Broadcasting is an integral part of everyone's life. The average American spends over 3 hours a day listening to radio and over 4 hours a day watching television. For most people, that's over 7 hours a day that broadcasting is a part of our lives!
Radio and television is everywhere - at home, at work, in your vehicle, on a camping trip - everywhere. Broadcasting keeps you in touch with the world around you wherever you are.
Radio and television bring you important information. News broadcasts let you know what's happening in your town, around the country, and throughout the world. Often, broadcasting can bring you the sounds and images of news live as its happening. Nothing else offers the immediacy of broadcasting.
You probably rely upon broadcasting for weather information to help you decide what clothes to wear or how the weather will affect travel and outdoor activities. Radio and television keep you advised of approaching storms and the potential for severe weather.
If you're a sports fan, then you likely rely on radio and television for the latest scores and sports news. Broadcasting brings you live play-by-play coverage of your favorite teams when you can't attend the events in person or your favorite team is out of town on a road trip.
Broadcasting can even be educational. You can learn how to cook exotic dishes or remodel your home by watching television. A radio talk show can bring you experts offering tips of how to invest your money or how to lower your cholesterol.
Radio and television are overwhelmingly our greatest sources of entertainment. Radio brings you music, comedy, interesting personalities, and chances to win prizes. Television offers you a wide selection of sitcoms, dramas, movies, and so much more.
Even the commercials on radio and television influence you. They provide useful information on products and services we're thinking about buying. Radio and television commercials have a stronger influence on our buying habits than most of us acknowledge. In fact, most of the purchases we make are to an extent influenced by the many commercials we're exposed to on radio and tv.
It would be difficult to imagine a world without broadcasting. People around the world have never been in closer touch with each other than they are today. Broadcasting brings the world directly into our homes. Broadcasting is literally essential to the continued progress of mankind.
Job Opportunities In Broadcasting
There are over 13 thousand radio stations and over 3800 television stations in this country (and that's just terrestrial broadcast stations) and those numbers are still growing. Stations compete aggressively to hire talented broadcasters, and many of them offer entry level positions for those trained in performance, production, and marketing skills. There is never a lack of opportunities in broadcasting and its allied fields for those who are qualified for those opportunities.
Radio Station Positions
Broadcasting jobs are fun and rewarding, but they are also challenging and involve a great deal of work. Most people are not aware of the wide range of jobs at a radio station beyond the obvious positions of air personality and newscaster. At a typical radio station, however, an enormous amount of preparation and behind-the-scenes work and effort backs up every minute of what you actually hear on the air.
A radio station is a business. Its objective is to earn profits for the owners of the station, while serving the interests and needs of the public. Commercials are the station's source of revenue. The value of the station's air time for commercials is usually determined by how many listeners the station has and the type of people who listen.
It would be difficult, if not impossible, for a station to offer programming that will attract listeners of all ages and lifestyles, so stations target their programming to specific segments, or demographics, of the potential listening audience. The style of programming selected to accomplish this is usually referred to as the station's "format". A format is often described by the type of music the station presents. For example, a format might be contemporary hit radio (CHR), which targets listeners between the ages of 18 and 34, or adult contemporary which targets a slightly older audience between the ages of 25 and 54. Some radio formats primarily target men or women.
Targeting specific demographic and lifestyle groups with radio programming has real benefits for advertisers. An advertiser selling tickets to a rock concert will want to advertise on a station with a rock format, whose listeners are most likely those who will be interested in the concert. A business selling vacation homes will want to advertise on a station targeting an older audience with the available income to purchase a second home.
Air Personality - The position of air personality is the job most familiar to radio listeners. An air personality (disc jockey, air talent, or host) presents the station's programming elements which define the station's format. With a music format, the air personality provides entertainment and information with the music.
Air personalities are also found at stations without a music-based format. Talk show hosts are often extremely popular personalities with the work they do with call-in shows or interview segments.
There's much more to being an air personality than what may appear on the surface. The most successful personalities spend years developing their styles so they can attract and maintain their audience. They spend plenty of time before each show preparing material to be used in the show. The most highly paid personalities tend to work morning shifts because in most cities, or markets, listening levels are highest in the morning hours of 6-10am. Consequently, for most stations, the majority of station revenue is generated from the commercials aired during the morning shift.
In addition to their on-air shifts, most air personalities have production duties where they will spend time working in a production studio. Production skills call for the ability to create prerecorded commercials, promotional announcements, or full length programs by editing and mixing music, sound effects, and voice tracks into appealing and persuasive sound images. Air personalities who are proficient with production skills are certainly in greater demand and can command higher salaries.
Program Director - The position of Program Director is one of the most important positions at a radio station. The Program Director holds a management position and is responsible for everything that goes out over the air. The Program Director hires and oversees the air and production talent and sometimes the news department.
The Program Director's primary job is two-fold: First, attract listeners to the station and second, provide programming that will encourage these listeners to listen for long periods of time. The Program Director researches the market to determine what format adjustments are necessary to attract new listeners, then develops and executes the specifics of the format, including every detail of its presentation on the air. The Program Director directs and critiques the air personalities, controls the music rotation, assists in the development of promotional efforts and production policies, and maintains quality control of the station's sound and image at all times.
Typically, Program Directors begin their careers as air personalities and, over time, acquire the programming knowledge and managerial skills necessary to become a "PD".
Music Director - Since most people select their favorite radio station based on what type of music the station plays, the Music Director has an enormously important job. The Music Director works with the Program Director to select the music that will most likely appeal to the station's targeted group of listeners and therefore get airplay. The Music Director categorizes the music into various groupings in order to control the frequency and time of day each song is played.
Often, the Music Director's decisions are based on factors such as music sales, requests, music testing, and national and regional popularity of specific songs. The Music Director is frequently an air personality as well. In smaller markets, the Program Director's responsibilities may also include the music duties.
Production Director - Working directly under the Program Director, the Production Director is responsible for the production of all commercials, promotional announcements, and programs meeting the station's standards of quality and legality.
The Production Director assigns production projects to the air talent and is responsible for making sure all projects are completed and ready to go on the air before their air deadlines. Since most of the production work consists of commercials, the Production Director works closely with the sales staff. The Production Director needs to understand each clients advertising objectives so that commercials can be written and produced that get results for the advertisers.
Copywriter - A radio station copywriter writes commercial scripts that are used for live or produced commercials. When writing commercials, a copywriter must develop creative concepts and write copy that grabs the listener's attention and gets results for advertisers. In smaller markets, the Production Director, air talent, and even sales people handle many of the copywriting duties.
Research Director - You'll often find Research Directors in larger markets. They conduct research in a variety of ways to determine the appeal of songs already on the station's playlist and test new music before it airs.
Research is conducted to asses listening patterns for the station and its competition and determine audience perception of the station's image. Research can also test the effectiveness of promotions and collect information on how the station can attract more listeners.
Promotions Director - Most stations develop promotions to attract new listeners, encourage current listeners to listen for longer periods of time, and generate additional revenue from advertisers. The Promotions Director is responsible for developing and executing promotional ideas and contests. This includes scheduling promotions, coordinating personal appearances by the air personalities, gathering and distributing prizes, and carrying out the details of each promotional event. In smaller markets, these duties are handled by the Program Director and air personalities along with the sales staff.
Newscaster/Sportscaster - In addition to reading newscasts, employees of the news department are responsible for gathering, writing, and producing stories which will be of interest to listeners. The news department also develops news contacts and sources, which include government authorities, business and civic leaders, and experts in a variety of fields.
Sportscasters work closely with the news department to cover news stories with sports content. They, of course, research, write and deliver sports stories and information. Often, sportscasters also announce live play-by-play coverage of area sports events or provide color commentary.
News Director - The News Director holds a managerial position and is responsible for the productivity of the news department and the content of the news. The News Director makes sure that the types of stories included in the newscasts are compatible with the station's format and offer a balance of hard news and lighter lifestyle stories. Most News Directors will also help gather and deliver newscasts. Experienced newscasters with an aptitude for management often become News Directors.
Account Executive - Account Executives sell the station's available commercial time. Selling radio is a unique kind of sales, different in many ways from selling tangible products such as stereo equipment of automobiles. A radio station account executive offers clients an important service, designed to increase profits of businesses that advertise on the station.
A account executive helps clients understand the benefits of radio advertising over other media and how to use radio effectively. As a representative of the station, the account executive points out the advantages of his or her station over others in the market.
An account executive must be familiar with current ratings data and be able to describe the station's audience thoroughly and convincingly. With a combination of quantitative and qualitative information, the account executive targets his or her efforts at businesses offering products and services that will appeal to the station's listeners. An account executive must also provide creative marketing strategies and ideas for sales promotions.
The income potential for a properly trained account executive is practically unlimited. Although it is not a prerequisite for success, many successful account executives have a background in on-air work and production.
Sales Manager - The Sales Manager holds an important managerial position at the station. The Sales Manager oversees the efforts of the station's account executives and provides training, advice, and strategies to help them bring in more business to the station. The Sales Manager works closely with advertising agencies representing local and regional businesses and with rep firms handling national advertising accounts. Highly experienced account executives with management and leadership skills become sales managers.
General Manager - The General Manager is responsible for every aspect of a station's operation and provides a unified direction for the station's progress and growth. The "GM" oversees the programming department and sales staff, as well as the engineering and administrative employees. In some small and medium markets, the GM might also be the owner of the station.
The General Manager's primary concern is maintaining or developing strong audience ratings and increasing the station's revenue through the efforts of the sales staff. Traditionally, General Managers have worked their way up through the sales ranks, but today, more and more GM's have a strong background in programming as well as sales.
Other Positions - A typical radio station's office staff includes an Office or Business Manager, who is responsible for the internal operation of the station, and a bookkeeper, who manages the financial records and handles billing of advertisers.
A Traffic Manager prepares program logs which direct the talent when to play commercials and promotional announcements. The Traffic Manager also keeps the sales staff informed as to how much commercial time is available to be sold, since stations generally set limits on how many commercials they'll air each hour.
Technical engineers maintain the equipment and make sure the station is operating within the legal limits authorized by the Federal Communications Commission. In some larger markets, operational engineers or producers are employed to actually turn on the air talent's microphone and play the music and commercials so the talent can concentrate on providing information and entertainment without the distraction of operating the equipment.
