Radio and the Evolution of Digital Media

I can’t ever see how or even why radio would change. Radio stands firm and holds up as an incredibly successful way for communicating. Chis Hawkins ’94

Despite the increase in streaming services that have transformed the way we consume music, the radio business is alive and thriving according to these two alums who work in the industry.  

Chris Hawkins ’94 is a radio show host for BBC Radio 6 Music. 

“The job is my dream,” he says. “I get to work at the coolest radio station in the UK, play music that I love, and interview artists that I really love, too.” 

BBC Radio 6 Music is an alternative music station that plays everything from established to breaking bands, and Hawkins gets autonomy when it comes to choosing the music that he plays.  

“We don’t play anything that we don’t like. We’re very lucky at 6 Music,” says Hawkins. “It’s an absolute privilege to be in that position because it’s unusual here as much as it is in the states on a national station to be trusted with choosing the music.” 

Along with playing his favorite artists—including but not limited to Led Zeppelin, the Arctic Monkeys, and newer bands like Fontaines D.C.—and interacting with listeners, Hawkins also gets to interview artists. He recently did a big interview with Sean Ono Lennon which was published in Newsweek and People Magazine. 

Hawkins has also interviewed well-known bands such as The Killers, New Order, and Bjork, in addition to many newer acts.

Working with artists is also a big part of the job for Abby Waring ’13. Waring is an Associate Producer of Original Content for the American broadcast and streaming platform iHeartRadio. Her team handles all original digital content for the iHeartRadio national team, including producing and executing content for iHeartRadio’s YouTube channel, filming artist interviews, live streams, and video podcasts, and contributing to any other daily content produced by iHeartRadio. Her team’s primary responsibilities are to capture content, edit it, and then distribute that content through various mediums and channels. 

“Through YouTube and other content, we’re able to reach new audiences that the radio maybe wouldn’t, which is what iHeart is all about,” says Waring. “It feels really awesome to have an influence in content that’s reaching millions of people.” 

She also gets to interact with some of her favorite artists, including big names like Gracie Abrams. “That was a career highlight for sure,” she says. 

Waring grew up loving entertainment and consuming media. Originally from Massachusetts, her family moved to California and then to Texas because of her dad’s job. She struggled sometimes with moving around and always being the new kid, so she started going on YouTube and watching artists’ interviews and listening to their stories.

“Watching people online and connecting with them made me feel less alone,” she notes.  

It was during her sophomore year at a high school in Texas that Waring decided she wanted to make a change and go to Tabor. Her dad was an alum who had a great experience, so she felt comfortable moving away. She started as a new junior in the fall of 2011. “It was one of the best decisions ever,” she reflects. “It was such an awesome environment to be in at that age, and I think it really set me up for amazing growth.” 

Hawkins and Waring have that in common.  

“Tabor was the most incredible experience of my life, and I have so much to thank Tabor Academy for,” says Hawkins. “It was incomparable, it was unbelievable, it was very, very special. I loved every second of being at Tabor.” 

Hailing from Shropshire, England, Hawkins went to Ellesmere College and was the recipient of the English-Speaking Union (ESU) scholarship that allowed him to go to an American high school for a year. He spent the fall of 1993 through the spring of 1994 as a senior at Tabor.

Hawkins also recalls loving radio from a young age. Before he came to Tabor, he worked in local radio while he was in school in England and did an internship for the BBC. When he got to Tabor, he participated in Tabor’s radio channel WWTA, hosting a weekly show called Afternoon Tea. Read about Tabor's radio station here.

“Doing the weekly show at Tabor was a chance to continue with my love of radio whilst I was away from home,” remarks Hawkins. “It was an amazing way of combining two great passions.” 

He adds, “It was also just a chance to talk into a microphone in between songs, which is really what I do now 30 years later.” 

Hawkins started working for the BBC in Nottingham while he was at university there and stayed with the corporation when he moved to London. He has been at the BBC ever since.

In the UK, radio is listened to more than ever before, and Hawkins sees no reason why it wouldn’t be the same across the globe. According to him, streaming does not disadvantage radio. The two work together perfectly. 

Radio is still really important for breaking artists because it reaches the masses more than we realize. Abby Waring ’13

“There’s more streaming platforms, but there’s not less radio,” adds Hawkins. “The rise in streaming has not had a single detrimental effect on radio.” 

Waring agrees. iHeartRadio has even entered the digital streaming game with the iHeartRadio App, but Waring still argues that the radio side is just as important.  

“iHeart remains super powerful,” she observes. “Radio is the big thing for us obviously, and it’s bigger than people realize right now because it’s not the hot, trendy thing people are talking about.”

According to Waring, iHeartRadio reaches 9 out of 10 Americans every month, and they have free digital streaming on top of that. She also notes that another reason why radio is so important is for promoting emerging artists: “Radio is still really important for breaking artists because it reaches the masses more than we realize.” 

iHeartRadio is now everywhere. With the emergence of the iHeartRadio App, it’s on TV, Amazon Alexa, Apple Watches, phones, tablets, computers, and more. Instead of just a traditional broadcast radio company, iHeartRadio has become more of a holistic audio company.  

iHeartRadio is not alone. Digital media on the whole is quickly evolving with the times. Hawkins mentions that while the immediacy of radio is still there—like introducing a new band for the first time, or having a unique interaction with a listener—the difference now is that people can rewind a radio show and listen to it repeatedly. Those special moments are no longer lost in time. 

“Playing a new song for the first time to your audience, that remains an amazing thrill, but that moment was in the past, just in that moment, and now all you have to do is hit rewind on your phone and it’s there,” says Hawkins. “I think perhaps that’s the only negative of the way that technology has evolved. The [live] listeners are very much a part of what I do.” 

Since radio is an inherently one-on-one medium, Hawkins thinks that it is important to maintain closeness between the host and the listener. Even though the host is talking to the whole audience, everyone consumes what they hear as an individual. Therefore, the goal is to make each listener feel like they’re the only other person in the conversation. 

The evolution of digital media has also opened opportunities to reach a wider audience of watchers and listeners through newer mediums. From YouTube videos to podcasts to free digital streaming and back to regular radio shows, radio companies are able to reach more people than ever before.

As the radio industry continues to grow and change, one fact remains: radio is still a powerful platform for storytelling, music, and news. 

“[By] working with some of the best artists and talent in the world,” Waring comments, “we have the opportunity to be on the forefront of creating innovative content and creating change and impact.”