Just over a week after parting company with RCI over “irreconcilable differences,” Timothy Poleon was snatched up by Real FM to do for the station what he did for the old every weekday for almost 30 years. “I had several invitations,” he told this reporter, “but settled on Real FM, primarily because what they were offering was more acceptable and in tune with my plans for the future. For one, I now have greater control over my programme.” His new show, like the one he recently left behind, starts at 12:30 p.m. and ends at 2:00 p.m. One thing the show doesn’t yet have is a name. Poleon expects to change that situation soon. In the meantime it seems his own name is magnet enough for his fans here and abroad.
As for his new employers: “They are comfortable with the arrangement we have.” The station’s managing director Tamara Gibson told the STAR last week she wanted to concentrate on rebranding the station. As far as her company and Poleon were concerned, Gibson would say only that “it’s a private matter and I don’t wish to dwell on it.” She acknowledged Poleon’s “valuable contribution” to her company over the years but people arrive at crossroads and must decide what will be their next step.”
In her interview with the STAR at last Thursday’s Rebranding Event, Gibson said she had anticipated the questions about Timothy Poleon, but the event was not about him. “He is part of our story that spans 58 years, so we’re not discrediting his contribution to the station. Not at all in any way.”
Poleon started work at his new location on Monday. He was not surprised at the number of old voices that welcomed him back on radio: “The response has been great because I have my regular callers. They are calling in. They are contributing as always and I have a greater sense of who is listening because we monitor via social media and we’re discovering we have a lot of people from North America, from Canada and the U.K. listening as well.” He also had kind words for his new employers: “They’ve been very welcoming. They are very impressed, primarily because the time slot I’m utilising right now would have been used mostly by DJs. Now, clearly, they have a larger audience.”
