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17 Things You Didn’t Know About South African Media Host Alan Kahn

17 Things You Didn’t Know About South African Media Host Alan Kahn

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Alan Khan is a media and radio personality well known to the people of South Africa. Despite Khan’s longstanding status as a celebrity, there are many aspects of his life of which most people are unaware. Read on to discover 10 interesting things that you didn’t know about this amazing South African.

Sources: forbes.com, cnn.com, www.avenueradio.com, cbsnews.com, huffingtonpost.com, www.bizcommunity.com, allafrica.com

cleantechnica.com
cleantechnica.com

1. Alan Khan is South African born and bred.

Alan Khan was born in Durban, South Africa on Dec. 17 1971. Khan went to school in Durban, and he chose to start his radio career right there in his hometown.  He was married in Durban, and it’s where he now lives with his wife and children. Durban is as much a part of him as is his radio and media career.

en.wikipedia.org
en.wikipedia.org

2. Alan Khan was declared a “most eligible bachelor” by Elle Magazine.

South African magazine Elle declared Alan Khan one of the most eligible bachelors in South Africa. This coverage was part of a feature segment in 1997. However, Kahn broke many hopeful hearts when he married sociologist Dr. Mariam Seedat Khan two months later. They have now been married for 17 years and have two sons, Ameer and Nasser.

www.avenueradio.com
www.avenueradio.com

3. He met his future wife on his talk show. 

When we say that radio is in Alan Khan’s blood, it’s not mere hyperbole. His life has been influenced and shaped by radio far more than most people might imagine. He met his future wife on a talk show he hosted on Capital Radio 406. Kahn interviewed Mariam Seedat on his show “Capital Live,” and this was the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

newindianexpress.com
Alex Ferguson
newindianexpress.com

4. He has interviewed the ‘who’s who’ of the world.

Kahn believes in the power of the radio as a platform for interaction and conveying a message to people. This has given him access to some of the world’s most prominent people. He has interviewed musical maestros such as Stevie Wonder and Janet Jackson; presidents including Nelson Mandela; Sepp Blatter of FIFA; political and religious leaders such as Rev. Jesse Jackson and Archbishop Desmond Tutu; and notable football coach Alex Ferguson.

lightingtheirwayhome.wordpress.com
lightingtheirwayhome.wordpress.com

5. He is involved in social activism. 

Khan’s contribution to society is not just limited to being an influential media and radio persona. He is also involved in social activism. He is a board member of the South African non-governmental organization Women and Men against Child Abuse, founded in 1997.

www.foxcrawl.com
www.foxcrawl.com

6. Alan is an accomplished awards judge.

One of his most fascinating roles within the sphere of entertainment has been acting as a judge for awards shows. In April 2008, he was on the judges’ panel of the Tony Koenderman South African AD Review Awards. He has also been on the judges’ panel of the MTN South African Radio Awards for three consecutive years.

www.cbsnews.com
www.cbsnews.com

7. Alan Khan is a qualified chiropractor.

Before he became a radio personality, Kahn started on a very different path. His first university degree at the Durban University of Technology was in chiropractic medicine. He later decided to follow this with a degree in journalism at the same university.

www.cbsnews.com
www.cbsnews.com

8. He is academically accomplished.

Kahn always believed in the power of education and embraced it wholly. He has acquired a lifetime’s worth of educational qualifications, which has led to him being awarded the Silver Tusk Award in 2006, given to members of the Durban University of Technology alumni body for outstanding achievements. Apart from his chiropractic and journalism degrees, he has a master’s degree in business at UKZN. He did an external degree program at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. in collaboration with the National Broadcasters Corporation.

limetvnews.blogspot.com
limetvnews.blogspot.com

9. He has ventured into other media. 

Khan’s interest in media is not just limited to radio; he has written for print media for a number of years. From 2001 to 2005, he wrote a weekly sports opinion piece for Post newspaper, which is published in Durban.

He also branched into TV, hosting a number of shows including power boating on Super Sports. He also hosted the popular morning show am2day on SABC. However, since taking over as the CEO of Jacaranda 94.2 FM, he has chosen to focus on radio.

thekopend.com
thekopend.com

10. Khan is a sports enthusiast.

Khan is an ardent supporter of Everton Football club, which plays in the English Premier League. He also sits on the Transformation Committee of the Kwazulu Natal Rugby Union.

 

Shutterstock
Shutterstock

 

11. Khan supports female entrepreneurs

Khan hosted the Business Women’s Association of South Africa gala this year (2014) where businesswomen across many sectors were recognized and awarded for their contribution to the economy.

 

Wikimedia.org
Wikimedia.org

12. He believes radio is about storytelling

Khan has said in an interview that Jacaranda is looking for more than just broadcasters who have gone to journalism and broadcasting school—that what they really value is someone who can tell a story in a way that connects to listeners.

 

Flickr.com
Flickr.com

13. He got advice from the Dalai Lama

Khan had the privilege of interviewing the Dalai Lama and the Dalai Lama gave Khan advice he’ll never forget: he told Khan that the beauty of life is we have the choice to help others, but if we choose not to help them, we should certainly not hurt them. Khan says those words helped establish his career, and help him choose what programs to feature on Jacaranda.

 

Wikimedia.org
Wikimedia.org

 

14. His wife developed a tool you know

Khan’s wife developed the learning tool SMART (Simply Managing Academic Related Tasks). The tool helps people explore different ways of learning, studying and absorbing information.

 

Wikipedia.org
Wikipedia.org

15. Khan began at TNT

Khan began his radio career at TNT Radio in 1990 before moving onto be a presenter on Capital Radio.

 

Wikipedia.org
Wikipedia.org

16. Khan has a photographic memory

Khan’s parents have bragged that he has a very photographic memory. They recall that when Khan was a little boy, he would listen to horse races on the radio and could recall everything that happened.

 

 

Wikipedia.org
Wikipedia.org

17. He was raised during a liberation struggle

Khan grew up during a liberation struggle in South Africa. He says the values he learned from and saw in his parents during that time he hopes to pass onto his own children