Ghana’s trendiest radio station, YFM has hosted veteran broadcaster, Tommy Annan Forson as the next guest on the 5th edition of the Y Leaderboard Series. The King of Country Music, as he is also called, was on the show for a little over an hour, interacting with host Rev. Erskine on his upbringing, education, career, family, among other things.
Born to a strict father and a ‘soft’ mother, Tommy related that his upbringing centered on knowing and doing what was right. He was especially appreciative of his father’s nature as he stated that his dad despite being strict, will lovingly support what you put your mind to do career wise.
Spending time with his loving dad was short-lived as his father passed away when he was still young. This sad occurrence in his life, he says, pushed him to do more to cater for his mum and his siblings who were studying abroad. Amidst the storm, the legendary broadcaster shared what kept him going as he pronounced, “My main focus was to move forward. Life has to move on. I am always driven by the word focus.”
The heavy blow of his father’s passing affected the way his life would turn out to be. For someone, who wanted to be a mechanic, he hardly imagined that he would become a celebrated broadcaster who had no professional media training or a university degree.
However, the unexpected happened and while battling hepatitis in bed, he got accustomed to listening to the radio which developed his passion for broadcasting. Tommy from this moment secured his first radio job at GBC where he tirelessly worked to change how radio was perceived to be and how broadcasting must be done.
“I was the first person to crack a joke and laugh on air, I got into trouble got and a query but I explained to management that I wanted to be myself; personality driven,” he proudly said. Despite his achievements in the broadcasting scenes, he says he has never viewed himself as a “superstar”.
The King of Country Music explains that, to him, whatever he is doing is just a normal part of his life. He adds that people only view his work as extraordinary because he does it very well. “I am grateful for all these moments in the broadcasting space. I have never called myself a superstar. I am just a broadcaster who did things well. I just look at it as a job that I wanted to do and I did it right. I did 16 years with GBC, I won three or four awards at GBC.”
Outside his career life, Tommy enjoys spending time with his close-knit family. As a father, he has expressed that the most fulfilling thing to him is seeing his children heed to his advice to become successful in life. His interview would not have been complete without the ace broadcaster and Proprietor of Rabodef Radio Academy sharing some words of wisdom with industry players in the media space.
The ace broadcaster advised that no matter how advanced things get, shouting when presenting is not the norm and must never be made so. Therefore, the younger generation of presenters should learn from the older ones and better their craft instead of having in mind that the older generation of broadcasters have already given their all and have nothing more to offer.
Programmes Manager of YFM, Eddy Blay, commenting on Tommy’s interview stated: “When I began my journey in the media space, this great man, Tommy, was already doing awesome things. YFM is proud to have brought him closer to the young ones who wish to become consummate professionals in the media space just like him.”
