New voices on SPH Radio

Money FM 89.3's Manisha Tank wants to inject positivity into her show while Kiss92's Carrie Chong is getting her groove back after leaving Mediacorp 12 years ago

Manisha Tank (above) hosts Money FM 89.3’s The Breakfast Huddle from 6 to 9am on weekdays with Elliott Danker and Ryan Huang, while Carrie Chong hosts Kiss92’s Saturday morning shows from 6 to 10am.
Manisha Tank (above) hosts Money FM 89.3’s The Breakfast Huddle from 6 to 9am on weekdays with Elliott Danker and Ryan Huang, while Carrie Chong hosts Kiss92’s Saturday morning shows from 6 to 10am. PHOTOS: MARCELLIN LOPEZ, SPH RADIO
Manisha Tank hosts Money FM 89.3’s The Breakfast Huddle from 6 to 9am on weekdays with Elliott Danker and Ryan Huang, while Carrie Chong (above) hosts Kiss92’s Saturday morning shows from 6 to 10am.
Manisha Tank hosts Money FM 89.3’s The Breakfast Huddle from 6 to 9am on weekdays with Elliott Danker and Ryan Huang, while Carrie Chong (above) hosts Kiss92’s Saturday morning shows from 6 to 10am. PHOTOS: MARCELLIN LOPEZ, SPH RADIO

Having read the news on television for BBC and CNN for two decades, presenter Manisha Tank knew how depressing a lot of the news can be.

So when she made the switch to radio and recently joined SPH Radio's Money FM 89.3, she made sure the morning show she presented had a good dose of positivity.

Together with seasoned radio presenter Elliott Danker and finance presenter Ryan Huang, Tank, 43, hosts The Breakfast Huddle from 6 to 9am on weekdays.

"It had been getting me down that so much of the news is negative," says the British mother of three.

"Our shows have an excellent balance of light and shade. I can't deny that bad things do happen, but we have the opportunity to do much good by discussing big issues from a holistic point of view."

The Breakfast Huddle covers everything from the daily news to issues such as sustainability, advances that benefit society, philanthropy and, of course, how people can better manage their finances.

Tank adds: "If, by the end of the show, listeners have picked up something that has improved their experience of life or helped them navigate a challenge, then we've done the right thing."

Tank, who moved to Singapore 31/2 years ago with her husband who works in the finance industry, says she is far more comfortable on radio than she ever was on television.

"You grow as a person and I think when you're younger, you're much more about 'how do I look, how do I sound?'. There's a lot more insecurity before and now I feel more secure about myself."

Going on radio for the first time was "a humbling experience", says Tank. "I got excited about doing journalism again."

She relishes the fact that she is not just presenting, but also co-producing the show, unlike when she was in television.

"The biggest thing is that it's not about me, it's about the team. And as a team, as we work together, it's actually wonderful to have the experience of bouncing ideas around one another."

Her co-presenter Danker was impressed by how quickly Tank adapted to radio.

"Sometimes the news comes up on the fly, it's a very reactive show because we're on early in the morning. And you trust that if one does not pick it up, the other will pick it up," he says. "We are in a good groove and it can only get better."

Tank is not the only new voice on SPH Radio. Kiss92 recently welcomed presenter Carrie Chong, who returned to radio 12 years after she left Mediacorp's 987FM. She hosts the Saturday morning shows from 6 to 10am.

Back in 2007, Chong left radio to join her father's business in the fintech and payment solutions industry. They later ventured into app development, but shut down the business in June as it did not do as well as they expected, paving the way for her return to radio.

"It's like a homecoming, I'm doing something I knew I loved and was familiar with. So far, it's been great, I'm getting my groove back with every week that passes and I still get the jitters every time I turn on the mic to speak, it's exhilarating."

Chong, 42, who is married and has two daughters, says that the radio scene has gone through a big change since she was last on air.

"Radio today is a whole new ball game from my time. We didn't have social media then, so radio jocks had a more enigmatic presence because we were mostly heard and rarely seen."

Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.

A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on October 28, 2019, with the headline New voices on SPH Radio. Subscribe