The Durban University of Technology’s (DUT) Journalism programme, alumnus, Mfundo Mabaso credits hard work and focus for elevating his career in radio production.

The Gagasi FM’s Indaba (current affairs programme), Content Producer walked away with the coveted Best Content Producer (Commercial) Award at the prestigious Liberty Radio Awards held in Johannesburg this past weekend.

The 22 year-old Mabaso, said he is grateful for the support he had received from his family, lecturers and colleagues. “My family has been the most supporting structure in pursuing this career and with all that support, all I’ve wanted to do is to make them proud of me. Professionally it started when I was still doing my internship and Maud Blose, my former lecturer always pushed me to be the best at what I do as someone is always watching. When I arrived at Gagasi FM, the first thing Alex Mthiyane said to me is that in order to become a brand your work must always be at its peak all the time, and from there on I never dropped the ball,” explained Mabaso.

Mabaso said he is still overwhelmed by his achievement. “As much as I’m still trying to take all of this in, my career has been elevated to another level, the bar has been raised and I have to keep up. It’s really a humbling achievement and it’s all thanks to myself and the people behind this success like my presenter Alex Mthiyane, the Gagasi FM News Team, former lecturers at DUT and my family for the support,” said Mabaso.

Mabaso did a lot of voluntary work for various organisations while he was still a student, which he believes gave him much need exposure and experience. “I Started as a News Reader for a couple of months at Radio Al Ansaar when I was doing my 2nd year at DUT. Went on to do voluntary Photography at Contento Group during the same year. I continued doing Photography and Videography work joining Ezasembo Photography which is owned by another DUT alumnus, Mhleli Mkhize, who was a year ahead than I was. I served my internship at DUT Journalism’s online publication JournalismIziko as a Social Media Section Editor where I did both social media and video production. From there I decided to start my own multimedia small business where I did videography, photography and voice-overs. I then proceeded to start a production career at Gagasi FM,” said Mabaso.

He encouraged other aspirant and emerging broadcasters to take their craft serious in order to make it in the demanding broadcasting industry. “Radio is a NOW medium as we’ve all learnt in school, so it requires one to always be on their toes and come with their A-Game so if you’ d love to pursue a career in radio, take your work seriously, take criticism politely (where you currently are) as it will build you and be the best at what you do. If you do this, you’ll enjoy radio as much as I do,” added Mabaso.

​ Mabaso said although working as content producer for a current affairs show comes with a lot of pressure, he enjoys it because it keeps him on his toes all the time, which pushes him to always do better.

Asked about his future aspirations, Mabaso said he would like to venture into TV production. He would also like to own a media house one day, and give students an opportunity to showcase their talents in the industry, which is the same thing that he was given as an aspiring broadcaster.

Pictured: The Durban University of Technology (DUT), alumnus, Mfundo Mabaso with his Best Content Producer Award won at the Liberty Radio Awards held in Johannesburg last weekend.

Nduduzo Ndlovu