Lanny Ho, a radio announcer with a bubbly and cheerful personality, shares with writer Priscilla Tawie about her daily routines at the Hitz FM Kuching ‘drive thru’ segment as well as her personal opinions about the direction of her career.
Bubbly radio DJ with passion for performing arts
A radio announcer with a personality — Hitz FM Kuching ‘drive thru’ announcer Lanny Ho is a little tiny, but with a huge character. Ho remembered being a playful and naughty child who got her hands on everything.
“I also remembered that I was definitely loud.”
In conjunction with World Radio Day, New Sarawak Tribune had a talk with Ho regarding her days as a radio announcer. Her daily routine? She revealed that the first thing she does in the morning is catch up with the latest news and trends.
“Because I usually plan what I want to talk about during my afternoon segment ‘the Hitz Drive Thru’, I need to be up to date on what’s going on every day,” said Ho, who was born and raised in Miri.
Beginning her shift at 3pm, and ending it at 8pm, Ho said that one thing that she has learned from her job is that “literally everything can be used as materials to share on air. One thing I like about being a radio announcer is that I can just live my life, do what I want, and if anything impacts me, I can share it with my listeners.”
When asked if she had ever done something crazy on air, she recalled a time during Christmas last year.
“It was nothing big, but since it was Christmas, I didn’t want to say Merry Christmas. Instead, I wished it in a funny way. That was something hilarious to me that I’ll never forget,” she chuckled as she described the incident.
The challenges
When Ho is on the air, bursting with waves of laughter and radiating positivity, the situation behind the scenes might be quite different. One of the challenges she encounters as a radio announcer is the ability to remain ‘happy’ all of the time.
“Radio announcers can’t possibly be happy all the time. There were times when it was difficult for me, and I felt quite down. I was even sobbing on air once. Nevertheless, to be honest, this isn’t too hard for me because I have the ability to turn off negativity when I need to do something.”
During those days, Ho would often provide advice and encouraging words to her listeners. As a reflection of what she would tell herself, she shared an example of an encouraging statement she had previously said, “I told my listeners, if you’re feeling down today, hang in there.”
Sharing further, Ho mentioned that there are several things that cannot be done on air. Among these are sprouting vulgarities or anything unpleasant.
“Swearing is not permitted in the studio. Therefore, I do my best to follow the rules because we never know what kind of accident may occur. Swearing on air is one of, if not the, most grave mistakes an announcer can make. It is something I take very seriously.”
Ho also said that the mention of human bodily excretion and anything related to it is not permitted.
“We’ll try to avoid it entirely or replace it with something less gross. We don’t want people to have such kinds of thoughts, therefore we try to make our talk sets as pleasant as possible.”
Although it might seem daunting, Ho commended her Hitz FM Sarawak colleagues for their unwavering support.
“They help me in overcoming various challenges. I was wary when I first started since I had heard about workplace drama. But they would come and help me even if I didn’t ask.”
Her first dip in the water
Ho, who is always at centre stage, said that her first time announcing was when she served as the emcee for a school event when she was in secondary school.
“But it wasn’t like a proper guide the crowd sort of emcee-ing. Nonetheless, that was my first experience.”
The mass communication graduate often took the stage as an emcee throughout her university days.
“I also did a talk show with my peers. I’ve always been an outgoing person. Furthermore, I was interested in a variety of activities. So I guess I’m used to talking a lot.”
Ho went for an interview with Hitz FM Sarawak in 2021 after a coursemate suggested it. Although accepting the position would require her to relocate from one city to another, she mustered the courage to leave her hometown Miri and move to Kuching in order to test out new opportunities.
“It was difficult for me to make a decision because it meant leaving my hometown, my family, and my friends. That was tough because I had spent my entire childhood in Miri. But nonetheless, I took the leap of faith to move to Kuching because I knew I would have friends here — the dance community that I had grown to love,” she said.
The other side of Lanny
Ho revealed that her foray into the radio broadcasting industry was never her first choice. The 25-year-old revealed that dancing and performing have always been her passions.
“When I was younger, I visited a dance studio by chance after hearing the music they were dancing to. I saw people dancing and, despite the fact that I was taking piano lessons, I told my mum that I wanted to join a dance class instead,” she said.
Therefore, four-year-old Ho began her dance journey by learning the steps in a class for Chinese traditional dance.
“I did that till I was 13 years old. That was when I started secondary school and was introduced to street dancing by my brother and his dance crew.”
Ho had been a dancer, a musician, and a performer during her school years. The youngest of three siblings, she has always been interested in performing arts.
Though she has the opportunity to showcase her talent as a radio announcer, Ho wishes to further her career as a voice actor for local animation.
“While I enjoy doing those, I also want to be the voice behind a cartoon character or a game.”
Whether it’s talking on the air or dancing on stage, Ho battles through every opportunity and possibility.
