David Moepeng has been appointed the new Station Manager of Yarona FM, a leading private radio station in Botswana. Moepeng started at this urban youth radio station in 2000 as a news reporter and before that he was a journalist for 14 years.
Moepeng obtained the Postgraduate Diploma in Media Management from Rhodes University’s Sol Plaatje Institute for Media Leadership in 2009 and another diploma, this time in economics journalism, from the Centre for Economics Journalism in Africa, also at Rhodes, in 2010. His study at Rhodes was part of the Yarona FM’s management development programme.
According to the station, Moepeng’s studies have helped him bring “fresh perspectives to the leadership of the radio station”. His training has also helped him improve the station operations, the culture, and the changeable trends of the media market.
The station has recently entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with the Botswana National Youth Council in its commitment to serving the youth. It became the first licensed private radio station in Botswana in 1999, and has received various awards for news and current affairs programmes over the years.
Moepeng won the MISA Botswana Radio Presenter of the Year Award in 2006.
“Yarona FM is a strong brand with a firm foundation built over the years by my predecessors and that provides me and my team with a good platform to further the interests of our listeners, advertisers and investors,” Moepeng said.
“Our listeners are very experimental and nomadic in their choice of entertainment, and we will continue to explore ways through which to keep serving them with engaging and interactive programmes.”
By Annetjie van Wynegaard