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It’s no secret that talent acquisition in radio has become more difficult.
This topic has risen to the forefront of many managers’ radars lately. They weep for the passing of yester-year’s talent pool—a group of voraciously hungry young broadcasters who would beat down the door of the PD’s office for the sheer opportunity to walk into the control room, let alone turn on the microphone.
Before you reach for the Tums and tissues again while mourning the death of enthusiasm for radio among young people, here are some thoughts to ponder.
1. Enthusiastic creative people still abundantly exist, but the opportunities to grow them in our industry are fewer.
The problem is NOT that there are fewer young creative people. The problem is that fewer young creative people make it through the entrance door of radio.
Like many in our industry, the radio bug bit me at a young age. By age nine, radio was the only medicine that could cure my fever.
I still have that same passion and gotta-have-it-sized love for radio, and inevitably, I run into like-minded young people all over the world who have the same fascination with media and entertainment. Creative and driven young people abundantly exist.
Spend a few minutes on popular “crowd-sourcing” sites MySpace.com or YouTube.com, and you’ll see the handiwork of thousands of imaginative, personal, authentic entertainers. Don’t get me wrong—there’s a lot of wheat to separate from the chaff. That said, there’s a lot more auditioning “wheat” than media has ever seen before.
Now, more paths of expression are available to creative talent.
In fact, the “barrier to entry” for people interested in joining the audio entertainment media has been eliminated. Now, people interested in joining the exciting field of communication and audio entertainment need only a computer. You are only ten clicks away from your own free, globally distributed podcast. If you’re creative and you have something to say, you’ll attract the audience.
Needless to say, landing an air shift somewhere is more difficult than using your home computer to express your creativity.
2. It is impossible to silence creativity—but it is possible to block your ears to it.
Creativity never went away. It has just been finding a different avenue of expression since the radio industry’s ears are blocked.
Could it be that the roar of hard-line budgets, turbulent time lines, and political minutia have overpowered the distant sound of approaching talent?
The world is busier than it used to be. Undoubtedly, it is more difficult for managers to find the time necessary to identify and mentor new talent. As a Consultant, I have found that an important part of my role at client station is keeping an ear to the ground for new talent as well as assisting in the acquisition of these innovative people.
3. There’s a New Farm Team in Town
We are entering a new content renaissance. The next generation of radio talent may emerge from sources like podcasts and Internet-Radio—in addition to traditional sources, such as broadcast schools and universities.
Schools such as Specs Howard, Brown College, and McNally-Smith College are increasingly important to our industry.
Radio Strategist Jason Muth, recently left his post at Broadcast Architecture to invest his time and energy in cultivating new talent at the Connecticut School of Broadcasting. “Throughout my travels, I frequently heard the struggles about locating new talent – everything from the ‘next big morning show,’ to ‘reliable, smart programming and promotions assistants,’” said Muth, who began to recognize the critical nature of talent development across today’s radio dial.
For a growing number of people, radio is not their exclusive source of music. That means that the talent and content between the songs is more important than ever.
Muth says that “unfettered creativity can be as unproductive as fundamentally sound boredom,” which is why CSB places emphasis on learning the skills of production and equipment operation just as much as formatics and presentation.
4. New Talent are Listening to Your Station Right Now!
Your everyday product is the most influential tool in your arsenal for recruiting new talent at your station. Exceptional talent will attract more exceptional talent.
Most people in radio today were inspired to get into the business by listening to an extraordinary entertainer. What are you doing to inspire people with your radio station today?
As Dale Carnegie once said, “History has repeatedly been changed by people who had the desire and the ability to transfer their convictions and emotions to their listeners.”
Do you have people on the air today who transfer their convictions and emotions to your listeners? For better or worse, the people you have on the air today may be the biggest magnets to your station’s next flock of air talent.
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