Graham McCulloch

For as long as I can remember, I have loved language, both the spoken and written word. From about the age of 10, I started compiling and recording my own “news bulletins”, making speeches and conducting interviews with celebrities, all “scripted” and performed by myself, on a battery-operated portable tape recorder which I received as a birthday present.

After completing my studies at Stellenbosch University, I became an announcer / producer with the SABC in Sea Point in early 1978. Over the next two-and-a-half years, I earned my radio “stripes” as a bilingual radio presenter, interviewer and news reader on the then Radio Good Hope, initially presenting the afternoon drive slot and later switching to the breakfast session. I was privileged to work with and learn live radio from seasoned broadcasters such as Pierre Marais, Percy Sieff, Tony Hatt, Jan Cilliers, Nico de Kock, Hennie Pietersen, Peter Merrill, Patrick Kohler and Nigel Murphy, to name a few.

After leaving the SABC to pursue a business career in mid-1980, I continued my association with radio as an occasional mid-day and late-night music programme presenter and regional news reader on Springbok Radio and the old English Service until the end of the 80’s. My business career, which spanned over 25 years, took me into the fields of Human Resources, PR and Events Management, Organisational and Change Management, Executive Recruitment and General Management. During this time, in addition to my managerial roles, I found myself multi-tasking as a functions presenter, workshop facilitator, trainer and MC.

I am now pursuing a consulting career, which affords me the opportunity to make a return to radio, something that I have had on my “bucket list” for over 20 years! To this end, I approached Rodney Trudgeon in June 2010, offering my services as a bilingual newsreader. To my great delight, Rodney liked my audition and offered me the chance to read the early-morning English and Afrikaans news bulletins, initially on a Wednesday, but latterly on Friday mornings. It has been an absolute delight to experience the exhilaration of live radio, mainly in Rodney’s company, who is such a consummate radio professional. Over time I hope to spread my radio wings into programme presentation and get to know and work with other FMR presenters, all of whom I admire for their dedication, commitment and selfless contribution to the great vision of Fine Music Radio. For now, I am simply delighted to be back on the air again, and to do as professional a job as I can in presenting the “breaking news” of the day to FMR listeners as they rise and shine in the morning.

I have been married to Cheryl Fontini, a former announcer colleague on Radio Good Hope, since 1980. We are the proud parents of our son, Mark, who also lives and works in Cape Town, the most beautiful city in the whole wide world!