Tyron “Tirrin” Cosway

News Anchor

Brief intro

Tirrin is through-and-through a Taurean. He has all the characteristics of his star sign; honest, reliable, patient, stubborn, steadfast, a good listener, organised and so on.

Brief professional background

Having a passion for radio – Tirrin studied a 3-year diploma at Boston Media House specialising in Radio Broadcasting from 2007-2009. He took Journalism in first and second year – and completed a MAPPP SETA Certificate in print journalism at the same time. In second year he got true exposure to working behind the mic when he was offered a position as a presenter and on-air producer at community radio station: Radio Midrand.

Tirrin worked there for a few months – having a three hour show every Wednesday night – learning the ins and outs of listener interaction and the tips and tricks of radio.

What is your position & how do you spend your work time?

Tirrin is a News Anchor at Yfm. Once his on-air shift ends, he is still behind the scenes helping his colleagues in the news room gather updated and informed stories for the remaining bulletins of the day.

When did you get your break in radio?

Tirrin sees being a part of the Yfm team as his big break. The Yfm news department has a very strict news policy – which Tirrin accepts as a great learning opportunity. Although he worked on a community station – Tirrin is now being exposed to the live radio world at a commercial provincial landmark radio station. So for Tirrin – Yfm is his big break.

What’s the best thing about the job?

The best thing about the job is being a part of a team that is all working hard to achieve the same thing at the end of day. In the news room, the team runs on very tight deadlines and sometimes the tempers may flair but we all know at the end of the day that it’s not personal so we still are a close-knit well-oiled team.

What’s the worst thing about the job?

There aren’t any aspects that Tirrin doesn’t like about his job – there are tight deadlines and challenges but working under pressure is when Tirrin is at his most productive.

Why do you prefer radio over print media?

Radio is a much more immediate medium. Especially when it comes to news. Most of the time you will see that a newspaper can only run a story in their newspaper a day after the Yfm news team breaks it on air. Radio gives you the news you need to know as soon as you need to know it.

What was your most embarrassing moment on air?

Tirrin says that his most embarrassing moment on air is when he was in the middle of a news bulletin and had a coughing fit that he couldn’t stop. Unfortunately the mic was still on when he started playing a news sound clip and in the background you could hear Tirrin coughing.

Are social networking websites [Facebook, Twitter etc] good for journalism?

Tirrin thinks that social networking sites and micro-blogging sites are vital for journalists that need immediate sources of news. The progression of the internet was already a huge asset for the immediate access of news – and now we have the very people that make the news tweeting their stories or updating their statuses – so it’s a great source of first hand information, comment and opinion.