Stories
Bridging the linguistic divide in Skopje
28 November 2002
A ground-breaking formula
Radio Life, a Skopje-based radio station, has produced a series of 26 bilingual radio programmes with funding from the OSCE media development unit. The programmes are co-presented simultaneously in Macedonian and Albanian, and the presenters paraphrase each other's words, bantering in languages. Between the light-hearted patter - often enlivened by visiting celebrities to the studio - Radio Life plays a stylish mix of popular music from the last three decades.
Each of the shows has a theme and the programmes go out and about in the Macedonian regions interviewing members of the public, professionals and exploring themes of common interest. In the last couple of programmes the presenters made a surprise visit to the green market in Tetovo, interviewed a collector of local curios at a museum in Dzepciste and visited a young plastic surgeon in his operating room. "We like to amuse and surprise" says presenter Pece Mladenovski and his Albanian co-presenter Petrit Sarachini.
The key to success
The dynamism of the presenters is certainly one of the secrets to the show success: Pece is the lead singer from "Super Hicks", the country's most popular rock band and Petrit is also a well-known musician.
"At the very beginning we were a bit apprehensive as to whether this format would be widely accepted,"says Kresnik Ajdini, Radio Life's general manager. "But we are amazed at how well bilingual radio works. The idea of having interactive communication in two different languages sounds like a "chaotic salad", but the station has a strong following, especially among young people."
"Radio Life is great. They're so positive," says one listener, Zaneta Trajkovska. " It engages the listeners in a very relaxing, non-political and entertaining way. Radio Life is more than a trend".
Out and about in the regions
While Radio Life has a growing audience in Skopje - it is also catching on in far-flung parts of the country where the programmes are being re-broadcast by Macedonian and Albanian language stations in Debar, Tetovo and Kumanovo.
"They are also recording a lot of the programme material in these regions," says Zoran Trajkovski, from the OSCE's media development unit. "We felt that was important, because these remoter areas sometimes get neglected by popular media".
The programme series can heard on Radio Life, Skopje, Mondays and Fridays, 09:00 -10:00 a.m., 89.1 FM until the end of January 2003.
Radio Life, a Skopje-based radio station, has produced a series of 26 bilingual radio programmes with funding from the OSCE media development unit. The programmes are co-presented simultaneously in Macedonian and Albanian, and the presenters paraphrase each other's words, bantering in languages. Between the light-hearted patter - often enlivened by visiting celebrities to the studio - Radio Life plays a stylish mix of popular music from the last three decades.
Each of the shows has a theme and the programmes go out and about in the Macedonian regions interviewing members of the public, professionals and exploring themes of common interest. In the last couple of programmes the presenters made a surprise visit to the green market in Tetovo, interviewed a collector of local curios at a museum in Dzepciste and visited a young plastic surgeon in his operating room. "We like to amuse and surprise" says presenter Pece Mladenovski and his Albanian co-presenter Petrit Sarachini.
The key to success
The dynamism of the presenters is certainly one of the secrets to the show success: Pece is the lead singer from "Super Hicks", the country's most popular rock band and Petrit is also a well-known musician.
"At the very beginning we were a bit apprehensive as to whether this format would be widely accepted,"says Kresnik Ajdini, Radio Life's general manager. "But we are amazed at how well bilingual radio works. The idea of having interactive communication in two different languages sounds like a "chaotic salad", but the station has a strong following, especially among young people."
"Radio Life is great. They're so positive," says one listener, Zaneta Trajkovska. " It engages the listeners in a very relaxing, non-political and entertaining way. Radio Life is more than a trend".
Out and about in the regions
While Radio Life has a growing audience in Skopje - it is also catching on in far-flung parts of the country where the programmes are being re-broadcast by Macedonian and Albanian language stations in Debar, Tetovo and Kumanovo.
"They are also recording a lot of the programme material in these regions," says Zoran Trajkovski, from the OSCE's media development unit. "We felt that was important, because these remoter areas sometimes get neglected by popular media".
The programme series can heard on Radio Life, Skopje, Mondays and Fridays, 09:00 -10:00 a.m., 89.1 FM until the end of January 2003.