Sophomore Profile: Brianna Byrd

Name: Brianna Byrd
Age: 19
Graduation year: 2014
Major: Audio Radio

How are you involved on campus?
I do radio at WRHU.  I host off the charts every other Friday.
 
How are you involved in radio off campus?
Off campus I have a radio show called “The Breakdown with Brianna.”  It’s every Friday from three to six p.m. on Long Island’s Next Generation of Music Radio, 91.9 WSHR, the Arrow.  It’s Long Island’s largest high school radio station.
 
What would you say your biggest accomplishment is?
My biggest accomplishment would probably be that I got a call back from z100’s Elvis Durran and the morning show, for an internship.  I didn’t get the internship because I was too young but David Brody, on of the producers for the show wrote a letter of recommendation for me that I can use for other stations.
 
How did you get started in radio?
I got started in radio in twelfth grade.  I started going on air in December of 2009, which was my first show.   I had a show with two other girls who would do horoscopes and I would do celebrity gossip.  We introduced songs and even though the show was only an hour long I just kind of knew I liked it from being involved.  At the end of the year I began to take over doing more than the other girls on the station.
 
How did you get your own radio show?
It was the end of senior year and I was talking to my general manager and I told him this was what I really wanted to do and he pretty much offered me my own show.  Most people don’t get their own show at the end of the year, but most people don’t actually know by then that this is what they want to do with their life. I really loved it so I knew I wanted to at least do some shows by myself there if I could. I started in the summer of 2010, starting ‘The Breakdown with Brianna’ and I’ve been doing it for a year straight now every Friday.  My manager has taught me a lot of the stuff I know in radio and I owe him a lot because it gave me an advantage starting college.
 
What is your dream job?
I love z100, but I also like 92.3 Now.  It’s funny because they are rival stations but I love them both. Z100 would be my absolute dream job but I would work for any top 40 party station in New York City.
 
Do you have any advice for people looking to get involved in radio?
If you want to be on the radio don’t be afraid.  Just have fun! It’s all about having fun and connecting with the audience. 
 
What makes you know that radio is what you are meant to do?
I actually thought I wanted to be a journalist and found out it wasn’t for me.  When I took broadcast journalism in twelfth grade I liked it a lot and just knew it was what I was supposed to be doing. 
 
What are your plans for the future?
Eventually I want to be Off The Charts producer of the show when I have more free time.  Right now I am trying to get a job at any commercial radio station near by that will take me.