It’s easy to find plenty of articles telling you that “radio is dead.” The people I’ve been talking to don’t agree.
They are announcers and program directors in markets of all sizes, and their assessments were remarkably consistent.
They’re well aware that radio is no longer the only game in town for new music: Stations are competing with Spotify and TikTok and SiriusXM. They know that many stations are owned by corporations that have voice-tracking, tight playlists and little community involvement.
Yet they have seen firsthand that people will still engage with certain stations, including theirs. Why? They believe listeners still want a station with a unique personality, a station where they know the folks on the air, a station that has a live and local presence.
In Duluth, for example, Midwest Communications station KQDS-FM “Classic Rock KQ” remains very popular, even with younger listeners, according to PD and morning show host Jason Manning. He notes that KQ frequently sits at or near the top of the ratings.
(In the fall of 2025, according to Nielsen, KQDS enjoyed a 16.2 AQH share for persons 12+, Monday–Sunday 6 a.m. to midnight. Its nearest competitor had a 6.6.)
“We’ve even won 18-to-34-year-old men,” Manning says. “And whenever we have an event, people of all ages show up.”
Manning cites the Half-Eaten Donut 5.0 festivities, held at the Fortune Bay Resort Casino on the Friday of Labor Day weekend last year. More than 500 people came to see a live concert, meet announcers and have a chance to win prizes.
“The venue is about 80 miles north of Duluth, which means a lot of people traveled a long way just to hang out with us that night.”
What’s his station’s secret? “We do good, engaging radio. We do fun things, and we’re very involved in the community. The listeners know us. When they see us outside of the station, they like to come up and say hi.”
Manning talks about the importance of personality on the air. He shares stories about his family and always relates to the listeners as people.
“Listeners don’t want robo-jocks,” he says. And although he has been at KQ since the late 1990s, radio never gets old for him.
“I’m so lucky to be doing this,” he says. “I still get excited about being on the air.”
“I fell hard”
That sentiment is echoed by Jaime Williams, whose air name is “Just Jaime.”
She’s on the air noon to 3 at hit music station 102 WVAQ(FM) in Morgantown, W.Va., which earned a 14.0 AQH 12+ in the fall of 2025, second in the market. It’s owned by WVRC Media.
Williams has been there for nine years, having also worked in Denver and in Fairbanks, Alaska. She got interested in radio while in college in Alaska.
“Once I got on the air, I was in love. I fell hard for radio,” she recalls. And that hasn’t changed. She is especially happy about being at WVAQ.
“It’s so refreshing to work for owners who understand the value of being live and local.”
On air, she enjoys talking about popular culture and celebrity news, and she also enjoys being involved in local charities, like raising money for a local animal shelter, Animal Friends of North Central West Virginia.
She says she loves everything about being a deejay, and she finds that the audience likes being able to interact with WVAQ’s announcers.
“I’m a cheerleader for the station,” she says, and the listeners appreciate that enthusiasm. Her advice to up-and-coming deejays: “Find something you’re passionate about and bring it to your show.”
Ideas from everywhere
But at many stations these days, that’s easier said than done, according to veteran classic rock deejay Carter Alan.
“There is so much homogenized entertainment. But people want personality. They want what’s real, what’s authentic,” he said.
Alan has been with iHeartMedia’s WZLX(FM) in Boston for nearly three decades, but he says it never gets old.
“I still enjoy doing my show, and I still love talking about the music, talking about the bands I know, using social media to do features about them. I can always find a fresh way to talk about [the music].”
That enthusiasm for the music, and for radio itself, can be contagious, says Jazzy Jim Archer, program director for Bonneville’s KMVQ-FM “99.7 Now,” a top-40 that was in the top five stations in San Francisco in the fall book.
And Archer believes this kind of personality-driven radio can attract a younger audience. He even does outreach to high schools and finds there are some teens who now tell him radio is “much cooler than [they] thought.”
Archer has been PD of the station since 2017. He sees radio as a way to “bring joy to people’s lives,” and he wants his deejays to “inspire the listener’s imagination.”
Archer grew up listening to great top-40 deejays, and he loves the format to this day.
“Radio changed my life,” he says, and he believes that good radio brings a connection you can’t find elsewhere. “We try to talk about whatever our listeners are interested in,” he said. “We take ideas from everywhere, from local news or something on TikTok or a great taco stand someone on the staff loved. And even on a top-40 station, creating good conversation can make a positive impact.”
What resonates
Helping to cement that human connection means being available to your listeners, according to Jeff Morad, program director of alternative rock WEQX, “The Real Alternative,” in Manchester, Vt., and heard in parts of four states.
While it does not subscribe to Nielsen, Morad said it can measure its results by audience response. He notes with amusement that listeners will call immediately if they think one of the announcers made a mistake on the air. And on a more serious note, the station has had numerous successful collaborations with local businesses to raise money for charities.
“Listeners do still care about who is on the air. They love to engage with the station. So many stations sound the same, but that’s not us,” he said.
“We’re live and local. We take requests. We put callers on the air. We do live broadcasts. We play the best local bands. We’re part of the community — we are locally owned. Our deejays have the freedom to play new music, and the listeners know we love what we’re doing. We give the audience radio that doesn’t suck.”
Afternoon deejay Jason Keller, who uses the name “Keller” on air, agrees. He also is production director, a job that he loves.
The station is profitable, he says, and its events are well-attended. The live concerts at local venues are a great way to meet the listeners.
“The exciting part of being a deejay is knowing I can say something that resonates with the audience.” And audience engagement includes not just taking calls but active participation on social media.
“We know our listeners trust us. People even tell us, ‘I feel like I know you.’ It’s like we’re an extended family.”
He praises the local owner, Mimi Brown, for believing in the station and standing by it over the years.
Brown too is a believer in what the station is doing. Her late husband Brooks founded the station.
“When [he] passed in 2013, I thought, let’s keep his legacy alive. Over these past years I realized that EQX is not just a business. The loyal, passionate people that work with me to keep it going have become my family, and for that I am truly grateful and blessed.”
Perhaps you are thinking that none of this seems like the magic answer to radio’s supposed woes. Perhaps it seems like these stations represent a lot of “old-school” wisdom: Reach out to the audience in as many ways as possible, host live events, make human connections, play great songs, do good for the community, work closely with sponsors to create exciting promotions.
But maybe that’s the point. As Jason Manning of KQDS says, “Radio is not dead. The pendulum swings back. Maybe people take us for granted, because there are so many choices today, but we still matter.”
Jazzy Jim Archer of 99.7 Now agrees. “People are confusing ‘nobody listens to radio’ with the fact that fewer people listen.”
That’s not necessarily a bad thing. “The [total] audience may be smaller, but the people who are here want to be here.” He believes there is a good opportunity to grow that audience.
“I want us to stop thinking there’s one easy answer. Just keep being a positive force in your listeners’ lives. Just care about your audience.”
And don’t be afraid to reach out to younger listeners. “When they’re exposed to great radio, they like it.”
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