Radio Ink’s Best Program Directors in America list honors the people who make radio magic — the professionals who take the lead in developing and airing the content that audiences want to listen to.
Each year we ask our honorees for their insights on a range of topics. One of our questions this year is about finding, recruiting, and nurturing new talent. Here’s a sampling of the responses we received:
What must the industry do to find, recruit and nurture new talent, particularly in programming?
“I’ve always kept my eye and ears on entry-level promotional street teamers. I’ve observed how hard and smart they work and how they interact with the staff and listeners. In many cases, the standouts have earned their way from promo assistant to call screener to producer to on-air talent.”
“. . .my thought is for each radio company to have its own “Teaching How to Succeed in Radio” class that can be offered free or at a nominal charge. Set up workshops or auditions and recruit passionate people that want to try their hand at the radio business. From there, select the best ones to help fill some of the positions available on-air or in other departments such as production or mixers.”
“We must bring as many young people into our stations as possible. . .[as] interns and hope they become infected with the desire to entertain. I say ‘interns’ because weekend talent and board ops have gone away. That used to be where we started everyone.”
What’s your approach to attracting new people to our industry? Curious about who said what and where they ended up on our list? Our August 2023 issue comes out on Monday, August 14th. Subscribe to our print edition, digital edition, or both – click here.
