EXCLUSIVE: CREST FM GIVES ME OPPORTUNITY TO GROW, AND BE MYSELF, Says Funmilola Afolabi, Head of News

Funmilola Afolabi is an On-Air Personality in the broadcast industry in Ondo State. She currently serves as the Head of News of Crest FM, Akure.

Her career began eight years ago with an internship at Orange FM, Akure, where she later worked as a freelancer. Four years ago, she transited to Crest FM as a reporter and she is now the substantive Head of News of the station.

She is also a fact checker. With a degree in Mass Communication from the University of Benin, Edo State, Funmilola has built a reputation with her dedication and expertise in news reporting.

Her journey reflects a blend of academic achievement and hands-on experience, as she is contributing significantly to the field of broadcasting. She spoke with Event Diary Lifestyle team. Enjoy!!!.

Tell us about yourself

I am Funmilola Afolabi, the current Head of News of Crest FM Akure, Ondo State. I have been a broadcast journalist for almost eight years now. I'm also a fact checker. You will agree with me that there is need for us to fact check our information; both online and offline. I am a graduate of the University of Benin, where I obtained my Masters and Bachelor's degree in Mass Communication. I have had several non-academics fellowships. I will say 'am a journalist and a fact checker.

What inspired your choice of career?

I actually wanted to be a pilot, while growing up, but then I hated physics and chemistry, but I would have to offer them in science class, so I decided to stay back in art class. But I didn't really know what I wanted. I knew that anything I was meant to be would be and everyone kept saying that since I can argue, why didn’t I study law, but I said no because I didn't see myself standing for so long in front of a judge trying to argue a case. But trust Nigerian parents, they started bringing different documents for me to read and that was how I started reading court cases even without going to school to study law. I remember there was this big book my mother bought for me and it was about past judges and all what they have to do. The book has the biographies of the judges and my mum was like 'why not read it and know what's up.' So, every morning, when I woke up, I would read biographies of about five judges, but I still didn’t know what I wanted. When I was going to the university, I chose UNIBEN and three courses, which included law, mass communication and one other course. When it was time to write JAMB, I wrote it, but my cut off mark was far low for law and I felt bad that despite reading for two years, I still didn’t meet up with the cut off mark. That was how I opted for mass communication. Though I didn’t know much about mass communication then, but I realised that I like some aspects of it. For instance, I love Journalism, but I don't like the Advert and PR aspects, I don't know why. While in school, I thought I would go into the print media, but after my internship at Orange FM, I realised that radio was what I wanted because I love keeping it short and simple and radio makes it perfect. So I just struck out print. I started my career with Orange FM as a freelancer. But before then, I had worked with the Ogun State Ministry of Information, Abeokuta as an information officer for over a year. Then, I went back to Orange FM to hone my skills before moving forward.

Eight years down the lane, any regret so far?

None. You don't miss what you don't know. That is what I would say, so, no regrets.

Do you feel fulfilled?

I'm still growing. There are some challenges and some things I really want from the job that I haven't got so far and that's what I work on everyday because I know that journalists like myself are on this path and I want to be there forever. I realised that instead of engaging in self-pity or think otherwise, I look at the trajectory of others, find out the things I can replicate in my life, and that's what I've been doing. I listen to them when they give lectures, learn from them to make myself a better journalist.

As a pioneer staff, how do you feel working with Crest FM?

I will say working with Crest FM has been part of growth for me. I joined just as a reporter and a year later, I became the head of the reportorial unit. Two years after that, I became the acting Head of News, until recently, when I was made the substantive Head of News. My growth was a gradual process. Today, I can make bold to say that Crest FM gave me a platform to grow, to be creative and bring in new things as long as it is in line with the professional ethics of broadcasting.

In a nutshell, Crest FM has given me the opportunity to grow, be creative and be myself in the broadcast industry.

Compared to other stations, as the Head of News, how have you made your department a force to reckon with in the state?

The station was built on news and current affairs from the beginning and we already have a foundation that we are working on. We have templates that have been working for us and they are different from those of other radio stations. Before the establishment of Crest Fm, we realised that something was missing regarding news in Ondo State. As a civil servant state, everyone is interested in what the government says, but there is something we keep forgetting and that's following up.

When an incident happens, everyone would go there for on the spot assessment and they report it; but no one goes back to ask what happened to those affected by the story. As trained journalists, we need to do a follow-up of a story. For instance, how have they been able to take care of themselves after all the issues to make them feel like they own the story. When an incident happens and it has been reported, we go back to the story five months after to know what is happening and what they have to say. So, because of what we do, people are able to resonate with this and basically people call us if something happens in their community and now we don't even have to monitor again. It's the people that call us to give us updates if anything happens in their community. This singular act is making our stories different from others as we have more impactful stories to give to our listeners and our prayer is to have the strength to continue with our style and legacy.

How has being a fact checker helped you as Head of News?

My knowledge in fact checking has helped a lot. Fact checking helps you to cover excesses and it makes your report look investigative. This means you are able to cover all grounds and answer all the questions that might arise from the stories, and get facts. Also, all the angles are well covered and other questions people are asking while reading the story are well covered. In Ondo State now, we are in an election period and many candidates are making promises to the electorate, giving timeline and all. As a fact checker, we will be able to hold any of the candidates who emerges as the Governor accountable for whatever promises he or she made. Also in our bulletin, most of our stories will not just be people preempting things and this has helped us to make it accountable. For instance, last year, the government said that by 2024, they would put something in place and here we are. On such stories, we are holding the government accountable and ensuring that the story used in our bulletin is right.

Have you been using your experience as a fact checker to check your stories?

Sure, most of the time, we are online and when we see posts, the first thing that comes to mind is for us to verify the story and see if it is true. For instance, a year ago when Hilda Baci did her cooking competition and before you knew it, there was this news that she had been given certificate. I felt it was too early for this post to come up, so I went to fact check it and I realised that there was a picture there without her face but the certificate is there, though it was not from the Guinness Book Of Record. But because some online bloggers wanted to trend, they put her face and the certificate together and before you know it, people started sharing it. Even some of my friends posted it on their WhatsApp status. On seeing it, I sent them the right image and they all pulled down the posts. So it's not just about the government alone, it's about stories that we post online. I think many Nigerians, mostly publishers, should know more about fact checking so as not to keep repeating the same thing that can cause issues for them.

Where do you see Crest FM in the next five years?

With the template we are using and the things that the founding fathers have put in place, Crest FM will actually be a station to reckon with in the next five years in Nigeria, and not just in the South West. We have a template and we will follow up with the trend that we have been following. I know that Crest FM has the capacity to do more and do great things, all we just want is a platform and now we have it. Our listeners should expect lots of great things from us.

What do you do in your free time?

(Laughs) People ask me this question and when I say I listen to music and I read, they will say reading is part of my job. But for me, my reading might not be about the job, but reading on a lighter mood, nothing too serious, something to take me away from my serious lifestyle, even if it's just for 30 minutes. Actually, a day does not go without me reading one book, I read for fun.

What inspired your look?

It's my work. When I was in Orange FM, a year before I left, I realised that I had just a day off. Sometimes, I had no day off in a week. I just couldn't find myself making my hair for 7-8 hours on my day off, when I could use it to rest, sleep or do something else. The decision to go on a low cut was not planned, but it just happened. On this fateful day, I went with my boss to cut his hair and I asked the barber if he could cut my hair in such a way that I won't look like a man and he said 'yes' and the rest is history. It will interest you to know that this year marks five years that I have been rocking my low cut and I have had different faces of low cut; from afro to curling and now this (laughs).

How cordial is your relationship with the other staff of the organisation?

Crest FM is a home away from home for most of us. It's a place, where we come to unwind, relax and work. The work is the first thing, when we finish working, we see ourselves as one. We preach teamwork and to work as team, we must have good relationship with each other. So, at Crest FM, we are one.