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Ranaka has previously lambasted the toxic nature of the South African radio landscape, highlighting its bias against women in the industry.
Dineo Ranaka will host Metro FM’s Top 30 chart show on Saturdays. Picture: dineoranaka/Instagram
Just under a year after describing radio as a boys’ club, radio jock Dineo Ranaka was announced as one of the on-air personalities on Metro FM.
“Radio is such a boys’ club. If you are not born male, it’s difficult to even get executives to take you seriously; it’s difficult to get advertisers to take you seriously,” said Ranaka in an interview with Newzroom Afrika in 2024.
True to this time of year, when radio stations update their lineups, Metro FM announced its new roster, with no drastic changes to its flagship shows. The only surprise was Ranaka’s return to radio.
The station’s business manager, Kina Nhlengethwa, said she was excited about the line-up, which blends familiar voices with fresh talent.
“Our listeners are in for a treat, and we’re confident that our 2025/26 line-up will continue to captivate and entertain our audience, cementing Metro FM’s position as South Africa’s leading commercial radio station,” averred Nhlengethwa.
Ranaka will host the station’s Top 30 chart show from Saturday morning to midday.
ALSO READ: ‘Radio is such a boy’s club,’ says Dineo Ranaka as she embarks on culinary journey
Ranaka’s last radio gig
Ranaka joined Kaya in 2022 from Metro FM. About a year into her role at the Gauteng station, things changed for the media personality.
In now-deleted Instagram posts from May 2023, Ranaka wrote that she wasn’t well and that she was contemplating suicide.
“I get it. I get them,” shared the former co-host of 959 Breakfast on the social platform. “Because I’m trying my best not to commit suicide. My mind is so loud of late, and life is f***ing hard, so f***ing hard, and I’m trying my best, but it seems my best isn’t enough.”
Following her breakdown, Ranaka spent some months away from her show, which led to the current host of Kaya’s breakfast show, Sizwe Dhlomo, standing in for her. The station released a statement confirming its support for Ranaka.
“The Kaya 959 family is keeping Dineo in their hearts, and we wish her healing. We also ask for privacy as Dineo gets through this difficult time,” averred the station at the time.
However, after an extended period away from her show, Ranaka and the station began negotiating their eventual separation.
In the midst of all of this, the broadcaster confirmed that she had been diagnosed with Severe Chronic Depression following a public meltdown.
Kaya eventually dismissed her around July 2023, something she celebrated.
“Actually, it wasn’t Kaya that fired me, GOD DID! There’s not a single human who has all their s*** together, so just focus on yours, mate. Stay trying,” she wrote on social media.
Around the same period, Ranaka also announced her new show on the Podcast & Chill Network, titled Dineo on Sex n Stuff.
ALSO READ: Dineo Ranaka leaves Metro FM for Kaya, Sol Phenduka also joins station
Radio a boys club?
In her sit-down with Newzroom, Ranaka lambasted the toxic nature of the South African radio landscape, highlighting its bias against women in the industry and said she experienced abuse from a female boss.
“Being abused by the hand of a female executive… that hurt me the most…and I was like ‘we’re not going to do this, we’re going to leave this right here’,” she said about one of her previous jobs.
Ranaka said she hadn’t permanently stepped away from being a broadcaster after her dismissal from Kaya.
“I am not taking a break from the media. I was on a spiritual hiatus; I’m very much spiritually inclined,” she averred.
Ranaka said this wasn’t the first time she had stepped away from the limelight and been inactive on social media.
“I’m not dictated to by modern-day societal norms and so forth. When God wants to speak to me, on the side in a corner, I’m able to listen without the pressure of having to post and keep relevant. God sustains my relevance all the time,” Ranaka stated.
“[I’ve] definitely taken a break from radio broadcasting, but television media across the board, those are the talents that God gave me to serve. There’s no way I could take a break from that. I would lose my mind.”
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