UT Welcomes Second Annual TAB Radio Talent Institute

RADIO ONLINE | Sunday, June 17, 2018

TAB Students

Students from four different universities converge on campus Monday at the University of Tennessee as it welcomes the Second Annual TAB Radio Talent Institute. Students will meet and learn from veteran broadcasters from Patrick Communications, Midwest Communications, Stonecom Radio, Entercom, Cumulus Media, Scripps Radio, 5 Star Radio/Saga Communications, Cromwell Communications and Thunderbolt Broadcasting, among others.

TAB, President Whit Adamson stated, "The student preparation and focus for the Radio Talent Institute is like nothing else we could get involved with. This course gets them ready for graduation and the next step in their careers, which is a valuable asset to any station. They are exposed to all facets of a station and will be capable of sitting down at any broadcast radio or television facility and prepared to add something. We'd like to thank our signature sponsor, Larry Patrick, and all of our underwriters, Stonecom Radio, Thunderbolt Broadcasting, PEG Broadcasting, Five Star Radio and Holston Valley for helping to make this happen."

Patrick Communications Larry Patrick commented, "The Tennessee Association of Broadcasters Radio Talent Institute is an invaluable investment for future radio talent who are entering the radio industry. Led by industry professionals and facilitated by the Tennessee Association of Broadcasters and the University of Tennessee's College of Communications and Information, Tennessee joins several other states offering this specialized program for radio talent. Spearheaded by premier radio consultant, Dan Vallie, this program provides real-world experiences and guidance for the participants. I could not be more pleased to invest in our future with this program at UT."

Students have to apply to be accepted into the Institute. There are no breakout sessions. All students are in every session, including on-air music radio, news and sports, as well as digital/social media, production, promotion, sales, engineering, programming, management and all things radio, including being certified as Radio Marketing Professionals by RAB.

Sam Swan, Director, Internationalization and Outreach, College of Communication and Information and Professor, School of Journalism and Electronic Media, University of Tennessee, said: "The TAB Radio Talent Institute is an exciting program to bring leading broadcasters to the University of Tennessee to work with our outstanding students. This is a great transition from the classroom to the newsrooms, control rooms, and production rooms of radio stations everywhere."

The ten day Institute begins today, and Dan Vallie commented, "Creating a National Radio Talent System is not only a noble venture, but it also addresses a problem that most of us in the industry have stated for years, and that is, where and how are we going to find the young talent to bring into our industry, not only to hire today, but to be the leaders of our industry in the future. The TAB Radio Talent Institute is an answer to that question and the collaborative effort of the industry is amazing."

The TAB Radio Talent Institute is the fourth of eight Radio Talent Institutes this summer from the National Radio Talent System, next are Confer Radio Talent Institute at Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania, Hubbard Radio Talent Institute at Central Washington University, KBA WKU Radio Talent Institute at Western Kentucky University and the MBA Radio Talent Institute at Northwest Missouri State University.