Bryant Denton

Background

About Bryant Denton

They told me I had a face for radio. and to quote one of the fiercest competitors of all time, Michael Jordan, I took that personally. A harmless joke. One I've heard countless times in undergrad, in conversations explaining my hopes of a career in commercial television, and well into my employment in public radio, starting as an on-air host. I began telling that joke about myself when meeting new people, a self-deprecating joke to explain why I've stuck with a potentially outdated system, despite the emergence of digital platforms, podcasts, and social media. But the real reason why I've committed myself to mission-driven work is that I believe in it. For me, humor has been one of my defense mechanisms to interact with the world. It allows me to talk about my passions in a painfully self-aware way. It forces me to choose my words carefully to convey my ideas precisely. To be aware of perspectives outside of my own and take an honest account of my truth. Laughing at the absurdities of our existence is merely another way to process the chaos we experience in this life. Job listings will often list 'sense of humor' as a trait they are looking for in new hires, and I hope it's for the right reasons. I hope it's for the perceptive nature that comes with someone who is inclined to humor, for their ability to extrapolate data to create larger connections, to envision and articulate narratives that appeal to all audiences, and to bring a bit of levity when the time is right. As journalism faces off against disinformation, news fatigue, job insecurity, and burnout from staff, among other discouraging forces, humor is an important tool to stay the course. Companies will attempt to replace the work we do with automated systems and AI language models, but humanity, humility, and humor that come from people with lived experience can never be authentically matched.