What’s Up with Mo Twister Lately?

Mo Twister is back on the air, but only on podcast, as listeners of ‘Good Times’ found a way to connect with the controversial host on the new medium.

Two months ago, Mo Twister and his ‘Good Times‘ morning program on Magic 89.9 was slapped a five-month suspension in part to an alleged sex-related topic that is deemed inappropriate for a morning program. To fill in the void, Magic brought in 99.5 Play FM DJs Sam Oh and Gibb to host a new morning show ‘First Thing in the Morning’. And it looks like Sam and Gibb’s show is here to stay, at least for the time being.

So what’s up with Mo Twister lately? Well, he is currently hosting ‘Good Times’ via podcast, and recently he also hosted the popular and heavily criticized ‘Forbidden Questions‘ segment from his Los Angeles ‘headquarters’. It appears that his suspension from Magic 89.9 is not hindering his on-air career. Meanwhile his partners Noelle Bonus and Tin ‘Suzy’ Gamboa have moved on to other programs. Bonus moved to sister station 99.5 Play FM, while Suzy reunited with CJ ‘The DJ’ Rivera to host ‘The Big Meal’ at noon. Suzy took over hosting ‘The Big Meal’ on a permanent basis after Riki Flores moved to the ‘Pop Stop’ with Andi Manzano following the departure of erstwhile on-air partner Jessica Mendoza.

With Mo relegated to the sidelines, at least for the time being, the morning show of Sam Oh and Gibb is developing as a better alternative to the otherwise offensive and controversial ‘Good Times’. And that’s a good thing for morning radio programming, as programs such as Monster Radio RX 93.1’s ‘The Morning Rush‘, Mellow 94.7‘s ‘The Wake Up Show’, and 99.5 Play FM’s ‘The Playground’ aimed to be healthier and ‘kid-friendly’ radio programs, something that ‘Good Times’ obviously lacked. And why? Because mornings is where the kids wake up to go to school, and the radio is usually the first piece of entertainment for children on the road.

While Mo will be back on the air, Magic 89.9 may have found the perfect radio duo in the morning. And sorry Mo, Sam Oh and Gibb are a better radio combination than you alone.

Speaking of podcasts, the hosts of Magic 89.9’s nightly radio program ‘Boys Night Out’ recently launched their podcasts, which are recorded every Monday before midnight. In doing so, hosts Eric ‘Slick Rick’ Virata, Anthony ‘Tony Toni’ Bueno and Sam ‘Sam YG’ Gogna have also made the decision to move their popular ‘Confession Sessions’ segment exclusively to the podcasts, in order to add more sexually-oriented language that may be inappropriate to live radio. The move of ‘Confession Sessions’ to the podcast is also good for radio, as the more offensive style of conversation heard on the segment may be inappropriate for the younger listener.

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Love Radio and Yes! FM Don’t Deserve to Be No. 1

Love Radio and sister station Yes! FM claims to be the top two radio stations. However, they do not deserve be in such regard due to their unfair competitive advantage.

For the past decade or so, Manila Broadcasting Company‘s 90.7 Love Radio reigned as the No. 1 radio station in Metro Manila. More recently in their station IDs, they promoted 90.7 Love Radio and 101.1 Yes! FM, both of whom were owned by MBC, as the top two radio stations in Metro Manila. This was according to various surveys conducted in the past two years.

But why they have been able to reign atop the surveys the past few, if not many, years? Many point out to its clear and polished sound, toilet humor, high power and reach, and an automated playlist consisting of old classic rock love songs, novelty hits, and OPM favorites. While rival 102.7 Star FM started the ‘masa’ station craze in the late 90s, it was 90.7 Love Radio and 101.1 Yes! FM who took it to the next level, prompting several stations (e.g. 97.1 Barangay LS FM, 107.5 Win Radio) to embrace the ‘masa’ concept as well.

Despite the survey that stake their claim, I believe neither 90.7 Love Radio nor 101.1 Yes! FM deserved to be in the top two. Both stations typify the cheapskate radio station: playlists that have fewer songs and are played repeatedly, and DJs and on-air characters that often pull out various forms of cheap humor. In addition, they were in the top two unfairly because of their high broadcast reach, something that other stations could not afford. In short, for all their claims as the No. 1 and No. 2 stations, they are still classified only for the ‘masa’ audience, and that their unfair advantage should not be taken for granted.

The real and sophisticated radio stations in Metro Manila today play more recent hits on a daily basis, and then reserving classic songs on specific days only. On some points of the day DJs talk about topics that interest people, and oftentimes interact with them through an open forum. Sometimes promos announcing an upcoming film, event or prize are included as well. Such radio stations include Magic 89.9, 99.5 Play FM, Monster Radio RX 93.1 and Mellow 94.7, among other stations.

Unfortunately, some radio stations reformat because of loss of audience share and the need for more advertising money. This was the case when NU 107 became Win Radio when it became apparent that a rock-oriented radio station cannot compete anymore due to loss of operating funds and competition from other sources. There is a reason why several radio stations became ‘masa’: new technologies such as the internet, MP3 downloads and the iPod, threatening the radio business as a whole.

In the end, it is hard to prevent the proliferation of ‘masa’ stations in an attempt to undermine the so-called ‘success’ of Love Radio and Yes! FM. Still, as long as there are a dedicated number of radio stations playing music that caters to a higher class of society, radio’s balance of power will be tipped on an even scale.