Veteran broadcaster Frank Mutubila is today expected to launch a new talk show radio station called Capital FM which he has partly dedicated to those he worked with in the broadcasting industry, most of whom have died.

In an interview, Mutubila said Capital FM would be different from other radio stations because it would be managed by governance experts with a targeted listenership of 22 years and above.

“Capital FM is different. We feel the country needs a radio station that is going to cover divergent governance issues, issues that are thoroughly researched. [And] research is going to be a very important component in our programming. The other difference is that our radio station is going to engage producers and presenters who are experts in their own field and on governance issues. We are going to use experts. I think I am the only person in-house who will be producing and presenting a programme. Over 90 per cent of programmes will be presented by outsiders,” Mutubila said.

“This is talk radio and almost 90 per cent talk with very little music. The music that we are going to play is mature music and almost all the programmes are interactive. They are live and interactive so that we can engage the listeners. There will be very little politics on our channel. The target listenership is from 22 years and above. We feel although there are a lot of radio stations, our station is being driven by quality content. We feel there is a market out there for quality programmes.”

He said the station will also have a slot for discussing and analysing topical issues with live interaction.

“Our news is one hour, unlike most [radio] stations that broadcast 10 minute bulletins. It’s going to involve analytical subjects. We will have at least four to five items in every news that are going to be analysed to give more information to the item. We will also have five teams of very qualified people that will be broadcasting breakfast shows. We feel this is important so that we can give varied [information] to the people. We also have a number of live current programmes. For example, I will be producing and presenting a programme three times a week called ‘The Big Issue.’ We will pick up a topical item and then discuss it for two hours and this again will be interactive,” Mutubila said.

He said the station would further have a programme for reviewing daily newspapers.

“We have got a programme for almost everybody. We feel this is important especially as we go towards 2021. We will be discussing a number of governance issues to ensure that our listeners are well informed so that they can make well-informed decisions. We hope that most of these programmes will be sponsored and because of the quality, I am sure we will be able to attract sponsorship. We will be broadcasting from 05:00am up to midnight and after a couple of months, we can review that so that we can go 24 hours. We will also have a programme where we will be reviewing what is in the daily newspapers and give more information behind what the story is all about,” Mutubila explained.

He partly dedicated the radio station to his colleagues in the broadcasting industry whom he worked.

“We feel although other stations are doing well, we still need a station which is going to provide more governance programmes. There are not too many governance programmes on most radio stations. The other coincidence is that this comes up when I am entering my 50 years in broadcasting…I am also partly dedicating this station to the people I worked with many years ago [and] many of them have now died. It’s a dedication to my colleagues like Charles Mando, Mann Sichalwe, Fred Chunga, Charles Muyamwa, Haggai Chisulo, and Mannasseh Phiri. [These are] people who inspired me,” said Mutubila.