All in a day’s work … East Rand resident making his mark on popular radio station

As we celebrate Youth Month, the Advertiser highlights East Rand resident Shannon Leibach (24), a radio personality who got his break at leading commercial station 947.

He is a content contributor and traffic presenter on the FreshOn947 show on weekdays. This is his first radio gig, as he is fresh out of university.

He let us in on a day in the life of a radio presenter.

Take us through your journey which led you to 947

The journey is quite surreal, it begins technically when I auditioned for the 947 crew in 2018 but did not get the job. Months later, the 947-station manager phoned and offered me the job but unfortunately, I was shooting for Presenter Search on 3 so I had to turn him down. A couple of months later I graduated from Wits with a BA in Theatre and Performance. I reached out to 947 again but unfortunately did not get the job. A couple of weeks later they offered me a Saturday position at 947 workings as a crew member for Spur Style Saturday which meant I went to a different Spur every weekend gave out vouchers and spoke about it on the radio for about a minute. I was just glad to be part of the team but after two months they instated me as a full-time crew member and two months after that Fresh joined 947 and I just happened to be in the right place at the right time. They offered me to do traffic on his show. I had no radio experience, but I think they believed in my abilities to take on new challenges.

What was going through your mind when you got the news that you’d landed the job?

It’s hilarious because I’ve auditioned for so many things, some things I got, some things I just missed out on, and most things I didn’t even get close to achieving. This was a gig that I didn’t even audition for! I’ve stood in hours of queues to land that dream job and yet my actual dream job was offered to me comfortably at a coffee table without even an audition. I was shocked, excited, and nervous, and had no idea what they were offering me. Some people have had successful 10 years of experience and then work with Fresh whereas I was just a theatre kid that sort of accidentally landed a dream radio gig. This helped me a lot because it took all the pressure off me.

How was your first day at work?

It was traumatic. Not only did we have DJ Fresh, Mantsoe Pout, the entire 947 teams, and Joburg listening we also had a visit from Bonang Matheba. I was just in this maelstrom of coolness and all I wanted to do was give my traffic report clearly without passing out. I achieved that to some degree but talking on the radio on my first day was the most nerve-wracking thing. I will say though in retrospection I had so much awesome support around me that I did manage to get through it and by the fourth hour I had regained some sort of resemblance of my normal confident voice. Although don’t ever ask me to listen back to that show I will die.

Describe a normal day at the 947 studios

I prepare whatever segment that is mine at home, Shannon on the streets, newly known as Siri-slyShan as with Covid-19 we cannot responsibly be interviewing people on the streets. I then arrive at work at 2:30 for our pre-show prep as the show begins at 3pm. Post 3pm the studio is overflowing with laughter on-air and off-air and before you know it, we are introducing the #947MixAt6, and then it’s home time at 7pm.

What is it like working with DJ Fresh?

For the first few weeks, it felt like I was working with DJ Fresh the celebrity but now it feels like I’m working with my two best friends. He is exactly how you picture him, a school kid that never grew up. He is without ego or anger and always comes to work ready to work. Every day he comes in hungry to entertain, to help people in need and to play good music just as he did three hundred years ago. In the studio, we talk about new music and laugh until we all have headaches. I believe DJ Fresh’s superpowers flow from being relatable. He is an excellent storyteller and has an insanely accurate memory. He remembers everything. I love my team and I couldn’t have asked for a better start at 947, both on-air and behind the scenes. I have made friends that I will cherish for life.

Tell us about your first encounter with DJ Fresh?

Ironically, DJ Fresh was a judge on the reality TV show Presenter Search on 3 in the season that I placed 7th out of about 5000. I narrowly missed out on joining the Expresso Live team but at the time it didn’t feel right for me. Timing is everything in this industry. At the time I knew him as a judge and we didn’t have many one-on-one interactions.

What have you found most interesting about being a radio personality?

The most interesting thing about being a radio personality is that you should never feel like a radio personality. You are just a friend in the car to someone driving home from work or school, you share funny stories and talk about the day. There is no us and them in radio, the only thing a radio show needs is one person listening and thus they are the never ‘you guys’ or ‘the audience’ when we speak. We speak directly to the mystical ‘you’ that needs to cover the whole of Joburg.

What would you tell an aspiring radio presenter?

Chill out, man. Before this gig, I didn’t dream of being the next DJ Fresh or Jeremy Mansfield. On the contrary, I pile an enormous amount of pressure on my acting career because it’s always something I’ve wanted. A fantastic piece of advice I like to give is there is no such thing as a radio voice. Trying to put on a radio voice or, a presenter’s voice doesn’t work. What does work is speaking in your natural voice, you’re much more relatable, and you sound more confident than trying to the presenter. The most horrific cliche is to be true unto yourself, but in this industry, it works.

Are you required to dress a certain way at work?

No. You can ask my team. I’ve worn some true abominations of combinations to work.

What does Youth Day mean to you?

I think it is so sad and ironic that we put so much pressure on the youth to be the change and to stand up against the wrongdoings of adults. Youth Day in the 2020 context stands alone as one of the hardest as a young person. With a worldwide pandemic, gender-based violence, racism, depression, crippling poverty and so much more it is so unfair to ask the youth to rise above their circumstances and yet that is what needs to be done again and again.

How do you balance your radio work with your studies?

I graduated and then started working in the radio. I think my degree in Theater and Performance gives me the edge (thanks Wits) as it is great when there is an opportunity to quote for example Pulp Fiction word for word on the radio. I’m not sure how many radio presenters can do that.

How many siblings do you have?

I have one older brother.

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