Hello! My name’s Anika Jiang, a rising sophomore majoring in Business Administration (soon-to-be Marketing emphasis) and a Music Technology minor, which I just declared this past semester. Although I just finished my freshman year of college, I believe that it’s never too early to start gaining experience in a field you’re interested in — in my case, it was the radio and broadcasting industry! I’m super excited to share my experience as a Promotions Intern at Summit Media Hawaii over the summer with you!

Summit Media Hawaii is an extension of Summit Media Corp, an integrated broadcasting, digital media, direct marketing, and events company that is home to many radio stations across the country. I had the honor of working for well-known, local stations in Hawaii such as Power 104.3, Krater 96, Hawaiian 105, and FM 100 (the world’s first radio station to play Hawaiian, Island, and Reggae music 24/7!). I feel lucky to have even landed an internship at all, due to the craziness that is the COVID-19 pandemic. While flying home, I knew I wanted to be at least a little productive during my time there. Because I’ve always been curious as to what radio was like behind-the-scenes, I decided to reach out to Summit Media Hawaii’s President, Andrew Rosen, to ask if they were currently looking for any interns over the summer. He then connected me with the company’s Promotions Director and my soon-to-be Internship Supervisor, Stacey Ko.  

An Instagram post I created for Wet ‘N’ Wild’s Dive ‘N’ Movie Night event, featuring one of FM 100’s radio personalities, Darren Balbarrens!

My time at Summit Media Hawaii is definitely something I’ll never forget. There weren’t as many events as there usually would be over the summer due to the pandemic, but because I was part of the Promotions Team, I was able to get a lot of my work done remotely. At home, my responsibilities included editing promotional material for the stations’ social media pages (such as Instagram and Facebook) and updating the events calendars on the station websites. I was also able to work with WordPress for Broadcasters and Futuri, some programs that are integral to running the stations’ websites and recording the on-air shows. When I did attend events, I helped with taking photos of the venue, keeping the station social media pages updated with the latest news, and playing games and socializing with the guests after assisting with equipment set-up for the DJ. We also always made sure to follow safety precautions and wore masks the whole time we were there!

The Summit Media team and I at Bayview Golf Course, promoting Ronald McDonald House Hawaii, a nonprofit organization that provides a home-away-from-home for critically ill children and their families.

 

 

 

Not only was I able to partake in these events, but I also learned a lot about the radio and broadcasting industry through weekly online meetings with Stacey! We would discuss different aspects of the radio broadcasting industry — the ones that really stuck out to me were our discussions about empathetic marketing and how the radio industry is still super prominent in our lives today. When diving deeper into empathetic marketing, I’ve learned that many companies out there tend to lack a sense of connection with their consumers and instead, focus solely on selling their product to them. While this is the ultimate goal, you have to remember that your consumers aren’t just data points on a page — they are human. This ties into why radio is still so important in today’s day and age since radio personalities have a way of forming meaningful connections with their listeners (which is the reason why so many people continue to tune in to their shows time and time again). I also learned that radio listenership has gone up due to the pandemic. Because more people have no choice but to stay home, many of them have been tuning in more to their local radio stations for both entertainment purposes and as a vital news source. Since radio is aired in real time, it’s a more effective way to hear the latest local news whenever needed, which is why radio broadcasting is still such an important resource for people all over the world.

Summit Media Hawaii’s Promotions Director and my Internship Supervisor, Stacey Ko, and me.

Being a part of the Promotions Team at Summit Media Hawaii will always be one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. I’m super thankful to have been given the opportunity to work with such amazing people and learn so much about the radio broadcasting industry along the way. Because of my time here, I was able to meet and network with many accomplished professionals in the field, as well as gain firsthand experience working with multiple radio stations that I grew up listening to. I can’t wait to see what opportunities I have within my reach because of my time at Summit Media Hawaii. If I could leave one piece of advice with you, it’s to never be afraid to reach out to people working in an industry you’re passionate about. Many amazing things could happen just because you chose to take that small leap of faith!