Every once in a while, somebody comes along in radio who reminds me of the excitement that made so many of us fall in love with this business in the first place. I’m talking about that early-career hunger, when getting into a radio studio was practically a religious experience, learning the business was an adventure, and nobody had to remind you to be excited about going to work. Isabella “Izzy” Mitchell appears to have plenty of that enthusiasm, and she’s putting it to work in two New England markets. Binnie Media has added Mitchell to middays at CHR 105.5 WJYY in Concord, New Hampshire, while she continues serving as Program Director and afternoon personality at Vox AM/FM’s 95 Triple X WXXX in Burlington, Vermont. It’s an impressive collection of responsibilities for someone who graduated from Emerson College in 2025, and it offers an encouraging look at what can happen when broadcasting companies are willing to give emerging talent a genuine opportunity.
And I’ll tell you something else.
If you’re looking for evidence that young people still want careers in radio, you might want to spend a few minutes examining Mitchell’s résumé.
She hasn’t exactly been wasting time.
Mitchell arrived at 95 Triple X during the summer of 2025, initially taking over middays after completing her education at Emerson College in Boston. Before graduating, she had already developed meaningful broadcasting experience at the college’s highly regarded 88.9 WERS, where she served as a Program Coordinator and on-air host.
That’s an important part of this story.
WERS isn’t simply a student radio station where somebody gets to play records between classes. The station has built a reputation for professionally presented, adventurous programming, with an Adult Album Alternative foundation that emphasizes music discovery, emerging artists, and a broad collection of musical styles.
Students working in that environment have an opportunity to learn much more than how to turn on a microphone.
They learn programming.
They learn presentation.
They learn how music, imaging, promotions, and personality come together to create a recognizable station.
And perhaps most importantly, they learn that radio is a craft.
Mitchell also gained experience through a CNN podcast operations internship, giving her exposure to another side of the rapidly evolving audio business.
That’s a pretty useful combination for someone entering commercial broadcasting.
And apparently, the management team at Vox AM/FM recognized it.
In November 2025, just months after she arrived at WXXX, the company announced Mitchell’s promotion to Program Director and Brand Ambassador, with her afternoon shift beginning in January 2026.
Let that sink in for a moment.
She went from college radio to commercial radio, then into programming leadership, in a matter of months.
Meanwhile, there are people in this business who’ve spent fifteen years trying to get the Program Director to return their email.
I’m kidding.
Mostly.
But the speed of Mitchell’s advancement says something about the confidence Vox has placed in her abilities.
As Program Director at 95 Triple X, she’s responsible for far more than selecting songs or deciding which records belong in rotation.
Her role encompasses programming, station imaging and sound design, promotional strategy, record-label relationships, and audience engagement.
That’s a substantial assignment at any stage of a broadcasting career.
And it’s particularly significant at a station with the heritage of WXXX.
For approximately four decades, 95 Triple X has been one of the recognizable Contemporary Hit Radio brands serving Burlington, the Champlain Valley, and listeners across the border in northeastern New York.
The station has built its identity around current music, energetic presentation, recognizable personalities, and a connection to a region whose audience includes college students, young professionals, families, and longtime residents.
This isn’t a station where a new Program Director can simply arrive, throw out everything that came before, and hope listeners appreciate the excitement.
There’s a history to protect.
There’s an audience to understand.
And there’s a competitive environment that requires constant attention.
That’s why I found Mitchell’s promotion particularly interesting when it was announced.
Vox Operations Manager Ted Richards spoke enthusiastically about her leadership potential and the fresh perspective she could bring to the station.
And now, with the addition of WJYY, Mitchell is expanding her on-air presence without abandoning her programming responsibilities in Burlington.
That’s where the story takes another interesting turn.
105.5 WJYY serves New Hampshire’s capital region and surrounding communities, including Concord and portions of the Lakes Region. The station operates within a competitive New England listening environment where audiences have access to programming originating from Manchester, Boston, and other nearby markets.
The station carries Elvis Duran and the Morning Show before transitioning into locally branded daytime programming.
Mitchell’s new show, Workday Escape With Izzy, is scheduled weekdays from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m.
And judging from the way the station introduces her, Binnie Media isn’t trying to create another anonymous voice who occasionally announces the title of a song.
Izzy describes herself as someone who loves conversation, storytelling, and a little everyday drama. She’s also apparently a serious coffee enthusiast and a fan of Noah Kahan.
Now, anybody who understands contemporary music in New England knows that mentioning Noah Kahan isn’t exactly a bad way to establish a regional connection.
The Vermont-born artist has become one of the most recognizable musical exports from the region, and his music has developed a particularly strong following throughout New England.
That doesn’t mean an entire afternoon radio show needs to revolve around him.
But it does suggest Mitchell brings a personality and cultural perspective that fit the broader region she’s serving.
And I think that’s important.
I’ve spent more than thirty years programming radio stations, and one of the things I’ve always believed is that audiences connect with people before they connect with programming strategies.
You can build the most beautifully researched music rotation imaginable.
You can schedule records with extraordinary precision.
You can have the best imaging package money can buy.
But if the person between the songs has absolutely nothing interesting to say, you’re missing one of radio’s greatest advantages.
Personality.
Real personality.
Not somebody reading generic entertainment headlines and pretending they happened five minutes ago.
Not somebody delivering a carefully scripted joke with all the enthusiasm of a parking meter.
I’m talking about a broadcaster who sounds like a person listeners might actually enjoy spending time with.
That’s what Mitchell has an opportunity to bring to WJYY.
And I also appreciate the fact that she’s continuing to serve as Program Director in Burlington.
Now, managing that combination will require discipline.
Programming a radio station is not a casual responsibility.
There are music decisions, promotions, station presentation, competitive considerations, personnel matters, and countless other issues that can interrupt even the most carefully organized day.
Add a second daily airshift for another company, and time management becomes essential.
I’d imagine her calendar is beginning to look like somebody spilled alphabet soup across a computer screen.
But there’s a potential advantage, too.
Working on the air in New Hampshire while programming in Vermont gives Mitchell exposure to two different radio operations, two sets of audience expectations, and two competitive environments.
And while the markets share some regional culture, they are certainly not identical.
Burlington has its own musical identity, influenced by Vermont’s independent culture, college community, and connections to the broader Champlain Valley.
Concord and the surrounding New Hampshire communities have their own listening patterns and local traditions.
A personality working across both markets needs to understand those distinctions.
The trick is making each station sound as though its audience matters individually, rather than creating a generic program that happens to be heard in two different places.
That’s one of the challenges facing modern radio as more broadcasters take on responsibilities across multiple markets.
Technology has made it easier than ever to record, distribute, and manage programming remotely.
But technology doesn’t automatically create a connection with listeners.
That still requires imagination, preparation, and a willingness to learn about the people on the receiving end.
Mitchell appears to understand the importance of that relationship.
And there’s a broader industry lesson in her rapid advancement.
We spend an enormous amount of time discussing radio’s future, frequently concentrating on artificial intelligence, consolidation, automation, and whether younger audiences are abandoning traditional broadcasting.
Those are legitimate conversations.
But perhaps we should spend a little more time discussing the next generation of people who actually want to work in this business.
Because they exist.
They’re coming out of programs like Emerson’s.
They’re learning audio production, programming, digital media, and podcasting.
And some of them are arriving with ideas, energy, and technological skills that could be extremely valuable to an industry searching for new approaches.
The question is whether we’re willing to give them opportunities.
Vox did.
Binnie Media has now offered another.
And Mitchell is building a career that demonstrates how quickly things can move when talent meets opportunity.
I also hope the industry remembers something important about that success.
Young broadcasters need more than an impressive title and an enormous collection of responsibilities.
They need guidance.
They need support.
They need experienced people willing to help them develop.
And they need enough room to make mistakes, learn from them, and become better at their craft.
I’ve always believed some of the best broadcasters develop when experienced programmers invest time in people who haven’t yet had the opportunity to prove everything they’re capable of accomplishing.
That’s how this business grows.
And it’s how we make sure there are talented people ready to lead the stations of tomorrow.
For now, Mitchell has plenty to keep her busy.
She’s programming 95 Triple X in Burlington.
She’s entertaining afternoon listeners in Vermont.
And she’s now providing the midday soundtrack for listeners tuning into 105.5 WJYY in New Hampshire.
That’s quite a schedule.
But it’s also quite an opportunity.
Congratulations to Izzy Mitchell on the expanded assignment and to Binnie Media for recognizing the potential of a personality who is already establishing herself as part of radio’s next generation.
I’ll be interested in watching where her career goes from here.
Because if she’s accomplished this much in such a short period, I suspect we’re going to be hearing her name quite a bit in the years ahead.
And Izzy, one small piece of advice from somebody who’s been doing this for a few decades.
Enjoy every minute of it.
Keep learning.
Keep asking questions.
Keep developing your own sound.
And whatever you do, don’t let anybody convince you that this business has run out of opportunities for people who genuinely love it.
Radio needs people who still get excited when the microphone light comes on. Izzy Mitchell is reminding us what that enthusiasm looks like.
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