It Takes Culture – Not Just Content – To Save Radio, Says Steal

As the radio industry continues to battle budget cuts, consolidation, and shifting audience behavior, veteran programmer Jimmy Steal is sounding a clear alarm: don’t forget what makes the medium matter. “You need talent. The music is available everywhere,” said Steal.

Speaking as part of the Global Radio Ideas webinar series hosted by P1 Media Group and Benztown, Steal delivered a passionate defense of on-air talent as radio’s “secret sauce” – the irreplaceable ingredient that gives the medium its power and connection.

“Everyone’s got their phone in their pocket. They’ve all got the Echo Nest from the digital service providers. And everybody’s got every song ever made. So that is a flat competitive situation.” It’s what happens between the songs, he emphasized, that makes the difference.

For Steal, who’s programmed top stations like Power 106 in Los Angeles and WTMX in Chicago and has moved on to consulting, the real opportunity isn’t in curating the perfect playlist – it’s in creating personalities that people feel connected to. That kind of connection, he argued, can’t be replicated by algorithms or streamlined automation.

“Today, it’s more important than ever that they are found, nurtured and fostered,” said Steal of emerging talent. “Without that, you’re just another delivery system of music and you have no USP.” This aligns with Jacobs Media’s 2025 Techsurvey findings, where for the seventh year in a row, on-air personalities remain the number one reason listeners tune in.

That unique selling proposition, he believes, comes from authenticity. And the challenge for programmers isn’t just to find new voices – it’s to invest in them, build around them, and give them the space to build cultural relevance.

Whether in Hot AC, CHR, Rock, or Hip-Hop, Steal said the most iconic stations he’s worked with succeeded not because of their playlists but because of the world they built for listeners. Culture is what separates the stations people remember from the ones they scroll past.

“If you can find people that can create a culture, good radio stations reflect a culture, great radio stations help invent the culture,” said Steal. “And if you find the right people and you can trust them, you can stay out of their way.”

That trust also means resisting the urge to micromanage. Instead, Steal advises programmers to help talent express their own vision, not deliver someone else’s.

“I’m not trying to live vicariously through any of the talent,” he said. “I’m trying to help them sharpen their vision, understand PPM, and present things in a way that resonates with the widest audience possible.”

As attention spans shrink and content options grow, creating “fear of missing out” is a benchmark for success. According to Steal, whether a show is live or voice-tracked, it needs to make listeners feel like something is happening, and if they miss it, they’ll regret it.

“You can be just as authentic, just as sincere, just as excited and just as compelling in a prerecorded version,” he said, pushing back on the idea that voice-tracking is inherently inferior. “Like anything in life, it’s what you bring to the technique.”

Even with changes in delivery, the mission remains the same: make people care, make them come back, and build shows that are worth being part of someone’s life.

As the webinar wrapped, Steal acknowledged the hard realities of today’s radio environment: more responsibilities, fewer resources, and unrelenting expectations. But through it all, his core belief in the power of human connection hasn’t changed.

“Focus on the things you can control,” he advised. “You can control how good you are, how relatable you are, how thorough you are. You’ve got to bring more value today to your employer than you cost.”

Because in his view, talent isn’t optional. It’s essential.