Life of Radio Jobs

When people think of those who work in the radio industry, likely what first comes to mind are the djs who go live. The live djs are a major part of any radio station, but they are far from the only form of occupation in the field of radio. Radio is a field that offers  many different positions such as managers, producers, filing, and more. There are many different kinds of jobs that can be found in the field of radio, and they are all important for making the station a success.

Not everything you here on a radio station is done by the dj that is live. The songs that play on the station are often planned out ahead of time for the whole day, unless the dj is doing song requests live. Things like the ads that play on the radio are made by the production staff using programs like Adobe Audition, unless they were ads made by the companies that paid the radio station to air them. Many radio stations often broadcast news reports, some of these are made ahead of time and are placed in the daily timeline along with the music, while other stories that were done live were done by the stations reporters.

A successful radio station requires more than just a person with on air talent, it also requires proper management, resources, and hard work from the rest of the station's employees. There is a lot to do in the radio industry, and people should be aware of all it has to offer.

Life of Radio Planning

My project is still in the early stages, but after a discussion with my director, I have a much greater idea of where it is going to go. The original plan of having the documentary going up to an hour has been scrapped to aim for more of a thirty minute marker to meet more appropriate expectations given the amount of time available for this project. The interviews are going to be a major part of the project, while the amount of history covered in the documentary will likely be focused on less than the interviews and narration of working in a station.

There is a lot of things that can be done in the field of radio, but there are factors such as the FCC that do keep certain things in check. Stations may be commercial, or non-commercial, there are certain things you can't say live on radio, and there are a variety of different jobs in this field of work; more than just going live and music, and these are some factors I plan to cover in the documentary.

My research is far from over, and there are many more things that I know I need to cover for the final project, but I know that I have somewhere to go with this project. I feel like this could be something that provides education, thought, and even a more personal aspect to a field that is mostly reliant on sound.

Co-op with 89.7 WSHC Part 1

There is certainly a differently feeling working with this radio station then the last one, since this one is much smaller and has one channel instead of three. Based on what I have been told, much of the work that the co-op will involve is encouraging students to participate and work in the radio station during their spare time, as well as making the content of the station more appropriate for college students. I am happy to have another opportunity to gain experience in the field of radio, as well as being able to make a difference for this station.

As of now we are more along the lines of the planning phase for this co-op. The goal right now is to come up with ideas for the station to help get the attention of the students at Shepherd University. The two current best tactics for the station as of right now are to put flyers across campus as well as using social media sites like Twitter to help promote the radio station. Once these ideas are fully put into motion, I feel that the station will at least be at it's first step at achieving it's goals and getting the attention of the university's students that it needs.

There is plenty to do over the course of the next few months and if all goes well, this may be a big step for me to finally get into the field full time after graduating college. I want the radio station to be successful, and I will do all I can to help it.

Life of Radio Introduction

When I first entered the communications department, I was not entirely sure what I was going to end up doing. A lot of what I wanted to focus on was film oriented, however, after a few semesters of doing things such as the radio practicum course and an internship at a radio station, I found a field that I was capable of doing well in. When I saw on the syllabus that a documentary was an option for a final project, I figured I could make it a radio documentary talking about what it is like to work in the field of radio, with some history to go with it.

A lot of work will need to be done on Adobe Audition for the project to be completed, but it is nothing that is incapable of being done. The documentary will not only feature narration but also segments of discuss with people who are working in radio, and I can come in contact with these people through the Shepherd radio station, as well as the one I did the internship for in Martinsburg. The length I am looking to aim for is between half-an hour to an hour; which is the usual length span for a single documentary.

I really want to be able to start a career in radio after I have finished with my final semester, and I feel something like this may be a ticket to being noticed in the field.