Ever wanted to work as an on-air DJ for a prestigious local radio brand, but feel limited by your lack of prior radio broadcasting experience?
If so, one of the largest radio station groups in America has an incredible offer for you.
This week, Audacy said it was looking for new on-air talent for its alternative radio station KITS (105.3 FM), the radio station better known to locals as “Live 105” that relaunched last summer.
In a job posting reviewed by The Desk, Audacy said the on-air gig pays between $75,000 and $90,000, which depends on “the education, experience, knowledge, skills, abilities and location of the applicant.”
But, here’s the kicker: Audacy said prospective applicants who have no prior radio broadcasting experience are the candidates they’re really looking for.
“We mean it when we say you don’t have to have ANY on-air experience — hell, that’s actually a plus,” an Audacy hiring manager wrote in the job listing. “Just convince us that you’re the one for us with a one-minute video — use your phone or send us a YouTube link.”
Audacy also said it wanted to know “how you use social media and what you use it to say,” but didn’t care about the precise number of followers prospective on-air candidates have across various platforms.
Among other things, the future on-air personality will be tasked with a number of duties, including “protect[ing] the station’s FCC license” and “ensure that promotions and contests are executed properly.”
Those tasks are typically reserved for someone who has at least a morsel of prior on-air experience — say, at a college radio station or a small-market operation — but Audacy is willing to give just about anyone the opportunity to prove their worth, as long as they don’t mess up too much.
“If you’ve listened to Live 105 and thought, ‘I want to do that!’ then let us know,” the job listing said.
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While Audacy is not demanding prior radio experience, the job listing does say prospective applicants need to know how to use digital audio and video editing tools and have “an expertise in social media and a firm grasp of current events and societal trends as it pertains to the station’s target audience of alternative music fans.”
At the moment, no particular job opening is actually available at KITS, but Audacy said it’s collecting interest in future opportunities, and “qualified applicants” will be contacted at a later date to “apply to an open job requisition.”
Like other radio broadcasters, Audacy has experienced financial turbulence over the last few years as audio fans move away from traditional radio in favor of digital services. The trend has seen advertising dollars typically earmarked for AM and FM radio stations move toward on-demand music services and podcast platforms.
Earlier this year, Audacy filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in order to address nearly $2 billion in debt. The company revealed plans to work with its creditors in order to bring its debt load down to a more-manageable $350 million, and recently affirmed plans to launch a premium, subscription-based digital radio offering.
