that there is a need for TDM radio to introduce some changes. "It is good to have some new and young DJs to host a new programme, I think there will be new sparks coming out," said Kelly Lei, a year-two university student. "I hope they can give more updated news about fashion or technology," said Pauline Leung, a 21-year-old student in UMac. However, Paul Chan, a 24-year-old clerk, is afraid that the shows may concentrate more on girls "since all the hosts are girls." 

Having a chance to be a DJ may be a dream for many students majoring in communications. "I am glad that I have been chosen to be one of the DJs," said Che. "I can't wait for the day when the live show starts."