I’m a fan of CBS News’ Sunday Morning. Occasionally, a story gets me thinking well beyond whatever subject they’re covering. Recently, the program examined Hollywood’s interest in young YouTube creators who already know how to attract audiences and understand what keeps them watching.
Naturally, I started thinking about radio.
I thought back to the Radio Talent Institute class I worked with this past summer. These students had a genuine interest in our business, but what struck me was how they saw themselves. They already considered themselves content creators. Radio was a place where they could develop those abilities, learn more, and put them to work.
That should get our attention.
We keep asking where the next generation of radio talent will come from. What if we’re looking in the wrong places? Are we searching for the next person who sounds like radio—or the next person who can make people want to listen?
The audition may already be happening. We just haven’t been watching. Or listening. A student might never think to send a program director an aircheck. That same student could be producing videos, hosting a podcast, interviewing people on campus, or building a following around local sports or music. Somewhere in that work, a PD could discover storytelling ability, curiosity, humor, consistency, and an instinct for connecting with people. Those qualities deserve a closer look, even when the person displaying them has never been behind a board. We should be asking more than, “Does this person want to work in radio?” Ask, “What is this person creating that gives people a reason to come back?”
Then do something with the answer.
Expand the scouting territory.
Look at campus creators, local podcasts, and people covering your community with personality. Ask college instructors who is doing interesting work. Invite students to show you what they’re making. Make discovering talent part of the PD’s job, alongside developing the people already on the staff. That means looking before a vacancy forces you to look.
Look beyond follower counts.
A big following doesn’t automatically translate into a good broadcaster. I’d want to know whether someone has original ideas, engages meaningfully with an audience, listens well, and responds to coaching. Can they tell a story? Can they ask a follow-up question instead of rushing to the next one? Do people return because they care about what this person has to say?
Look at the work and the relationship behind the numbers.
Offer a real development path.
Give a promising creator a small, paid project, a recurring segment, or an opportunity to contribute to a show. Establish a specific goal and provide regular coaching. “Come hang around the station” is an invitation. “Let’s produce a weekly campus feature, and I’ll work with you on it” is an opportunity. Be clear about what they can learn, how you’ll evaluate their progress, and what a successful next step could be. Don’t promise a job you can’t deliver. Give them a reason to see a future.
Preserve what caught your attention.
Teach accuracy, timing, interviewing, preparation, and live execution. Those skills matter. But don’t coach away the personality you recruited. If someone’s curiosity and unusual perspective made you stop and listen, develop those strengths. Help them become more effective at being themselves. A technically clean break means little if you’ve removed everything that made the person interesting.
There’s a challenge for management here, too: What are we offering that makes joining us worth a young creator’s time? Mentorship, compensation, community connections, access, and room to create would be a good start. We need to explain how working with us can help them grow—and then follow through.
Small-market radio helped generations of broadcasters learn their craft, me included. We should value and support the stations still providing that opportunity. But we also need more routes into the business. Finding talent takes time. Developing it takes commitment. Neither happens simply because we say we need younger people. This week, find one young creator in your community whose work makes you stop and pay attention. Start a conversation. Ask what they want to learn. Consider what you could build together.
Radio’s next great talent may never send you an aircheck. That doesn’t prevent you from making the first move.
