I built ancast.tv to challenge the industry’s obsession with credentials. After listening back to my recent bonus episode, I’m more convinced than ever: the broadcast world needs fewer gatekeepers and more pathways.

By Ben Anchor — Tuesday, 18 March 2025 · Listen to the podcast episode

I’ve been thinking a lot about gatekeeping lately. Not the Twitter kind — the structural, systemic kind that shapes who gets through the door in broadcasting and who doesn’t.

I recorded a bonus episode recently about the work I’ve been doing with ancast.tv, my pay-it-forwards platform for aspiring broadcasters aged 17–25. Listening back to it, one thing leapt out at me: the persistent, pernicious myth that you need a degree to succeed in this industry. It’s a lie I’ve been trying to dismantle for years, and it’s time we called it what it is.

The Uncomfortable Truth About Formal Qualifications

Let’s be blunt. The broadcast industry loves credentials because they’re an easy filtering mechanism. University degrees offer a tidy proxy for competence, a shorthand that saves hiring managers time. But proxies aren’t reality, and this particular proxy is excluding huge swathes of talent — talent that’s often more resourceful, more adaptive, and more hungry than their degreed peers.

I’m living proof of this. I broke into broadcasting without the ‘right’ qualifications, and I’ve spent the last however-many years working across the industry, from traditional workflows to AI transformation. The skills that got me through the door weren’t taught in a lecture hall. They were honed through hustle, curiosity, and a willingness to create my own opportunities when the formal routes were closed off.

That’s why ancast.tv exists. It’s not an act of charity; it’s an act of correction. The platform offers two podcast series: one focused on what makes successful broadcast candidates stand out, and another — the one I’m most proud of — about breaking into the industry without formal qualifications. The latter features interviews with industry veterans, recruiters, and recent entrants who carved their own paths. No university debt. No three-year waiting period. Just grit, strategy, and proof that the gatekeepers are wrong.

Resourcefulness as the Real Currency

Here’s what the episode reminded me of: the traits that actually matter in broadcasting aren’t taught in a curriculum. Resourcefulness. Adaptability. The ability to hustle. These aren’t academic virtues; they’re survival skills in a fast-paced, constantly evolving industry.

One of the guests I’ve featured — a successful radio producer who started as an intern — didn’t have a media degree. She worked her way up through sheer determination, learning on the job, making herself indispensable. Another guest, a freelance journalist, built their entire career on networking and personal projects. They didn’t wait for permission or validation from an institution. They created their own content, built their own portfolio, and demonstrated their value in ways that no degree certificate ever could.

What strikes me about these stories is how often they follow the same pattern: rejection from traditional routes, followed by a pivot to self-created opportunities. That’s not a bug in the system — it’s a feature. The industry’s obsession with formal qualifications is forcing talented people to prove themselves through alternative means, and in doing so, they’re developing skills that their degreed counterparts often lack.

The ancast.tv platform tries to accelerate this process. The podcast series offer real-world advice from people who’ve done it. The e-book and audiobook, The Broadcast Media Inside Track, provide foundational knowledge about roles, outlets, and the media landscape. The free downloadable resources — a broadcast-specific CV template and a LinkedIn makeover guide — give practical tools for standing out. And the upcoming online course, Mastering Broadcast Media, will offer a more interactive learning experience, building a community of aspiring broadcasters who support each other.

The Industry Needs to Catch Up

But here’s the uncomfortable bit: none of this should be necessary. If the broadcast industry valued what it claims to value — creativity, storytelling, technical skill, passion — then the barriers to entry would look very different. We wouldn’t be filtering candidates by whether they could afford three years of tuition. We’d be looking at portfolios, personal projects, and demonstrated ability.

Some might argue that degrees signal commitment or provide a baseline of knowledge. Fair enough. But commitment can be demonstrated in countless other ways, and baseline knowledge can be acquired through internships, volunteer work, online courses, or self-directed learning. The industry needs to expand its definition of ‘qualified’ — not lower standards, but recognise that there are multiple routes to excellence.

I’m not saying degrees are worthless. For some people, they’re the right path. But they shouldn’t be the only path, and they certainly shouldn’t be treated as the default credential that determines who gets a shot and who doesn’t.

The work I’m doing with ancast.tv is, in part, an attempt to rebalance the scales. To give young people — especially those who can’t or don’t want to pursue formal education — the knowledge, tools, and inspiration to succeed anyway. To show them that the gatekeepers are wrong, that resourcefulness beats credentials every time, and that the broadcast industry needs them more than it realises.

Listening back to that bonus episode, I was reminded why I started this in the first place. Not because I’m some altruistic do-gooder (though I’d like to think I’m paying it forward), but because the industry’s obsession with formal qualifications is bad for business, bad for diversity, and bad for the future of broadcasting. We need more pathways, not fewer. We need to celebrate hustle, not just pedigree.

So if you’re 17–25, you’re dreaming of a career in broadcasting, and you don’t have the ‘right’ qualifications, listen to this: you don’t need permission. You need strategy, resourcefulness, and the willingness to create your own opportunities. That’s what ancast.tv is here for. That’s what I’ve spent my career proving. And that’s the future of this industry, whether the gatekeepers like it or not.