There is a certain nostalgia to listening to the radio. For many of us, childhood mornings were defined by the familiar voices of BBC Radio 2, forming the soundtrack of breakfast before school. Perhaps these memories have planted the seeds for our generation to dream of working alongside music, whether that’s radio presenting, music journalism, or something in between.
OJ Borg has been presenting BBC Radio 2’s overnight show since 2018. From 12 pm to 3 am, his voice connects late-night workers and early risers across the UK. OJ kindly took the time to chat to Brig about how to start a career in radio, and why it is far from a forgotten medium.
“You can play a record, and everyone listens to it at the same time,” OJ said, explaining his love for radio presenting. “It’s the quickest, rawest form of broadcasting for me, because it’s just you and it’s a microphone and you’re talking directly to a listener.”
The world of music journalism and radio presenting can feel inaccessible to aspiring students, a distant dream of high-tech studios and high listener numbers. However, the Radio 2 presenter provided us with an alternative outlook on the situation.
“The one beautiful thing about radio is you can just go and do it. There are radio stations at every level nowadays,” OJ said. “In the olden days, you needed a broadcaster, you needed a studio, you needed all these things… which was impossible to do. But nowadays, the barrier to being a radio presenter, especially with podcasting, is so low. You could, by ordering a microphone off Amazon and setting up an account, be a radio presenter or a music journalist by the end of the day.”
But the difficulty comes with building beyond that. As students, we may be happy with a microphone in the shed, but how do we progress into a professional career after graduation?
OJ, pulling from his own university experiences, told us how the degree is not the be-all-and-end-all, saying: “university is a great thing, and everybody absolutely should go to it if they can make it work for themselves. But look for work in industry immediately… using your own time. This is what I did.
“Go to the local papers, go to the local radio station, offer anybody anywhere: “Can I come in? Can I sit in on it? Can I make a little bit of content for you?”
“It’s getting into the habit where, when you get an opportunity in music journalism, whether it’s in front of a camera, behind a microphone, or writing something down, if somebody says, “Right, I need this, and I need it by this afternoon,” you’ve worked that muscle up inside of yourself that you can do it, and you’re not worried about it.”
The postgraduate world is a daunting prospect, especially those headed into the media industries. Horror stories of budget cuts and slashed staffing numbers circulate among us, so it is refreshing to hear OJ’s professional optimistic outlook on the situation. He said:
“The positive side of the postgraduate music world is you can do anything you want.
“It’s a world in which you are creating video content at the same time as writing a piece that goes with it, and…hooking that into a podcast. And, the old gatekeepers don’t exist anymore. The BBC is a brilliant, wonderful institution, which I hope continues for a billion years, but around the BBC, you’ve got so many ways that you can create your own content and make your own thing: Podcasts and blogs, setting up YouTube channels…
“In some ways, if you have the skills, the talents, and the drive… It’s finding how you keep going and keep pushing and enduring when maybe not enough people are listening to you, or you don’t get the starts that you want. So it is a scary world, but I believe it is there for the taking.”
A scary world, indeed, but comforting to know that it still exists and the people in it are keen for us to get there one day. At the end of the day, OJ’s message was one of positivity, endurance, and the key: industry experience.
“Just go and get as much industry experience as you can, wherever it is, however you do it,” OJ said. “Do blogs, podcasts, and just build up that portfolio of work around your course. Degrees are brilliant, and I recommend everyone getting to the highest level of education they can get to, but at the same time, industry experience is always going to be as important as possible.”
OJ concluded: “It’s all about inclusivity. It’s about creating a world where people can join in.”
OJ’s Top Tips For Aspiring Music Journalists
- “Write for everyone rather than trying to impress other music journalists.”
- “Go to the local papers, go to the local radio station, offer anybody, anywhere, ” Can I come in? Can I sit in on it? Can I make a little bit of content for you?”
- “Keep going and keep pushing and enduring”
- “Go and get as much industry experience as you can, wherever it is, however you do it. Do blogs, podcasts, just build up that portfolio of work around your course”
- “Make sure what you’re writing represents you, as having a tone of voice in a world of AI becomes more important.”
- “Make your mistakes where no one’s listening or reading or watching”
- “Don’t try and be too cool!”
Thank you OJ for taking the time to inspire the next generation, and for joining us in Stirling at Radio 2 in the Park.
BBC Radio 2’s Jeremy Vine also gave his advice for aspiring journalists – read the interview here.
Featured Image Credit: BBC Radio 2
Journalism student at the University of Stirling & BRAW Magazine editor 24/25 and 25/26 🙂
You can see my portfolio here: https://www.clippings.me/alicepollard
