Written By: Maya Perry
“Radio is meant to be fun, and I feel like we get so caught up in our daily tasks, what’s being asked of us, what our competitors are doing, that we forget WHAT we are doing and what we are serving to our communities.”
Emily On Air is an IheartMedia girl who is super relatable and fun! When asked why she didn’t pick an over the top name to match the giddy personality she simply answered “I wanted a super fun radio name, but at the time I was starting, they were kind of a thing of the past. It was more about authenticity online, most Youtubers were switching from ‘screen names’ to their real names, so I figured I would do the same with radio and just use my first name. I did, however, start to make certain aspects of social media less accessible to keep some things private. I did have someone once give me a radio name, though. A pretty important boss of mine during an internship once told me to go by ‘Sklar Brooks’, somewhat of a mashup between my middle and last name. I didn’t. Whoops.”
Emily like many of us didn’t have a dream of radio but destiny led her to this platform. “The long story-- I switched my major to journalism and fell in love with radio in the first place after being drawn to Cosmo Radio on Sirius XM. I was a camp counselor in a pretty remote location where I knew none of the local radio stations, and one summer, my grandfather was very sick while I was there. I got a call that he was going to die and that I needed to drive the three hours to the hospital to say goodbye. In a frazzled state of mind, I got in my car and knew I needed to hear some sort of conversation to keep me company while I drove, and since this was before podcasting, I turned to talk radio. I stumbled upon Cosmo Radio, literally Cosmo the magazine but on the radio, and somehow my mind was so invested in what I was listening to that I forgot what I was doing LITERALLY until I was about 5 minutes from the hospital. That one drive was a catalyst to what became my radio career. In that moment, I truly understood the power and purpose of radio and what it had the capability of doing.
Always believe in yourself and stay authentic to yourself. Don’t forget the WHY that brought you to this job in the first place and put your passion above everything else. Lead with passion, humility, and a great work ethic, and you will go far.”
When asked what piece of advice she would leave with other women in radio, she states, “My dad said it to me when I was younger and it sticks with me every day, so I would just echo the phrase, ‘never be afraid to pay your dues’. We are in this weird age where people expect instant fame or instant success. We see highlight reels of everyone’s lives and it always looks like they came upon success so easily, but that is usually not the case. Success takes time. Work on your craft, take it at your own speed and pay your dues. Learn along the way, and be humble. Be SO humble. Be easy to work with, and also share your knowledge with others!! Working as a team with those around you will only help you. Also-- have confidence in yourself and your abilities. I was so lucky to find my first boss who definitely had more confidence in me and my abilities than I had in myself. If only I had trusted my abilities sooner, I would have started radio sooner. It took someone else believing in me for ME to believe in me, which is kind of sad. Give yourself the gift of self-confidence and let it shine in everything you do. Support other women in the field, always. Succeed as a team. I promise it’s more fun that way.”