Florida A&M University alumna Meaghan Taylor held the sixth annual Women in Radio conference Saturday in Atlanta. The event aims to bring together women across the country working in radio to celebrate in a day of cocktails, cupcakes and conversations.
Taylor started this event in 2016, shortly after earning her degree in at FAMU. The event has gotten bigger than ever with many notable panelists including radio personality Angela Yee, host of “The Breakfast Club.” This year’s event featured a panel of women across platforms from program directors to on-air personalities. These women have earned their rankings in the industry and were eager to share the knowledge that they obtained while being in the radio industry.
“This event is special,” host Chelsea Lemore said to the crowd. “So many successful women in the room is monumental.”
Radio, like many entertainment industries, is predominantly male saturated. According to the Federal Communications Commissions (FCC), only 7% of FM stations are owned by women. Men are often prompted on the radio before women. Now, women are rallying together to make a change in this ever-progressing society.
“I wanted something for women so we can really talk about what’s going on and try to fix our issues in the radio industry.” Taylor said.
Stacey René, a junior Broadcast Journalism student at FAMU, is currently a radio personality on WANM 90.5 The Flava station and decided to attend the event because Taylor allowed FAMU students to attend the event for free. René says that the event inspired her to continue to pursue a career in radio.
“Seeing all these successful women at the event just showed me that what I aspire to do in life is accessible,” René said. “I definitely plan on coming back to the event in the future and expanding my network.”
This is exactly what Taylor was expecting when creating this event: to inspire. As a product of the School of Journalism and Graphic Design, she understands what it means to network with colleagues to grow your business. Taylor says she hopes current college students learn what it means to put yourself out there and change the world in whatever way is best.
“Networking is key,” Taylor said. “Most of the jobs I’ve received are from straight networking.
I feel like everybody from FAMU, J-School, whatever, we just have a hustle mentality. So, we’re always going to make it happen for us and we’re always going to network. J-school taught me how to network and it changed my career honestly.”
Taylor is continuing to grow ‘Women in Radio’ and hopes that as the conference continues to grow, more FAMU students who are interested in the radio industry attend the event.