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Alumni Spotlight: Marty Young

Posted May 1, 2017


For Marty Young, fun is just part of the job. The 1999 advertising alumnus works as a morning show radio DJ with country music station 94.7 QDR. Whether he’s interviewing celebrities, cracking jokes or winning broadcast awards, Young finds ways to incorporate his J-school education into nearly everything he does.

What do you do in your current job?

I host a morning drive radio show from 5:30 -10 a.m., Monday-Friday. My day-to-day responsibilities include music, artist interviews, celebrity interviews, talk topics, comedy, artists, breaking news etc.

What’s the most interesting or significant thing you’ve done since graduating?
Our show has won two major awards in the last few years: 2017 Academy of Country Music Large Market Broadcast Personality of the Year and 2013 Country Music Association Large Market Broadcast Personality of the Year. In our business, that's as big as it gets. We set goals years ago and those were at the top of our list, something to strive for. We were also named Country Music Association Large Market Station of the Year in 2014 and 2011, as well as Academy of Country Music Large Market Station of the Year in 2011 and 2009.

What are you passionate about in your work?
For me, my number one is a live crowd at a concert. There's nothing better than standing on stage and getting a crowd fired up for an artist about to walk out. There's a place here in Raleigh called City Limits Saloon, and it can be the loudest place on earth when you get a sold out crowd of country music fans there to see an artist. There's something about feeling the energy in the crowd build throughout the night and that explosion when you bring out the artist.

What did you learn while in school at the CIC that still resonates today?
For me, I always fall back on the creative process I learned in several classes like creative writing. Whether I'm writing a parody song, interviewing an artist or bringing up a talk topic, I always fall back on some of those things as I'm brainstorming.

Do you have a favorite professor or a favorite memory from your time at the CIC?
I wouldn't say I have a favorite professor but I remember how stoked I was when I was done with my core classes and the majority of my classes were in the Journalism School. I woke up each day ready to go to class. Even my parents asked me at one point, "Your grades have gone up.... What happened?" “I'm taking the stuff I'm really interested in now!”


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