Becoming a Radio/TV Host?

Question

I am a Sophomore in High School and am interested in becoming a Radio or TV Host.

I think (quite humbly, of course ; ) ) that I have the personality and intelligence that it takes to succeed in this sort of thing. I also have been told that I have a good voice for radio. Deep tones, and such.

What are the chances that I could actually become someone that gets nationally syndicated?

And if I have any chance whatsoever, where should I go and how should I go about getting the training that would help me achieve my goal?

I just really am afraid to enter this field. I don't want to end up the 70 year old geezer that is calling Middle School football games.

Answer 1

As someone with 10 years of broadcasting experience including hosting morning drive and doing regular television appearances, I can tell you that vocal quality isn't as high on the list of criteria as it was 20 or 30 years ago when everyone needed to sound cool.

To succeed today you need the same smarts and creativity that a person would also need to write for Hollywood. You need the “gift of gab” which goes beyond just talking – it’s summarize in one or two sentences what the average person would babble about for 5 or 10 minutes while making it more interesting.

You want a good sense of humor, quick wit, an interest in news and the world (which make you topical) and it doesn’t hurt if you’re fairly good looking.

It’s pretty difficult to get syndicated and honestly, it’s very hard to make a good living doing it. When I got out of the business, I was making a very comfortable living but I was a minority and it’s even worse now because of the state of the industry.

There’s a lot of syndicated programming that is cheaper to air and of a higher quality than hiring a live inexperienced air talent. Because of that, many of the smaller stations where people got their starts no longer hire people due to cost.

If you’re seriously considering a career in the industry, you have to have the drive to stay in it. “Paying your dues” usually translates into years of making really crappy pay, working ungodly hours and often being treated like pond scum. If you have the talent and the will to get through that (and networking/contacts help speed it up), there’s a good change to make a decent living.

I can tell you first hand that it’s unlike any other profession out there. Not only can you be treated like a celebrity (which to some people you will be) but you go to work everyday and get paid to have fun and be interesting. How can you top that, right? There’s definitely a dark side to it as well but I think that applies to most professions that involve entertainment.

So how do you do it?

Well… you don’t have to go to college! That’s the common reply from people who really don’t know what they’re talking about. If you have a tiny little radio station in town (they play Polka or something silly), go talk to the Program Director and see if you can help out somehow and learn about the business. I did this at 16 and was on-air by 17. You might also have a local public/community station you can contact.

I did go to a media-oriented college specializing in broadcasting and music recording shortly after high school. A 4-year college degree in communications was never impressive to me because it was meaningless without experience and college can never give someone talent. You either have it or you don’t plus it’s the hands-on know-how that will help you in that industry.

One final point: have a backup plan! I’m not discouraging you. It’s great to have a dream/goal and shoot for it but be prepared to do something else if you have to. Getting fired in broadcasting is not uncommon and depending on the success you’ve achieved, you might find it hard to go on or simply not worth it.

Good luck!

Answer 2

go to college