Thursday, 29 September 2016: One of South Africa`s most respected radio journalists and presenters, David Ò Sullivan, has joined the Hot 91.9FM team. The station`s Lloyd Madurai said “We are thrilled to have David aboard, it`s a real coup for Hot 91.9FM as David brings a wealth of experience in all aspects of radio to the station”. David will be hosting a brand new weekday show called “Joburg PM”, airing from 6.30pm to 7.30pm and featuring a wrap up of news, sport, business and entertainment.
David promises a show that “will feature stories that bring clarity to the day’s more important news stories. I will also be showcasing South African artists from the world of film, theatre, music, art, etc. Hot 91.9 is known for bringing the big sports interviews to its listeners and that will continue on Joburg PM and I will focus on the business stories that have a direct impact on listeners’ back pockets. And, of course, we’ll find time for some of the best Old School and R&B music”.
Career history: David O’Sullivan has been a radio and TV journalist for over 30 years. He studied Journalism at Rhodes University in the early 1980s, during which time he did internships at the Rand Daily Mail and Capital Radio. Radio was his preferred medium and, after four years as a freelancer, he joined Capital Radio on a fulltime basis in 1987. He rose to the position of News Editor, covering the fall of apartheid and the release of Nelson Mandela.
During that time, he also worked as the Southern African correspondent for numerous international radio networks and radio stations including Independent Radio News in London, Voice of America and National Public Radio in the USA, Macquarrie National News in Australia, and Newstalk ZB in New Zealand.
In 1991, he embarked on a short-lived law career, working for Webber Wentzel as a candidate attorney in their media law department and dealing with such clients as the Star, Pretoria News, Sowetan, BBC and Carte Blanche.
In 1995, he joined 702 where he stayed for the next 20 years. He worked in all on-air departments – news, sport and programming – and covered every significant event in South Africa, including events ranging from the Mandela and Mbeki Presidencies, the 1995 Rugby World Cup, the 1996 and 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, and every election since democracy. He hosted the prime-time Afternoon Drive show for 11 years.
He also presented live sport on SABC-TV from 2000 to 2011, anchoring the coverage of the Comrades Marathon, Durban July, J&B Met, Olympic and Paralympic Games, Springbok Test matches, and hosted a live rugby sports show, RuggaZone. In 2016 after a short stint with Power FM, David joined Joburg`s Hottest station, Hot 91.9FM to anchor a brand new weekday evening news and current affairs show, “Joburg PM”.
David has won numerous media awards, including two international awards for his coverage of the 1992 Bisho massacre, four SAB Sports Journalist Awards, and four MTN Radio Awards. He also consults with corporates on media training and strategy, facilitates conferences, does public speaking and MCs functions.
David is married to Jacqui, the Group Executive for Communication and Brand Marketing at Telkom. They have two sons, Michael (12) and Tom (5).