We look forward to you joining us for the Confer Talent Institute May 22 - 27, 2023.

 

Full, but watch for the next Radio Talent Institute announcements soon!

Rocket Boosters for Your Radio Career!



The Confer Radio Talent Institute is a talent incubator at Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania and is a proud affiliate of the National Radio Talent System. The Institute brings in broadcast professionals from around the country to be the guest professional faculty to teach all the sessions during this intensive summer program.

Participating professionals support the Confer Radio Talent Institute and embrace the Institute as a "go-to" place to find bright, talented young broadcasters interested in entering the industry.

College students from universities throughout the state and region apply to be accepted into the Confer Radio Talent Institute. Once they complete the Institute, they become part of to the industry and are highlighted for their professional career development.

The National Radio Talent System and the Radio Talent Institute is the campus-to-career connection most students need to begin their broadcast career. It is a connection for broadcasters to discover and hire entry-level talent today that can be the leaders in the broadcast industry tomorrow.

Broadcaster Kerby Confer is the sponsor responsible for making the Confer Radio Talent Institute possible in Pennsylvania. Mr. Confer is a well-known and highly respected broadcaster, having owned and operated over 200 radio stations, and is an inductee into the Pennsylvania Radio Hall of Fame.

"The quality of the broadcasters assembled to teach in this week-long 'radio immersion' is amazing. This is just what our industry needs, and as the digital age is upon us, it couldn't come at a more opportune time. I'm excited to be able to extend the National Radio Talent System to Pennsylvania and the Northeast United States at Bloomsburg University."
- Kerby Confer

Here are some the the Institute highlights (See Curriculum for more)
  • Now is the Time to Start Thinking Like a Pro
  • Radio's Digital Content & Social Media
  • Programming Sports Talk Radio
  • How to Get In and Win
  • Marketing and Promotions - Doing It Right
  • Basics of Great Voice Work and Production
  • Goal Setting & Time Management
  • Doing It Live & Voice Tracking
  • How to Get a Good Job
  • How to Do A Great Talk Radio Show
  • Basics of Doing a Great Music Radio Show

Sample Daily Curriculum
From the recent Confer Radio Talent Institute


1:00pm Opening Comments Dr. James Brown
Dean, College of Liberal Arts
Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania

Kerby Confer
Partner
Forever Media Fort Mill, SC

Dan Vallie
President/Founder
National Radio Talent System
Charlotte, NC
Announcements and Agenda Dr. David Magolis
Associate Professor, Mass Comm.
Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania
On-Campus Director
Confer Radio Talent Institute
1:30-2:30pm Now is the Time to Start Thinking Like a Pro Erica Farber
President/CEO
Radio Advertising Bureau
Las Vegas
2:45-3:45pm Radio’s Digital Content & Social Media Derrick “DC” Cole
Program Director
WAEB-FM WZZO
iHeartMedia, Allentown, PA
4:00-5:00pm Social Hour at West End Ale Haus with Industry Professionals
Evening Assignment: RAB Training Module #1 - The Role of a Radio Marketing Consultant
8:45am Announcements and Agenda Dr. David Magolis
9:00-10:15am

RAB Training Module:
#2 - Prospecting - Finding and Evaluating Prospects

Kristin Cantrell
Owner/CEO
CapCity Communications KY and Seven Mountains Media PA
10:30-11:45m RAB Training Modules
#3 - Getting First Call Appointments
#4 - How to Conduct a Great Client Needs Analysis
Kristin Cantrell
11:50am-12:50pm Lunch
1:00-2:15pm RAB Training Modules:
#5 - Elements of a Good Written Proposal
#6 - The Difference between Features and Benefits
Derrick “DC” Cole
Program Director
WAEB-FM WZZO
iHeartMedia, Allentown, PA
2:30=3:45pm RAB Training Modules:
#7 - Understanding Competitive Media
Bobbi Castellucci
Market Manager/General Manager
Forever Media Inc. Altoona
4:00-5:00pm Social Hour at West End Ale Haus with Industry Professionals
Evening Assignment: RAB Training Modules
#8 - Why Radio,
#9 - Scheduling for Success
#10 - The Role of Creative
6:45am Board Transportation to Philadelphia
9:30am Arrive at Citizens Bank Park  
10:00-11:00am The Phillies and Sports Broadcasting
Rob Brooks
Manager of Broadcasting
Philadelphia Phillies
11:00am-12noon "Programming Sports Talk Radio" Spike Eskin
Program Director
SportsRadio 94 WIP-FM / Phillies 24/7
Entercom Philadelphia, PA
12:00-1:00pm Lunch with Rob Brooks
1;00-2:00pm The 76ers and Sports Broadcasting Mark Zumoff
Play-by-Play Announcer
Philadelphia ’76ers
2:00-3:00pm Announcing for the Phillies Dan Baker
Public Address Announcer
Philadelphia Phillies
3:00pm Depart Philadelphia and return to the Bloomsburg University campus
Evening Assignment: RAB Training Modules:
#11 - The Best Presentations
#14 - Making Money with RAB Resources
NOTE: Modules #12 and #13 will be done during tomorrow’s session.

8:45am Announcements and Agenda Preview Dr. David Magolis
9:00-10:15am RAB Training Modules:
#12 - Addressing Objections and Closings
#13 - More Sales Through Buyer Style Identification
Dave Davies
Vice President/Market Manager
Forever Media Inc.
York/Hanover
10:30-11:45am How to Get In and Win
Jim Loftus
CEO/President
101 More FM WBEB
Philadelphia, PA
11:50am-12:50pm Lunch
1:00-2:15pm Marketing and Promotions - Doing It Right Sean O'Mealy
Market Manager
Seven Mountains Media Selinsgrove
2:30-3:45pm Engineering: RF & IT Lynn Deppen
President
Forever Media Pittsburgh
4:00-5:00pm Social Hour at West End Ale Haus with Industry Professionals
Evening Assignment: RAB Training Modules:
#15 - The Fundamentals of Co-op Advertising
#16 - How to Find Alternative Revenue Sources
6:00=8:50am Jojo and Leapin' Lily live from the Bloomsburg University Campus Jojo and Leapin' Lily
Morning Show

WFGY Froggy 98
Forever Media Altoona
9:00am Announcements and Agenda Preview Dr. David Magolis
9:15-10:15am Show Prep
Jojo and Leapin' Lily
10:30-11:45am RAB Training Module:
Goal Setting and Time Management
Scott Cohagan
General Manager WFGE, WBUS, WMAJ, WQWK AM, WRSC-AM
Forever Media State College, PA
11:50am-12:50pm Lunch
1:00-2:15pm Student to Superstart Rob Roberts
Program Director
WRQX Mix 107.3
Vice President, Hot AC
Cumulus Media Washington DC
2:30-3:45pm RAB Radio Marketing Professional Certification exam
4:00-5:00pm Social Hour at West End Ale Haus with Industry Professionals
8:45am Announcements and Agenda Preview Dr. David Magolis
9:00-10:15am Music Scheduling - How and Why Mike “OD� O’Donnell
Operations Manager
Entercom Communications
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, PA
10:30-11:45am Doing It Live and Voice Tracking
Dave DiRienzo
Air Talent/Music Director
Max 102 FM/ WMQX
Entercom Radio Wilkes-Barre, PA
11:50am-12:50pm Lunch
1:00-2:15pm How to Get a Good Job Jon Zellner
Executive VP/Programming Operations
iHeartMedia New York, NY
2:30-3:15pm Air Check Sessions Master Class

5:00-9:00am RJ Harris in the Morning
live from the campus of Bloomsburg University
RJ Harris
Host
WHPm 580 News
iHeartMedia
Harrisburg, PA

Holly Love
Morning Show Host
iHeartMedia Harrisburg, PA
9:00am Announcements and Agenda Preview Dr. David Magolis
9:15-10:15am How to Do a Great Talk Radio Show RJ Harris
10:30-11:45am Today's News Radio...Put it together and Deliver It. Pat Farnack
Midday Anchor
WCBS
Entercom Radio
  Lunch
1:00-2:15pm Basics of Doing a Great Music Radio Show Mike Stevens
Corporate Program Director
Forever Media, Inc.
Johnstown, PA
2:30-3:45pm On Air Delivery, Inflection, Pacing, Communicating Shelly Easton
Vice President of Music
Programming
Entercom Philadelphia, PA
4:00-4:45pm Aircheck Sessions Master Class
  Dinner
6:00-7:00pm Social Hour at West End Ale Haus with Industry Professionals

8:45am Announcements and Agenda Preview Dr. David Magolis
9:00-10:15am Writing for Radio
Rob Frazier
Creative Director
Seven Mountains Media
Frankfort
10:30-11:45am Basics of Great Voice Work and Production
Pat Garrett
Radio Imaging Specialist
Pat Garrett Creative
Baltimore, MD
  Lunch
1:00-2:15pm On-Air: Developing Your Voice, Your Style...You. Doc Medek
"The Doc Show with Jessie"
Froggy 101
Entercom Communications
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, PA

Sean Medek
On-Air Talent, 98.5KRZ
Production Assistant, Froggy 101, MAX 102, WILK News Radio
Entercom Communications
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, PA
2:30-3:45pm Adjusting from College to the Pros Matthew Bortner
WQWK ESPN Radio 1450
Forever Media State College, PA

Gabby Loielo
Air Personality/Imaging Director
99.9 WFRE FM
iHeartMedia Fredrick, MD

Fernando Santos
Production Assistant
Cumulus Media, Allentown, PA
4:00-4:45pm Aircheck Sessions Master Class
  Dinner
6:00-7:00pm Social Hour at West End Ale Haus with Industry Professionals

8:45am Announcements and Agenda Preview Dr. David Magolis
9:00-10:15am What the Program Director Looks for in You Jeff Hurley
Regional Senior VP Programming
iHeartMedia Harrisburg, Allentown, Lancaster, Reading, Williamsport, Wilmington, Salisbury-Ocean City
10:30-11:45am What You Have to Know to be the Program Director Brian Check
Senior Vice President Programming
WDAS AM/FM, WIOQ, WISX, WRFF, WUSL
iHeartMedia, Philadelphia, PA
  Lunch
1:00-2:15pm Getting in, Becoming an Entrepreneur Kerby Confer
Partner
Forever Media Fort Mill, SC
2:30-3:00pm Closing Comments Joe Conti
President
Pennsylvania Association of Broadcasters
Hummelstown, PA

Recent Guest Instructors


Doc Medek

Doc & Andie Show
92.5 WXTU
Philadelphia, PA


Kyle Anthony

Program Director
B104 & 951 ZZO
Allentown, PA


Sara Baggerman

Promotions Director
Entercom
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, PA

Frequently Asked Questions

The Confer Radio Talent Institute is an intense 7-day program held on the campus of Bloomsburg University in Bloomsburg, PA in partnership with National Radio Talent System.

National Radio Talent System is the only program of its kind in the world. It’s a system of Radio Talent Institutes on college campuses across America. Its mission is to discover, coach and nurture entry-level talent for the industry.

National Radio Talent System brings over 30 radio professionals to the Confer Radio Talent Institute to teach interactive sessions. Over the seven days you will personally learn from them, meet, mingle, and network with them. It could take years to meet and build relationships with this many broadcasters otherwise. Broadcast professionals from almost every aspect of the radio industry lead sessions; on-air, sales, digital, sports, news, production, management, marketing, programming, social media, etc.

After completion of the Confer Radio Talent Institute, you are highlighted on the National Radio Talent System website to broadcasters regionally and nationally. 70% of students who attend the Confer Radio Talent Institute get their first job in broadcasting after graduation.

YES. You don’t have to choose one or the other. To date, every radio station has allowed their interns to break away from the internship for seven days to participate in Radio Talent Institutes.

All college students, recent graduates and grad students from all universities in the state and region and interns and part-timers at radio or TV stations are welcomed. A total of 25 students are accepted on a rolling acceptance, so the earlier you apply, the better your chances.

The National Radio Talent System provides a “Certificate of Completion” from the Confer Radio Talent Institute and a “Radio Marketing Professional” certification from the Radio Advertising Bureau.

A $395 Registration fee is paid after you are notified of acceptance, and that cost includes a meal card for lunch to use during the 7 days. Housing, if needed, is available on campus for an extra fee.

Yes. You may cancel your registration and request a refund for the Confer Institute at Bloomsburg University by April 1st, 2023

About the Confer Radio Talent Institute



Kerby Confer

Through the support of legendary broadcaster Kerby Confer, the National Radio Talent System and Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania are proud to present the Confer Radio Talent Institute, which is committed to discover and prepare a new generation of radio professionals.

Confer, an inductee into the Pennsylvania Radio Hall of Fame, commented, “The quality of the mentor teachers assembled for this ten day ‘radio immersion’ is amazing. This is just what the industry needs...it’s important...and the digital age is upon us; this couldn’t come at a more opportune time. I’m excited to be able to extend the National Radio Talent System to Pennsylvania and the Northeast United States at Bloomsburg University.”

Kerby Confer's first job was selling measuring cups and handmade potholders (which he made) door-to-door when he was 9 years old. A resident of Williamsport, PA, Kerby landed his first radio job at the age of 16 working for Galen (Dave) Castlebury at WMPT, Williamsport.

When he was 14 years old, there was the birth of Rock and Roll, and he discovered that when the sun went down, he could hear 50,000-watt clear channel radio stations from all over America. He  began listening to stations in Buffalo, Chicago and Nashville, hearing all the latest songs. He would start listening around 8:00 PM and sometimes listen until one or two o'clock in the morning.

"By the time I was 15, I was copying down the clever things the DJs would say and was practicing doing it myself. Then, when I was 16, a guy came along and announced he was going to build a third radio station in our town. I showed up the first day and said I would help build the station when I wasn't in school. I said I'd be there seven days a week and wouldn't charge him anything, but when the station went on the air, I wanted a job as a DJ at minimum wage. That was a buck an hour back then. He said, 'Deal.' I helped him for a year. I was a gopher; cleaned the toilets, changed the light bulbs in the tower, and did whatever had to be done. When we went on the air, I was the first voice on the station. I even picked the station's call letters. I was there for a couple of years, and then I heard about a job that was open at WCAO. There were 50 guys auditioning for the job, and I drove all night to get down there at eight o'clock in the morning, and by some miracle I got the job. Six months later I was emceeing the Beatles in Baltimore." Those amazing days led to a local TV dance show in Baltimore from 1967 to 1970. "Then, in 1969, I had the biggest break of my life right there in Baltimore. I had been on the radio and TV for about 5 years; I was 29 years old and I'd emceed the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, Iron Butterfly, James Brown, and every soul act you can think of. I didn't want to be 40 and just going through the motions because I had really enjoyed everything I'd done. Then I got a magic phone call.” "A man named Marvin Mervis called me and said, 'Kerby, you don't know me, but I've been watching you on TV and I've heard you on the radio. I own a radio station in Annapolis, MD. My manager has left me; I've had a heart attack and a quadruple bypass, so I can't work anymore. I'd like to talk to you.' “About what?” I asked.” “Somebody told me that your dream is that someday you want to own a radio station”, he said. He was right. Mervis said he thought he could make it happen. He invited Kerby to lunch and made him an offer. "He said, 'If you come down and work for me for a year, and we set the goal, I'm going to teach you how to sell and manage. I'm going to teach you how to administrate the radio station because I can only come in about an hour a day. So you'll come down; you'll be a DJ in the morning, and then you'll go sell commercials all day long. I'll show you how to do it. If you make the goal that we both set - not that I set, but that you and I agree on - I'll cut you in for 10% ownership of the station.' I had to think about that long and hard," Confer said. "There was a famous DJ on the air in Baltimore at the time that was probably on the air for more years in Baltimore than any other DJ. He was the program director at the station I worked, WCAO. He said, “You're quitting to do what?'” "I said, 'I'm quitting because I'm going to be the general manager of a little station in Annapolis.'” “You can't even hear that station up here!” he replied. 'I know,' I said, 'but it's my chance to learn how to run one and the guy's going to cut me in for 10% ownership.' 'Be careful, Kerby,' he said. 'I'm just afraid you're going to become a has-been.' And so it was, I became a has-been DJ."

Nine months later, Confer passed the advertising goal they had set for the entire year and was cut in for the ten percent. Five years later, when Mervis retired and sold the station, Confer walked away with a certified check for $130,000 and bought his own station. "Since then, I've owned a billion dollars’ worth of stations," said Confer. "Bought them broken, fixed them up, and sold them."

Confer formed Keymarket Communications and in the 1980s, initiated dramatic turnaround success with stations around the country, including Mississippi, Louisiana, South Carolina, and here in Pennsylvania. During this era, he created the “Froggy” brand for his country music stations. In the 1990s, Keymarket Communications merged with Sinclair Broadcasting to become the 10th largest radio broadcasters in the United States. Since 1969, Kerby has owned an interest in and operated more than 200 station licenses and is still active in 70 properties. In 1991, Mr. Confer, along with others, purchased WFBG AM/FM in Altoona and formed what is now Forever Media. In 2003, Kerby was inducted into the Pennsylvania Broadcasters Hall of Fame, and he was recently a “Radio” inductee into the 2016 class of the Country Radio Hall of Fame for helping to innovate station branding like “Froggy” as a principal of the Forever and Keymarket groups.

Kerby has long been a leader in civic affairs. He has won numerous community awards and is well known for his charitable and industry work.

 

Our Mission


The Confer Radio Talent Institute attracts, trains and creates opportunity for talented, enthusiastic and well educated young adults who have a passion for the broadcast industry. College students, recent graduates, grad students, interns and part-timers at radio or TV stations work through an intensive 7-days to bring them to a better understanding of each aspect of the industry, including on-air, programming, writing, news, sports and sales; all students also participate in RAB training and take the exam to earn their Radio marketing Professional Certification.

The Confer Radio Talent Institute prepares the students to excel in entry-level positions upon their graduation, and better ensures they get a start in and have a successful career in broadcasting.

Part of the goal is to prepare students, along with their Liberal Arts education, to the point that they can walk into a professional radio station environment and not only be comfortable, but to excel in every area of the business, from on-air to programming to sales to management ... we expect no less than to prepare a future generation of broadcast leaders.

We look to attract the brightest of the brightest students to bring fresh talent into the industry who can contribute to make the industry even more dynamic.

Contact

If you have any questions regarding applying or need assistance in any way, please don't hesitate to contact us directly.

James Brown, Ph.D
Dean, College of Liberal Arts
Bloomsburg University
jbrown@bloomu.edu
570.384.4410

David Magolis, Ph.D
Associate Professor
Bloomsburg University
dmagolis@bloomu.edu
570.389.4921

 

 



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