If you’ve spent any time in this industry, you’ve heard repeatedly about the need for a pipeline of younger talent.
Radio’s viability with younger listeners was a research motivation of Andy Gladding, who now holds a Ph.D. in the subject.
Gladding is chief engineer for Salem Media’s New York City stations, which include 570 WMCA(AM), its 102.3 FM translator and 970 WNYM(AM).
The native of Suffolk County, N.Y., and his wife Katie also are the owner/operators of 98.1 WKZE(FM), licensed to Salisbury, Conn.
Gladding also is vice chairman of the New York City chapter of the Society of Broadcast Engineers.
And then there’s his work with his alma mater, Hofstra University in Hempstead, N.Y. Gladding is chief engineer for its award-winning student-run station, 88.7 WRHU(FM).
“Ever since I’ve known him as a teenager, he’s been dedicated to the advancement of radio,” said Sara Hendricks, who graduated a year ahead of him at Hofstra in 2003 and came back to WRHU as a professional in residence.
Shayna Sengstock, broadcast engineer for New York Public Radio and 2022 graduate, said, “Andy has been one of the most impactful people in my life to date.”
Gladding’s work ethic, connection with young people and passion for radio are among the reasons he is the recipient of the Radio World Excellence in Engineering Award.
[Read our profile stories of past recipients.]
“Andy is a dynamo who believes deeply in the power of radio and the importance of building the next generation of engineers and broadcasters,” Radio World Editor in Chief Paul McLane said.
A New Yorker’s path
Keeping heritage AMs on the air from the Meadowlands is some kind of dream for Gladding, 43, a lifelong resident of the metropolitan area.
[Related: “WMCA’s Meadowlands Sign Is Lit Again”]
He fondly remembers getting his hands on an analog tuner. “But FM always fascinated me more — that little stereo light would come on and it just sounded so cool.”
At Northport High School, Gladding aspired to be a record producer. At 17, he got a job at MTV’s satellite uplink center in Hauppauge. As an undergraduate at Hofstra, Gladding joined WRHU and earned a reputation for tinkering.
Sara Hendricks recalled being delegated to listen to the station late nights to ensure FCC compliance. Once she heard Gladding crack the mic when he wasn’t supposed to be on the air. “I was like, ‘What are you doing right now?’”
Gladding quickly found a rapport with the station’s chief engineers, Joe Derosa and Marc Weiner, who were eager to share their knowledge.
After graduating in 2004, he took a job at Fox News Radio as it prepared to launch. He was hired to run master control overnights, until Director of Engineering Doug Butler handed him a drill.
“Now you’re our chief engineer,” Gladding recalled him saying.
Gladding subsequently did engineering for Westwood One and WBLS(FM) and WQHT(FM). He also worked on the TV side for Newsmax. He briefly left broadcasting to run IT operations for a polyvinyl manufacturing company, but he stayed connected via Chapter 15.
The pre-Radio Shack generation
Hofstra’s broadcast program has been no stranger to cultivating media talent, including the iconic Dan Ingram.
WRHU may be the most active college station in the U.S., based on participation. It’s the largest student group of any activity in the university. “Kind of remarkable for a so-called dead medium,” Gladding said.
It has won the NAB Marconi Award for College Radio Station of the Year five times, including in 2025.
Cody Hmelar came to Hofstra as an undergraduate in 2021 with a video background. Midway through his time in the broadcast journalism program, at age 19, he became chief engineer for Salem Media’s 990 WNTP(AM).
He recalled the WRHU engineering department alone having 47 student members.
Gladding is well known for Tech Thursdays, an initiative that encourages students to hang out and learn the craft.
“I was working with Andy,” Hmelar said, “and all of a sudden he asked me: ‘You’ve never been to a Radio Shack in your life, have you?’”
Sengstock is appreciative that Gladding took the time to show her how to solder and build an XLR cable.
Under Sengstock, WRHU’s first student technical director, Tech Thursdays became part of the station’s curriculum. They start at 7 p.m. and can go deep into the night. According to General Manager John Mullen, there’s one key ingredient for consistent attendance: “Pizza.”
There’s also a social benefit. “You tie in industry-level equipment, tools you never thought you’d get to work with,” Gladding said. “Then, suddenly Erica from your math class, who was giving you the cold shoulder, you find out is hosting the ‘Rock ’n’ Roll Oasis.’ She loves Zeppelin, and so do you.”
Gladding encourages “open-door engineering,” providing a space for experimentation. Mullen, who has overseen WRHU since 2005 and is a New York radio veteran, supports the philosophy.
With the backing of Mullen and the late Bruce Avery, then chief engineer at WRHU, the equipment was fair game. Mullen told Gladding it was OK for students to break things so they could learn how to put it all back together.
“Andy is one of the most creative people I’ve ever known,” said Mullen, who described him as a problem-solver and cool under pressure.
The station is the broadcast home for New York Islanders hockey. Gladding works with a crew of approximately 17 students to test and troubleshoot connectivity to partner outlets, including SiriusXM.
Gladding said approximately 50 students have evolved into advanced engineering roles since he became chief engineer 10 years ago.
Hmelar used his exposure at Salem Media to get the CE role in Philadelphia. He now is pursuing a doctorate at the University of Pittsburgh.
Sengstock has been an engineer with NYPR since 2022. Gladding’s success in helping women enter the industry is notable. Radio World has also profiled Jade He, Hofstra class of 2024 and former WRHU technical director, who went on to employment with the NEP Group as a broadcast engineer.
“To be able to connect and relate this to women and make them feel welcome, he deserves a lot of credit for that,” Hendricks said.
One plus one equals three
New York-based engineer and station owner Bud Williamson met Gladding after the latter returned to Hofstra in 2015 for about 20 hours a week and was in need of more hours.
Williamson’s firm Digital Radio Engineering hired Gladding, who excelled in its contract-based work with myriad variables. Williamson said he simply got things done. “He’d be lying on the floor, terminating Cat-5 cables, always with a smile on his face.
“I am a believer that if you find the right person you could work with, one plus one can equal three,” Williamson said.
The pair hit it off and have collaborated to lead the active SBE Chapter 15, with Williamson as chair and Gladding as vice chair.
They focus on young talent. “We ended up in leadership positions around the same time, and so it was the perfect opportunity to gear some of our programming toward students,” Gladding said.
When Williamson’s client, SUNY New Paltz, sought an AoIP station buildout, several Hofstra students, including Hmelar and He, built out the station under Gladding’s supervision.
And when the chief engineer role at Salem Media’s New York stations opened in 2020, Gladding felt ready. “AM is a little more complex. But by that time, through SBE and Bud, I had a network of people I was communicating with. I felt like I wasn’t going in alone.”
Matthew Sambolin, operations manager at Salem New York, said, “In our search, candidates were either only good at transmitters or only good at IT,” he said. “Andy had the perfect mix.”
Gladding sought to create a pipeline of students for Salem. It now connects to his day job: At Salem New York, Gladding said approximately 40% of its staff are WRHU students. Sambolin said the average age of a Salem engineer is approximately 60, so the benefit of attracting new candidates is clear.
The company also has reserved money for a paid engineering apprenticeship program. Gladding said Salem’s Scott Foster, Jeff Reisman, Jerry Crowley and Laura Shaefer have supported this work.
The Brad from Massapequa Effect
After Gladding returned to Hofstra, Avery suggested he study for a master’s degree. His doctorate followed two years later.
Sean Fanelli, former president of Nassau Community College, oversees the doctoral program in which Gladding enrolled. He encouraged Gladding to base his dissertation on college radio. “I’m allowed to do that?” Gladding asked incredulously.
He dove into the research, exploring whether students — Gen-Z — listened to FM radio.
Gladding found that students came to their respective radio outlets with a general interest in audio or music — they “liked the idea of radio.” They didn’t necessarily care about terrestrial FM initially. But by the time they graduated, he said, they’d grown to be full-blown advocates.
[Related: “Gladding: College FM Licenses Matter”]
The unknown variable of who is currently listening — Gladding dubbed it the “Brad from Massapequa effect” — was captivating.
“It gave me the research needed to determine if I wanted to run a station of my own.”
Wrap your arms around Red Hook
Without traffic — a dubious qualifier — it’s about a two-hour drive up the Taconic State Parkway from Gladding’s home in Brooklyn to the studios of 98.1 WKZE(FM) in Red Hook.
Williamson helped orchestrate the deal for the Gladdings to acquire WKZE. After former owner Wil Stanley died in 2021, his wife Barbara had connected with Williamson to find someone to take the station on.
Williamson saw value in the property and its profile in the eastern Hudson Valley. “It’s a special place and it generates revenue.”
He went to Gladding at the chapter’s 2023 summer barbeque at the WFAS transmitter site and pledged help on the sales end. Gladding saw it as an opportunity to lean into localism.
Gladding completely rewired the studios and now makes the trip at least once a week. WKZE’s studio is on North Broadway, the main drag in town. The location makes it perfect for events, such as broadcasting the Veterans Day parade.
Katie has a digital media background. The two met in 2018 in Brooklyn. “Here I thought I’d have to travel the world to find my soulmate,” Andy said.
They record commercial spots for WKZE together, as most advertising is produced in-house.
Andy said Katie has enjoyed the ability to reach out to potential customers and has grown quickly as an owner and senior manager. “She’s using skills I didn’t even know she had.”
And how do you get young people excited about radio? “Put them on the air,” Gladding said.
On the weekends, the station carves out time for anyone in the community to guest host. WKZE’s lineup includes a Chamber of Commerce show, a Saturday storytelling series, “Tasting Tuesdays” and “Friendsday” where bands are interviewed and perform original music. The station just picked up Darren DeVivo, who was at New York’s 90.7 WFUV(FM) for 41 years.
It all seems to be working for this radio power couple. WKZE’s listener numbers and the cash register are trending upward.
Pay it forward
At the beginning of every academic year, Gladding provides WRHU students with a classic boombox and a smartphone.
“I ask them, whoever can play WRHU faster on these two devices, you win.” Gladding said it takes almost 60 seconds for students to find a suitable app to stream WRHU, versus about six seconds to turn the dial and find the 88.7 over-the-air frequency. “I always feel a little validation.”
In September, Williamson and Gladding orchestrated an SBE15 mentorship and engagement session at Hofstra. They’re looking to add recurring meetings, perhaps monthly, geared to students for networking.
At 43, it’s a little soon for Gladding to ponder a legacy. But for him, in the era of content creators, it comes back to the magic of radio, for the students he works with, the shows he helps keep on the air for Salem and the WKZE listeners with whom he interacts.
He recommends finding local heroes, whether it’s the school bus driver, the VFW members or high school students telling stories and playing music.
“Those are your real celebrities, your local heroes,” Gladding said.
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