João de Sousa (1947-2020): A legend of Mozambican Journalism has died

Login

Register

http://www.clubofmozambique.com/

João de Sousa (1947-2020): A legend of Mozambican Journalism has died

9:55 CAT | 26 Oct 2020

Image: Facebook

Journalist and radio broadcaster João de Sousa died at home this morning from a fall. Born on June 16, 1947 in Lourenço Marques (Maputo), he lived in Matola and was married, with one son.

Here is a description of his life or work, which “Carta” takes from the Xipalapala blog:

João de Sousa, aka “The Voice”. One of Mozambique’s greatest radio journalists, an unrivalled figure in radio sports journalistic medium, of whom many of us have fond memories…

João de Sousa started working in radio in 1964 with GOLO Productions, an advertising agency that produced several programmes broadcast through the then Rádio Clube de Moçambique.

He began to file basketball, football and roller hockey reports in 1966. In addition to covering national events, with emphasis on the City and Provincial Championships, he hosted live broadcasts of games outside Mozambique, in Angola and Portugal.

In 1968, alongside his sports broadcasting, João de Sousa participated in other GOLO productions such as “Bondiazinho” (in partnership with Eugénio Corte Real) and “Guiando e Ouvindo Música”, sporadically contributing to other programmes such as “Domingo Alegre” and “Extensão 10”.

De Sousa’s pieces about Mozambican sports news were broadcast daily on the CIDADE 68 program, on RCM’s then Canal D.

In 1974, João de Sousa joined Rádio Clube de Moçambique as an announcer. After nationalisation in 1975, he moved to the editorial services (today the Information Department) as a reporter and anchor, in which capacity he conducted a series of live broadcasts of various national events.

It was during this period that he became part of the group of journalists assigned to accompany President Samora Machel on his state trips.

By 1977, he was heading the Sports Department at Rádio Moçambique. He covered the main national, regional and international events, with a highlight on live broadcasts of Mozambican participation in the African Champions League and Africa Cup of Nations (football), in the African Basketball Championships, the African Games of Algiers, the 1978 Argentine Roller Hockey World Championship and the 1980 Moscow Olympic Games.

Over the course of his professional career, he directed the National Channel of Rádio Moçambique, and later the Programmes Department. Later, he became the station administrator responsible for Commercial and Production for a duration of six years.

In 2003, he was appointed Adviser to the Board of Directors for International Relations and later for the company’s Communication and Image Department.

João de Sousa was among the group of journalists who created Canal Desportivo da Rádio Moçambique, (RM Desporto), dedicated exclusively to news and reports on national and international sport, and in February 2006 was appointed Rádio Moçambique correspondent in South Africa, a position he held until January, 2012.

Alongside his radio career, he worked with Televisão de Moçambique [TVM] as an anchor and commentator on the World Football Championships games, and as a presenter (in partnership with Leite de Vasconcelos) of the “Volta a Moçambique” programme.

Although officially retired, he continued to collaborate with Rádio Moçambique in the production of three weekly programmes: “O Fio da Memória” [The Thread of Memory], “Histórias da Música” [Stories of Music] and “Coisas da Bola” [Soccer Stuff].

Source: Carta de Moçambique