Bauer launches search for student talent

Bauer Radio’s digital station The Hits Radio has teamed up with the Student Radio Association for a second year to find this year’s ‘Student Stars’.

It’s looking for presenters who will win the chance to host a series of shows on the station, as well as a journalist who will get a week-long training placement in the Key 103 newsroom.

The winning presenter or presenters will also get two coaching sessions from What Goes On Media who are again partnering on the talent search.

There’s a dedicated web page for the competition, which is taking entries up until 19 March. THe winners will be announced at this year’s Student Radio Conference in Bradford in early April.

Paul Fernley, programmes manager at The Hits Radio, said: “This is a really exciting prize, not just for UK students but for us as a station. Students are one of the most important demographics for music consumption and know exactly what makes an exciting radio show or captivating news bulletin. We’re looking for presenters with amazing energy and the ability to make their personalities transcend through to our listeners. Journalists should have a great eye for a story, a strong reading voice and the ability to cope with the pressure of a busy news room. We can’t wait to meet our Student Stars of 2012.”

Kate Cocker, joint founder and owner of What Goes On Media, added: “The Hits Radio is once again offering a great platform for student radio DJ to hone their presenting skills in the transition from student to professional radio. We are delighted to be involved in the Star Search again this year and are looking forward to hearing the audio from the amazing new talent Student Radio consistently produces.”

Last year, Jordan North won the prize with two runners-up getting a go on air on The Hits Radio too. One of them, Pete Allison, has gone on to do regular shifts for the station.

John Pickford, head of news at Bauer Radio’s News Hub in Manchester, added: “After seeing the success of the presenter search last year, I’m really excited to see what student news reading talent there is just waiting to be discovered. I’m always looking for exciting new voices that might be the future of my team, and I hope we find the best new talent out there over the next few months!”