Student explores the human condition by listening to other’s stories

Alexis LeBaron, writer

Establishing a voice for the unheard individual starts by providing perspective on their life. This is the purpose of David Alder, Utah State University Public Relations student and Aggie Radio producer.

Alder started at Aggie Radio in February 2022 and hosts a weekly show called, “Out of Line,” where he focuses on finding the “Average Joe” and discusses their passions, music proclivities, life stories and other enthralling debates. 

 “I have always been interested in people, their stories and more importantly, how they view the world,” he said.

 This fascination with people started in high school for Alder and his friends. Oftentimes, he could be found producing funny audio and videos about his classmates and school. As he continued his education, Alder wanted to develop his skills more and find new ways to expand his knowledge of audio.

 After taking the multimedia bootcamp from Brian Champagne, Alder said he “gained a multifaceted look of all forms of media, especially audio.”

 This jumpstarted Adler’s career in Aggie Radio and enabled him to have skills to host and produce his own radio show.

 The next stage was finding what Alder wanted his show to discuss.

 “If you want to be a good DJ, you have to find a niche or something you are passionate about and willing to share that with people in an effective manner where it hooks and engages them,” said Alder. “You need to have a product and sell it in media.”

 This is when he determined his purpose of providing a voice to the “Average Joe.” He started by interviewing old high school friends and students he met on campus.

 As Adler continued hosting, he realized how challenging hosting a radio show can be.

 “There is a lot of preparation that goes into hosting a radio show. You have to make content that means something, because you don’t want to have a show that’s just an hour of music and you’re not talking all the time,” he said, “while also producing stuff your listeners will like and want to keep listening to.”

 Through developing radio shows, Alder developed marketable skills including planning, management and effective interviewing strategies to make his shows as interesting.

Today, Alder focuses of expanding his audience by interviewing local bands and providing radio shows in Spanish. Through his expansion, he covers a variety of topics and provides insights into multiple aspects of the human condition that he did not know before.

 “You have to act on your feet, change the theme according to what your guest wants to talk about, pay attention to world events and maintain interest in what the person is saying while also applying humor,” he said.

 At first, Alder had difficulty speaking on the radio. He learned to relax and lean on his audio production knowledge.

 “If you want to get better, listen to yourself and tweak it,” he said.

 Alder invites students who are interested in radio to try their own radio show and develop skills in audio production, public speaking and interviewing.

“My advice to people wanting to join Aggie Radio is, try it out. It’s not a huge time commitment and is in a pretty understanding environment,” Alder said. “You can only grow from doing it.”

His show airs Wednesdays at 7 p.m. on Aggie Radio. To learn more about his show, follow his Instagram account @outoflineradio to see upcoming show topics and guests.