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Radio personalities, often known for their larger-than-life personas, have been essential to the popularization of radio stations, segments and shows since their inception in the early 20th century. However, radio personality Wendy Wild is evolving to be much more than just a faceless voice that talks in between songs.
Wild has been enamored with all things radio since the young age of 17. She is currently the midday host of 103.5 “The Beat of NY,” but also lends her voice to other radio stations such as Totally 93.9 and Y100.1 in Florida, as well as My 99.5 in Salt Lake City. Wild emphasized the importance of making long-lasting connections in the industry at a young age, while also maintaining a youthful approach to building media-driven relationships.
“A radio personality is someone who not only plays music and talks between/over songs, but someone who feels like, and is, a friend to their listeners,” said Wild. “Someone who is relatable, stays on top of the news and pop culture, but also understands the grind of everyday life…commuting, binging shows, relationships, things happening locally. Thanks to the media, it’s easier to foster those relationships in real-time.”
Despite her name and being notoriously shy, Wild said working at radio stations as a host has been a personal dream of hers since she was a pre-teen. Working in her dream job as a radio host, entertainer and personality came after years of working her way up through the ranks of the industry as an ice-rink DJ and radio intern.
Her impressive background in radio has given Wild an opportunity to previously work at radio stations such as Philadelphia’s Mix 106.1, Nick Radio on iHeartRadio, The All New 95.1 in Albuquerque, both The Party and The Bull in Las Vegas as well as New Haven’s legendary KC101 and the world famous Z100 in New York City. If her voice sounds familiar, that’s why.
Wild is known by her peers to be a pop culture, celebrity, social, and photography/retouching aficionado. In addition to working as a radio personality, Wild also hosts a feature segment called “What’s Up With Wendy,” on The Weekend Throwdown with Jagger. The show, dedicated to pop culture, trends and celebrity news recaps, is streamed nationally and currently holds 40 affiliates and counting.
Despite the COVID-19 pandemic affecting radio stations throughout the United States, Wild said that the global pandemic provided her the opportunity to grow as a professional. Her decision to become resourceful and self-sufficient led her to create the “Give Our Take” podcast alongside her friend and producer, Jaki Silver.
“The past year and a half was one of the most challenging for all of us…we had to quickly pivot, and our workflows changed,” said Wild. “I used it as an opportunity to learn as many new skills as possible to not only match the product we were putting out, but to make it better, more efficient.”
Wild and Silver work collaboratively with a team of contributors to produce regular weekly content and give their opinions on the hottest topics and headlines in news. The show’s topics range from hard-news stories, to celebrity interviews to activists and changemakers. Previously, “Give Our Take” has tackled topics such as the crisis in Kabul as well as Britney Spears’ conservatorship battle.
When she’s not hosting “Give Our Take,” or working as a radio entertainer, Wild enjoys photography and photo-editing/retouching. While taking portrait photos previously began as a hobby, it has now turned into a full-on side hustle.
In the future, Wild hopes to keep providing her listeners with professional tips and tricks for anyone aspiring to join the radio industry, podcast, or upgrade their social media game. Overall, she hopes to continue fueling the conversations about how she achieved her current positions in media, in an effort to provide resources and advice to the next generation of radio personalities, creators, hosts and entertainers.
For more information on Wendy Wild, the Give Our Take podcast, or her extensive career as a radio entertainer, host and personality visit http://www.wendywild.com.
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