Philippine Radio International
By Jayme Jack
At the first click of the mouse on a flickering
page on my computer screen, a familiar tune fills
the speakers. A forgotten song I have not heard
in such a long while. Suddenly, as if on cue,
distant memories of pleasant faces and friendly
places, tucked away but never lost, emerge from
the back of my mind. A deep longing, I never knew
I had is satisfied by a single verse of music.
Funny, sometimes, the ethereal power a song has to
take you back. Bringing you close and safe,
returning you home. And that is what PhilRadio.com
is all about. Home.
As the song "Kay Ganda ng Ating Musika" reaches its
climactic finale a>voice segues, "You are listening
to Phil Music Radio, Musikang Pilipino, Musikang
Sariling Atin. I am your host, Kathy Llamas
broadcasting live in the WTRR Studios in Sanford,
Orlando, Florida. And LIVE on the worldwide web
at www.philradio.com".
Kathy Llamas began her career in broadcasting 16
years ago, when she went to the University of the
Philippines to pursue Mass Communication, with a
major in broadcasting. Much to her parents'
objections on this career choice, she went on to
intern at Rajah Broadcasting Network. She eventually
became a newscaster at DZRJ, a radio station owned by
Ramon Jacinto. Her self-imposed silence started the
day after the People's Power Revolution in 1986 when
she decided to sign off, to join the fourth generation
of Filipinos to migrate to the U.S. In 1994, she
established KLComm, a communications and marketing
company that engaged in broadcast management and
marketing, as well as, the production of multimedia
product lines involving the combination of radio,
television and the Internet.
PhilRadio actually, happened rather accidentally. One
of the stations that she worked for in Florida, WTRR,
was going through a format change to Spanish. Her
General Manager asked her if she could produce and
host a Spanish Program on the station. And although
she could speak and understand the language, she was
afraid that she was not fluent enough to get away
with it. Kathy, as always, thriving on new challenges,
stepped up to accept this responsibility. The show
became a big hit and one of the most popular shows on
the station.
The General Manager, happy with the success and
knowing she was Filipino, asked if she could do an
All-Filipino Show. In her mind she thought that this
man was crazy, since there are not too many Filipinos
in the Orlando area. He told her that he wanted to test
the Internet market with a niche audience, a new format
for the show would be LIVE worldwide broadcasts. She
knew that her biggest obstacle would be finding the
music. In Orlando, there are hardly any Filipino music
available, so she had to call on old friends and
collected 3 CD's, a handful of cassettes and some
scratchy records. She looks back now and laugh at
how she winged those first few shows.
The first LIVE worldwide broadcast happened on October
13, 1998. It produced 4000 hits (visits) the first
night it was set up on a server. To date, her site
average about 10,000 hits a day. Her program offers
a virtual buffet of tastes states of mind and views.
One has a wide choice of selections in musical genres
and styles. Stemming from the lovelorn "Himig ng Pag-
ibig" to the alternative driven "Pinoy Rock". There
is also a segment for oldies, "Mga Kanta ng Lolo Ko",
where she pulls out and dusts>old tunes from a long
gone era.
Not limited to music, Kathy has branched out her
programming to include a variety of information and
entertainment resources. In "Kuro-kuro ni Kathy",
she offers anything-goes-style talk forum, where
listeners call in (toll-free in the U.S. at 1-800-
771-9877) and by email (kllamas@gate.net) to voice
their views of anything and everything under the sun.
There is also current news in the form of the "Voice
of the Philippines". "PhilEntertainment Weekly",
features all the hot chismis from the world of show
business. And of course, Pinoy radio would not be
complete without the dedications, which she randomly
and amorously spreads throughout her webcast.
Appeasing all even those with the most critical taste.
One can scan through past programs or listen live by
going to her site at www.philradio.com and clicking on
the selected titles, organized by topic on the side of
the web page. Of course, you will need a Real Player G2
plug in (which is free!) to be able to hear. But not to
worry she has a link that will painlessly help you get it.
Weekday schedules are Monday to Thursday from 6 p.m. to
8 p.m. EST. Sa>She gets about 50 emails a day from people as far as
Bahrain, Jerusalem, Geneva and Saipan. Some letters she
receives come from the remotest of areas, such as the
Channel Islands in the U.K. which has a total of 20
Filipinos and not so heavily Filipino areas in Kentucky,
North Dakota and Minnesota (brrrr..). To date, the show
has reached and logged about a million people.
Her youngest listener was a little baby who was
listening to the show in vitro before she was born.
The would-be father wanted her to play some songs for
the baby through speakers by mom's stomach. Some people
have hooked up their computer to their home stereo
speakers in various rooms of the house so they can
listen to the show while having dinner or cooking in
the kitchen. So wherever you are, you are always there.
Welcome home,
kaibigan!
The article, Philippine Radio International was sent
to CYBERTAMBAYAN on May 8, 1999.