A radio personality is a person who has an on-air position in

radio broadcasting Radio broadcasting is the broadcasting of audio signal, audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a lan ...

. A radio personality who hosts a

radio show A radio program, radio programme, or radio show is a segment of content intended for broadcast on radio. It may be a one-time production, or part of a periodically recurring series. A single program in a series is called an episode. Radio netw ...

is also known as a radio host (North American English), radio presenter (British English) or radio jockey. Radio personalities who introduce and play individual selections of recorded music are known as

disc jockey A disc jockey, more commonly abbreviated as DJ, is a person who plays recorded music for an audience. Types of DJs include Radio personality, radio DJs (who host programs on music radio stations), club DJs (who work at nightclubs or music fes ...

s or "DJs" for short. Broadcast radio personalities may include

talk radio Talk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues and consisting entirely or almost entirely of original spoken word content rather than outside music. They may feature monologues, dialogues between the hosts, Interview (jo ...

hosts, AM/FM radio show hosts, and

satellite radio Satellite radio is defined by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU)'s ITU Radio Regulations (RR) as a '' broadcasting-satellite service''. The satellite's signals are broadcast nationwide, across a much wider geographical area than te ...

program hosts, and non-host contributors to radio programs, such as reporter

Description

A radio personality can be someone who introduces and discusses genres of music; hosts a

show that may take calls from listeners; interviews celebrities or guests; or gives news, weather, sports, or traffic information. The radio personality may broadcast live or use

voice-tracking Voice-tracking, also called cyber jocking and referred to sometimes colloquially as a robojock, is a technique employed by some radio stations in radio broadcasting to produce the illusion of a live disc jockey or announcer sitting in the radio stu ...

techniques. Increasingly in the 2010s, radio personalities are expected to supplement their on-air work by posting information online, such as on a blog or on another web forum. This may be either to generate additional revenue or connect with listeners. With the exception of small or rural radio stations, much of music radio broadcasting is done by

broadcast automation Broadcast automation incorporates the use of broadcast programming technology to automate broadcasting operations. Used either at a broadcast network, radio station or a television station, it can run a facility in the absence of a human oper ...

, a computer-controlled playlist airing

MP3 MP3 (formally MPEG-1 Audio Layer III or MPEG-2 Audio Layer III) is a coding format for digital audio developed largely by the Fraunhofer Society in Germany under the lead of Karlheinz Brandenburg. It was designed to greatly reduce the amount ...

audio files which contain the entire program consisting of music, commercials, and a radio announcer's pre-recorded comments.

History

In the past, the term "

" (or "DJ") was exclusively used to describe on-air radio personalities who played recorded music and hosted radio shows that featured popular music. Unlike the modern club DJ who uses

beatmatching Beatmatching or pitch cue is a DJ technique of pitch shifting or time stretching an upcoming track to match its tempo to that of the currently playing track, and to adjust them such that the beats (and, usually, the bars) are synchronized� ...

to mix transitions between songs to create continuous play, radio DJs played individual

songs A song is a musical composition performed by the human voice. The voice often carries the melody (a series of distinct and fixed pitches) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs have a structure, such as the common ABA form, and are usuall ...

or music tracks while voicing announcements, introductions, comments, jokes, and commercials in between each song or short series of songs. During the 1950s, '60s and '70s, radio DJs exerted considerable influence on popular music, especially during the Top 40 radio era, because of their ability to introduce new music to the radio audience and promote or control which songs would be given airplay. Although radio personalities who specialized in news or talk programs such as

Dorothy Kilgallen Dorothy Mae Kilgallen (July 3, 1913 – November 8, 1965) was an American columnist, journalist, and television game show panelist. After spending two semesters at the College of New Rochelle, she started her career shortly before her 18th bir ...

and

Walter Winchell Walter Winchell (April 7, 1897 – February 20, 1972) was a syndicated American newspaper gossip columnist and radio news commentator. Originally a vaudeville performer, Winchell began his newspaper career as a Broadway reporter, critic and c ...

have existed since the early days of radio, exclusive talk radio formats emerged and multiplied in the 1960s, as telephone call in shows, interviews, news, and public affairs became more popular. In New York,

WINS (AM) WINS (1010 kHz) is a commercial, all-news AM radio station licensed to New York, New York owned by Audacy, Inc. The station brands itself "1010 WINS", with its call sign phonetically pronounced as "wins". WINS's studios are located in t ...

switched to a talk format in 1965, and

WCBS (AM) WHSQ (880 kHz, "ESPN New York 880") is an AM radio station in New York City, owned by Audacy, Inc. The station is operated by Good Karma Brands (GKB) under a local marketing agreement (LMA). It broadcasts a sports radio format as the co-flag ...

followed two years later. Early talk radio personalities included Bruce Williams and

Sally Jesse Raphael Sally Lowenthal (born February 25, 1935), better known as Sally Jessy Raphael, is an American retired talk show host, who is best known for her program '' Sally'' (originally called ''The Sally Jessy Raphael Show''). Early life and education Lo ...

. The growth of sports talk radio began in the 1960s, and resulted in the first all-sports station in the US,

WFAN (AM) WFAN (660 AM) is a commercial radio station licensed to New York, New York, with a sports radio format, branded "Sports Radio 66 AM and 101.9 FM" or "The Fan". Owned by Audacy, Inc., the station serves the New York metropolitan area, while its ...

that would go on to feature many sports radio personalities such as

Marv Albert Marv Albert (born Marvin Philip Aufrichtig; June 12, 1941) is an American former sportscaster. Honored for his work by the Basketball Hall of Fame, he was commonly referred to as "the voice of basketball". From 1967 to 2004, he was also know ...

and Howie Rose.

Types of radio personalities

*FM/AM radio – AM/ FM personalities play music, talk, or both. Some examples are

Rick Dees Rigdon Osmond Dees III (born March 14, 1950), best known as Rick Dees, is an American entertainer, radio personality, comedian, actor, and voice artist, best known for his internationally syndicated radio show '' The Rick Dees Weekly Top 40 Coun ...

Elvis Duran Elvis Duran (born Barry Brian Cope; August 5, 1964) is an American radio personality. He is the host of the daily morning radio program ''Elvis Duran and the Morning Show'' in New York on Z100 and in syndication on Premiere Networks. Before h ...

, Big Boy,

Kidd Kraddick David Peter Cradick (August 22, 1959 – July 27, 2013) was an American radio host and television personality, known as Kidd Kraddick. His nationally syndicated morning radio show, '' The Kidd Kraddick Morning Show'', is based in Irving, ...

John Boy and Billy John Isley (born August 15, 1956) and Billy James (born August 31, 1957), known as John Boy & Billy, are American radio personality, radio hosts based in Charlotte, North Carolina. Their comedic morning program ''The John Boy & Billy Big Show'' b ...

The Bob and Tom Show ''The Bob & Tom Show'' is a syndicated US radio program established by Bob Kevoian and Tom Griswold at radio station WFBQ in Indianapolis, Indiana, March 7, 1983, and syndicated nationally since January 6, 1995. Originally syndicated by Pre ...

, The Breakfast Club, and

Rickey Smiley Broderick Dornell "Rickey" Smiley (born August 10, 1968) is an American stand-up comedian, television host, actor, and radio personality known for his prank phone calls. The calls feature Smiley disguising his voice carrying a conversation wit ...

. *Talk radio –

Talk radio Talk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues and consisting entirely or almost entirely of original spoken word content rather than outside music. They may feature monologues, dialogues between the hosts, Interview (jo ...

personalities often discuss social and political issues from a particular political point of view. Some examples are

Rush Limbaugh Rush Hudson Limbaugh III ( ; January 12, 1951 – February 17, 2021) was an American Conservatism in the United States, conservative political commentator who was the host of ''The Rush Limbaugh Show'', which first aired in 1984 and was nati ...

Art Bell Arthur William Bell III (June 17, 1945 – April 13, 2018) was an American broadcaster and author. He was the founder and the original host of the paranormal-themed radio program '' Coast to Coast AM'', which is syndicated on hundreds ...

George Noory George Ralph Noory (born June 4, 1950) is an American talk radio, radio talk show host. Since January 2003, Noory has been the weekday host of the late-night radio talk show ''Coast to Coast AM''. The program is radio syndication, syndicated to ...

Brian Lehrer Brian Lehrer (born October 5, 1952) is an American radio talk show host on New York City's public radio station WNYC. His daily two-hour 2007 Peabody Award-winning program,

, and Don Geronimo. *Sports talk radio – Sports talk radio personalities are often former athletes, sports writers, or television anchors and discuss sports news. Some examples are Dan Patrick,

Tony Kornheiser Anthony Irwin Kornheiser (; born July 13, 1948) is an American television sports talk show host and former Sports journalism, sportswriter and columnist. Kornheiser is best known for his endeavors in three forms of media: as a writer for ''The Wa ...

, Dan Sileo, Colin Cowherd, and Mike Francesa. *Satellite radio –

Satellite radio Satellite radio is defined by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU)'s ITU Radio Regulations (RR) as a '' broadcasting-satellite service''. The satellite's signals are broadcast nationwide, across a much wider geographical area than te ...

personalities are subject to fewer government broadcast regulations and may be allowed to play explicit music.

Howard Stern Howard Allan Stern (born January 12, 1954) is an American broadcaster and media personality. He is best known for his radio show, ''The Howard Stern Show'', which gained popularity when it was nationally syndicated on terrestrial radio from 1 ...

, Opie and Anthony, Dr. Laura, and Chris "Mad Dog" Russo are some of the notable personalities who have successfully made the move from terrestrial radio to satellite radio. *Internet radio -

Internet radio Internet radio, also known as online radio, web radio, net radio, streaming radio, e-radio and IP radio, is a digital audio service transmitted via the Internet. Broadcasting on the Internet is usually referred to as webcasting since it is not ...

personalities appear on internet radio stations that offer news, sports, talk, and various genres of music that are carried by

streaming media Streaming media refers to multimedia delivered through a Computer network, network for playback using a Media player (disambiguation), media player. Media is transferred in a ''stream'' of Network packet, packets from a Server (computing), ...

outlets such as AccuRadio,

Pandora Radio Pandora is a subscription-based music streaming service owned by the broadcasting corporation Sirius XM that is based in Oakland, California in the United States. The service carries a focus on recommendations based on the " Music Genome Proje ...

, Slacker Radio and Jango.

Notable radio personalities

Notable radio personalities include

pop music Pop music is a genre of popular music that originated in its modern form during the mid-1950s in the United States and the United Kingdom.S. Frith, W. Straw, and J. Street, eds, ''iarchive:cambridgecompani00frit, The Cambridge Companion to Pop ...

radio hosts

Wolfman Jack Robert Weston Smith (January 21, 1938July 1, 1995), known as Wolfman Jack, was an American disc jockey active for over three decades. He was famous for his gravelly voice, and credited it with his success, saying, "It's kept meat and potatoes on ...

, Jim Pewter,

Dick Clark Richard Wagstaff Clark (November 30, 1929April 18, 2012) was an American television and radio personality and television producer who hosted ''American Bandstand'' from 1956 to 1989. He also hosted five incarnations of the Pyramid (game show), ...

Casey Kasem Kemal Amin "Casey" Kasem (April 27, 1932 – June 15, 2014) was an American disc jockey, actor, and radio presenter who created and hosted several radio countdown programs, notably ''American Top 40'', as well as the weekly syndicated televi ...

John Peel John Robert Parker Ravenscroft (30 August 1939 – 25 October 2004), better known as John Peel, was an English radio presenter and journalist. He was the longest-serving of the original disc jockeys on BBC Radio 1, broadcasting regularly from ...

, Charlie Gillett, Walt Love,

Alan Freed Albert James "Alan" Freed (December 15, 1921 – January 20, 1965) was an American disc jockey. He also produced and promoted large traveling concerts with various acts, helping to spread the importance of rock and roll music throughout Nor ...

, Mamy Baby, Frida Amani, The Real Don Steele, Charlie Tuna,

Terry Wogan Sir Michael Terence Wogan (; 3 August 1938 – 31 January 2016) was an Irish radio and television broadcaster who worked for the BBC in Britain for most of his career. Between 1993 and his semi-retirement in 2009, his BBC Radio 2 weekday brea ...

; sports talk hosts such as Mike Francesa;

shock jock A shock jock is a radio broadcaster or DJ who entertains listeners and attracts attention using humor or melodramatic exaggeration that may offend some portion of the listening audience. The term is used pejoratively to describe provocative or ...

s and political talk hosts such as

Don Imus John Donald Imus Jr. ( ; July 23, 1940 – December 27, 2019), also known as Imus, was an American radio personality, television show host, recording artist, and author. His radio show '' Imus in the Morning'' was aired on various stations and di ...

and

Career

Education

Many radio personalities do not have a post-high school education, but some do hold degrees in

audio engineering Audio most commonly refers to sound, as it is transmitted in signal form. It may also refer to: Sound *Audio signal, an electrical representation of sound * Audio frequency, a frequency in the audio spectrum *Digital audio, representation of soun ...

. If a radio personality has a degree it's typically a bachelor's degree level qualification in radio-television-film, mass communications, journalism, or English.

Training

Universities offer classes in

and often have a

college radio Campus radio (also known as college radio, university radio or student radio) is a type of radio station that is run by the students of a college, university or other educational institution. Programming may be exclusively created or produced ...

station, where students can obtain on-the-job training and

course credit A course credit is a measure of the size of an educational course, often used to determine whether the requirements for an award have been met, to facilitate transfer between institutions, or to enhance intercomparability of qualifications. Credit ...

. Prospective radio personalities can also intern at radio stations for hands-on training from professionals. Training courses are also available online.

Requirements

A radio personality position generally has the following requirements: * Good clear voice with excellent tone and modulation * Great communication skills and creativity to interact with listeners * Knowledgeable on current affairs, news issues and social trends * Creative thinking, to be able to think of new ideas or topics for show * Able to improvise and think "on the spot" * Ability to develop their own personal style * A good sense of humor

Opportunities

Due to radio personalities' vocal training, opportunities to expand their careers often exist. Over time a radio personality could be paid to do

voice-over Voice-over (also known as off-camera or off-stage commentary) is a production technique used in radio, television, filmmaking, theatre, and other media in which a descriptive or expository voice that is not part of the narrative (i.e., non- ...

s for commercials, television shows, and movies.

Salary in the US

Radio personality salaries are influenced by years of experience and education. In 2013, the median salary of a radio personality in the US was $28,400. * 1–4 years: $15,200–39,400, * 5–9 years: $20,600–41,700, * 10–19 years: $23,200–51,200, * 20 or more years: $26,300–73,000. A radio personality with a bachelor's degree had a salary range of $19,600–60,400. The salary of a local radio personality will differ from a national radio personality. National personality pay can be in the millions because of the increased audience size and corporate sponsorship. For example, Rush Limbaugh was reportedly paid $38 million annually as part of the eight-year $400 million contract he signed with Clear Channel Communications.

Gallery

File:Radio personality.jpg, Jessica Letshwiti, ICE100 Radio,

Botswana Botswana, officially the Republic of Botswana, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Botswana is topographically flat, with approximately 70 percent of its territory part of the Kalahari Desert. It is bordered by South Africa to the sou ...

Southern Africa Southern Africa is the southernmost region of Africa. No definition is agreed upon, but some groupings include the United Nations geoscheme for Africa, United Nations geoscheme, the intergovernmental Southern African Development Community, and ...

File:%D8%AA%D9%82%D8%AF%D9%8A%D9%85_%D8%A8%D8%B1%D9%86%D8%A7%D9%85%D8%AC%D9%87_%D9%81%D9%8A_%D8%A5%D8%B0%D8%A7%D8%B9%D8%A9_%D8%AF%D8%A8%D9%8A.JPG, Ibrahim Astady,

Dubai Dubai (Help:IPA/English, /duːˈbaɪ/ Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''doo-BYE''; Modern Standard Arabic, Modern Standard Arabic: ; Emirati Arabic, Emirati Arabic: , Romanization of Arabic, romanized: Help:IPA/English, /diˈbej/) is the Lis ...

93 FM,

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a Federal monarchy, federal elective monarchy made up of Emirates of the United Arab E ...

File:Luis_L%C3%B3pez_durante_el_programa_World_Dance_Music..png, Luis López, director and presenter of the World Dance Music radio program at

Los 40 Los 40 (stylized as LOS40, formerly ''Los 40 Principales'', ) is a Spanish Top 40-themed music radio station that broadcasts current and recent music, primarily focusing on genres such as pop, dance, electropop, Electro Latin, and Reggaeton. T ...

studios in

Valencia Valencia ( , ), formally València (), is the capital of the Province of Valencia, province and Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, the same name in Spain. It is located on the banks of the Turia (r ...

File:Norman_B_in_Studio.jpeg, Norman Batley, WMNF,

Tampa, FL Tampa ( ) is a city on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. Tampa's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and the county seat of Hillsboroug ...

, 2013 File:Radio Commonwealth (22294437619).jpg, Kevin Joseph O'Donnell,

Australian Army The Australian Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of Australia. It is a part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF), along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force. The Army is commanded by the Chief of Army ...

station "Radio Commonwealth", Korea 1955 File:Aunt_Daisy.JPG, Maud Ruby Bashsam aka " Aunt Daisy" on station 2ZB,

Wellington, New Zealand Wellington is Capital of New Zealand, the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the List of cities in New Zealand, third-largest city ...

, 1959 File:Mauricio Lomonte.jpg, Mauricio Lomonte on station Radio Reloj,

Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

File:ITaukei Radio Talk back show (13589354753).jpg, Talk radio host and guests, Radio Fiji One, Fiji Broadcasting Corporation

References

{{Authority control Radio personalities Telecommunications-related introductions in 1909