What's it like to work in Radio?

Question

Like, who are the people you work with? Who are the producers, the directors, and what do they do? How long do radio shows last? Are there any stations that rarely play any music and only do shows? And how many people have power over you if you're only an announcer that does some sort of show with a partner? Is it hard to get into the business? What other kind of jobs are there? How much does it pay?

I'm doing research for a story - my pro is a radio announcer, doing a show with her boyfriend. They got into the business using connections, so... =)

Answer 1

It is probably the funnest, most challenging thing I have done and I love every minute of it. I do it part-time. The people I work work with are really positive and it seems that way even with our competitor stations. I have a very supportive programme director and he took a big chance with me. But even though I can be very nervous some days (too much caffeine,, i think), it is way less stressful than my full time job. As an on-air personality, you answer to the program department and have to be ever mindful of the advertisers that pay the bills. Also, you are completely accountable to the community you are broadcasting to. Keep the listeners happy and the advertisers are happy too. Bad ratings mean you can't charge more for advertising. You have to give value to the listener and your advertiser, and your fellow broadcasters that go on before and after you.

The pay, well....I do it cause I love it. I get paid but I won't be buying that Hummer any day soon. But if they offered me what i get at my full time job, I would have be really tempted to do it full-time. I love it.

Answer 2

Radio is a career unlike any other..maybe that's part of its appeal. I knew at age 12 that radio is what I wanted to do, which seemed kind of funny since I was mostly quiet and shy as a kid.

At my last full-time radio job, I was the operations manager. This is the person who is responsible for the day-to-day operation of the station. Being a small station, I also did pretty much everything else, including taking out the trash.

I was on the air (solo) from 6:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. I made up

the air schedule for the other on-air folks, did ad sales via phone, made bank deposits..

The producer is the person who basically handles the overall on-air product. This person can be the board operator, but that's not always the case.  

There are stations that only do shows, yes. They are usually the talk or news/talk stations. There are some stations that do shows during the week and music on the weekends.

The announcer is the low man on the totem pole, as the program director is usually the person you report to. The PD reports to the operations manager, who reports to the station manager..it's like a chain of command.

It's harder to break into the buisness now because, for starters, stations use computers during times they used to use "newbies," such as overnights. My first job was midnight-to-6 a.m. Today that position rarely even exists.

Honestly..the pay is NOT great, unless you're a major personality.

Radio is like a roller-coaster ride. You never quite know what is coming next. But if the radio bug bites, nothing else will do. I left radio for a time a few years back but jumped back in when an offer came along.

I've worked in radio for 24 years. At the moment, I am working on an internet radio station project and am - at last - my own boss, but still in radio. I'm just not happy doing other work!