Confident and stylish type making first appearance on the radio (8)
I believe the answer is:
debonair
'confident and stylish' is the definition.
'type making first appearance on the radio' is the wordplay.
'type making first appearance' becomes 'deb' (short for debutante).
'the radio' becomes 'air' (I've seen this before).
'deb'+'on'+'air'='DEBONAIR'
(Other definitions for debonair that I've seen before include "Jaunty, charming" , "Elegant, jaunty" , "Cheerful, charming and elegant" , "Suave and genial" , "Sprightly" .)