Anyone who has taken their time to listen to Talk Radio 702’s iconic Aubrey Masango will readily concur that the Mamelodi-born presenter is original in his presentation on air.
To him talk radio doesn’t entail small talk that one comes across with very often on a daily basis on many radio stations.
To Masango, talk radio entails dedication.
One can feel his dedication in the way he tackles his subject matter passionately, irrespective of whether the topic is political, motivational or buisiness-related.
He has been at 702 for over a decade now and this is the man who, when growing up, didn’t like radio at all and instead preferred watching TV and reading.
But as fate would have it, Masango landed a job at Talk Radio 702 and fitted easily like a glove; like it was written in the stars that the station was his destiny.
“I had never worked for any other radio station before going to 702, the station is my first and only radio gig,” said Masango in an interview with Tshwane Talks on Tuesday last week.
He revealed that he discovered his journalistic and analytical skills when he was a student at the University of Pretoria.
“There was a student newspaper publication at the University of Pretoria called Die Perde By which was written predominantly in Afrikaans, but I became the first student to write for the newspaper in English,” revealed the eloquent Masango.
Asked as to what defines Talk Radio 702 from other stations, Masango responded as follows:
“None among the people that we interview is treated like a holy cow, our questions are incisive and sometimes uncomfortable to the interviewees.”
He said at Talk Radio 702 nobody dictates to them as to what to do as talk show hosts because the station’s bosses trust them wholeheartedly as presenters and assume that as discerning, well-read and sensible employees, they will always do the right thing.
“There is complete editorial independence for us presenters at the station, so even though I have been offered more money to go and work at other stations I have decided to stick with 702 because I have editorial control of my show there,” he said.
He revealed that contrary to his days as a youth, these days he does not watch TV and would rather spend his day sleeping or reading.
Asked as to what it is that is holding South Africans back and preventing them from being the best that they can be, Masango responded as follows:
“We are too ready to find out why we can’t, rather than finding out why we can.”
Masango was born in 1973 and revealed that his family has been entrepreneurs since time immemorial.
“My grandfather was my first employer, and he had businesses like chicken and meat outlets, taxis, bottle stores, low-cost accommodation and the famous Monaco night club, but those businesses have now been taken over by some of my family members as I obviously don’t have time to run a business due to my commitment to Talk Radio 702,” he said.
Born and bred in Mamelodi, Masango attended the local Primary School Zamintuku, before going to Loreto Convent in Queenswood, Christian Brothers College and finally matriculated at the Saint John’s College in Johannesburg.
Masango is married with three kids and his favourite soccer team is Mamelodi Sundowns.