On Air: The Future of Broadcast
Carrie Wooten: CEO, Media Talent Manifesto
We spoke to Carrie Wootten, founder of Media Talent Manifesto, about On Air, the world’s largest student-led broadcast. On Air connects universities and schools across six continents in a continuous 24-hour livestream, involving over 1000 students. It’s goal is to give the next generation of talent a platform, experience, and responsibilities.
Stop asking if the next generation is ready. Give them the opportunity to prove it.
The media industry is moving incredibly quickly. Al, cloud, remote production, new platforms and changing audience behaviours are reshaping not only how we create and distribute content, but the roles and skills needed to do it.
Against that backdrop, we spend a lot of time asking whether the next generation is ready for our industry. I think we should turn that question around. Are we creating enough opportunities for them to experience an industry that is changing in real time? That thinking sits at the heart of On Air.
When we created On Air, we wanted students to do more than learn about media technology or hear from people already working in the sector. We wanted to give them something real to make, real technology to work with and real responsibility for delivering it. Last year, more than 1,000 students, educators and industry volunteers became involved across six continents.
Students weren't simply observing how the industry works; they were creating content, collaborating internationally, solving problems and experiencing the pressure and excitement of live production.
On 22-23 October, On Air returns, streaming from the University of Westminster's Harrow Media Campus to YouTube and connecting students and industry around the world.This year, we're expanding to five channels - Sport, Film, Culture, News and Kids - creating even more opportunities to explore different types of content, technology and production. And importantly, this isn't about teaching students one prescribed way of doing things.
Our industry doesn't know exactly what its workflows, roles or business models will look like in five years' time. Technology is evolving too quickly for that. What we can do is create environments where emerging talent can experiment, adapt, collaborate, make decisions and learn what happens when things don't go according to plan. Industry needs to be part of that too.
On Air brings technology companies, media organisations and educators into the same space as the people who will be using, challenging and developing their technologies in the years ahead.
So perhaps we should stop asking whether the next generation is ready for our industry.
Give them the tools, the opportunity and the trust - and let them show us what they can do.
Update: On Air 2026 was a success
Since we spoke to Carrie Wootten, On Air 2026 has taken place, and it was bigger than ever. On 22 and 23 October, the world's largest student-led media broadcast went live for 24 hours, connecting students and industry across six continents.
More than 2,500 students, staff and industry volunteers took part from 48 locations around the world, up from around 1,000 people in the first year. At the heart of it was a core team of 150 students running operations from the University of Westminster's Harrow Media Campus, supported on site by more than 100 industry volunteers who gave their time to mentor them.
This year's broadcast expanded from one channel to five: News, Sport, Film, Kids and Culture. Together, the teams produced 979 generated assets, from live journalism and sports coverage to short films, children's programming and cultural content. Students worked with professional cloud workflows and technology from partners including AWS, Ross Video, Vizrt, Appear, Cuez, Norsk and Hitomi. The event was backed by the BBC and CNN, with SVG Europe partnering on the Sport channel.
The broadcast also drew 23.8k views on YouTube, and it remains available on demand so employers and talent scouts can see the work of the next generation for themselves.
The event coincided with the opening of Westminster's Zone29, a new central London space for careers, enterprise and industry-connected student activity. On Air is also aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals, in particular Decent Work and Economic Growth and Partnerships for the Goals, by creating direct pathways into media careers.
On Air is proof of what happens when young people are given real tools, real responsibility and the trust to use them. At Signal Shift, we'll keep covering it and championing the talent it brings into the industry.
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