What’s the best way to develop new talent?
Is it to steal from the switchboard and upgrade to sidekick?
Is it to place a blind ad in an industry trade?
Is it to hire or voice-track a good-enough talent from another market where that talent’s awareness in this market is zero?
You could steal somebody from across the street.
Or you could do what Phil Becker did.
Phil went to the Internet.
But he didn’t recruit just anybody. He went for the locally-based YouTube talent who already has an audience and a following – over 250,000 YouTube subscribers and more ethan 100,000 Twitter followers to be exact.
And she’s 16 years old.
Phil is GM/Director of Content for Oasis Radio Group and his new talent, Andrea Russett, is the newest star at Oasis’s HOT 107.9 in Fort Wayne, IN.
Watch this chat with Phil about what his team did and just how well it’s working:
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I am amazed that more broadcasters have not already done this. Internet celebrities live in every market in the country and few would reject a decent radio gig.
The talent gets more exposure – especially more local exposure – and a new audience. The station gets more exposure, too – and offers something worth talking about for every current and potential listener who thinks that they, too, could one day become famous.
Well done, Phil.
(An aside: If you pay close attention you will notice something important: Andrea doesn’t have a “website.” She has multiple digital platforms unified by the “brand” which is Andrea herself. Broadcasters could learn a lot from this 16-year-old).
"Radio Hires the Internet Star" captures the evolving landscape of broadcasting, where traditional radio increasingly taps into the viral appeal and digital fluency of internet personalities. This trend highlights radio's adaptation to new media dynamics, integrating online influencers to reach wider, more digitally-savvy audiences. Platforms like Chatrandom, known as one of the best random chat apps, exemplify the kind of interactive technology that could further bridge the gap between radio and internet realms. By leveraging such platforms, radio can offer real-time interactions with audiences, bringing the spontaneity and engagement of video chats to radio programming, thereby enriching listener experiences and expanding reach in the competitive digital age.