21 year old Jordan North – a presenter with Sunderland student radio station Spark FM – has landed himself a show on digital station The Hits.
He's won Bauer Radio's competition to find the next generation of talent and will get his own Sunday show for a month as the prize.
He was announced as winner at the SRA conference last night with the judges praising "the creative content of his show.. and his commitment to retaining the interest of his listeners."
The Hits Radio has joined up with the Student Radio Association and What Goes on Media to offer Jordan a package of training and the chance to broadcast to the nation. He will record four shows at Bauer's studios in Manchester, which will go out across the nation over one month beginning this Sunday at 1pm, as well as seeing his name in lights on the Freeview EPG. He'll also get a training session with Sam and Kate at What Goes on Media to help further his career in the industry.
Two runners up, Pete Allison and Will Wade, will also receive detailed feedback and guidance, as well as their own show for an afternoon on The Hits Radio. Pete is a student at Nottingham Trent University and is a presenter on Fly FM, whilst Will is a student at the University of York, presenting the University Radio York Breakfast Show.
Alex James, presenter at The Hits Radio and one of the judges, said the competition was fierce. "The future of radio is out there but we recognise that it is now even tougher than ever before to break into," he said. "By working with our partners the Student Radio Association and What Goes on Media, we want to give Jordan the biggest career break possible. As the standard of entries was so high, we also made the decision to give runners up Pete and Will their very own show for a day, in recognition of the outstanding level of talent."
Jordan comments: "I’m so excited! To come out top in the competition is amazing; to come out knowing that I’m going to be on a national radio station this very Sunday is unbelievable! From student radio to The Hits Radio in less than a week; I can’t wait!"
The Hits Radio also committed to give every demo submitted feedback on what to do next to break into the industry from What Goes On Media. Sam Walker, who also presents for Key 103 and BBC Radio Manchester, added: "If you want to break into radio there has never been a better opportunity to get advice on what to do next. Every person who took the time to enter received feedback, which we hope will help them to fulfil their ambitions."