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ALL OF YOU WHO IS ON THIS SITE (DO YOU ALL WORK IN RADIO)??

LAUROJRM said:
I do, I am a Producer/Board Operator. I've been working in this field for just over eight years. It's my life dream, and passion. Since I was about four years old, it's been my life dream to work in radio. I feel so happy to be working in a radio station, that I feel like(If I am dreaming, let me never awake. If I am awake, let me never sleep).

How about all of you?

Thank you all for your time. I always hope all of you (I hope) that your heart always smile. I hope your heart is always happy :)

Peace Be With You
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I work in international business now.

I did work in college radio....in the 90's. I was at WJPZ in Syracuse, AKA Z89. These were some great years, surrounded by other students who had a passion for radio just like me. What was great about Z89 is that in Central NY, in the early 90's, there was no rhythmic or upbeat CHR. So that audience gravitated to Z89. You could go to the mall and hear our station in the stores. The station was very formatted for a college station but it was filling a market void.

I also worked part time in the newsroom at WRKL, Rockland County NY, and as a PT board operator at WMCA and WWDJ, the Salem stations in New York/ New Jersey.

I never worked full-time in radio, the pay just isn't that great. But I have so much respect for those who did make it their livelihood. I have friends from college who lived out their dreams in the business, moving from market to market, making their way up the ladder.

Granted the business has changed quite a bit since 1989. I don't know if I would want to be in it today, I sense the glory days of creativity are over, and and cynicism has crept in along with the media conglomerates.
 
With all due respect Paul, not everyone in the radio business has done as well as you have. I would bet you are in the top teir in compensation, and rightfully so for what you do and what you deliver.

In the minor markets, and smaller stations in major markets I don't think the compensation levels are all that great. I saw a thread on this board a while ago the topic was what do different shifts pay. We all know morning and PM drive get the most money, because those are the people who bring home the bacon. Mid days, nights, and overnights, WITH SOME EXCEPTIONS (David Allen Boucher would be one) don't attract the numbers that other shifts deliver, and it's the number of people the sales weasels sell to the sponsors.

I was offered a board op gig full time at less money than I could make doing ONE OT shift at my day gig. I was flattered that they wanted to hire me, but it was a 50 grand pay cut, and loss of retirement, health care, etc.

On the compensation thread I saw, it said an evening personality would command about 60 grand.
60 grand in the Boston area is just above poverty level IMHO.

this bit is from the BLS, a government agency. It is NOT copyrighted and I am claiming fair use if it is
(Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2008-09 Edition, Announcers, on the Internet at http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos087.htm (visited May 03, 2008))

"Salaries in broadcasting vary widely, but generally are relatively low, except for announcers who work for large stations in major markets or for networks. Earnings are higher in television than in radio and higher in commercial broadcasting than in public broadcasting.

Median hourly earnings of wage and salary radio and television announcers in May 2006 were $11.69. The middle 50 percent earned between $8.10 and $18.62. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $6.55, and the highest 10 percent earned more than $32.98. Median hourly earnings of announcers in the radio and television broadcasting industry were $11.52."


People who have "paid their dues" are entitled to the salaries and perks, but in these days of voice tracking where someone in another market will read liners for next to nothing, the days of rock star compensation are long gone.
 
ZRXOA 5248 said:
With all due respect Paul, not everyone in the radio business has done as well as you have. I would bet you are in the top teir in compensation, and rightfully so for what you do and what you deliver.
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Thank you for the kind words. Very nice of you.

ZRXOA 5248 said:
On the compensation thread I saw, it said an evening personality would command about 60 grand.
60 grand in the Boston area is just above poverty level IMHO.

"Salaries in broadcasting vary widely, but generally are relatively low, except for announcers who work for large stations in major markets or for networks. Earnings are higher in television than in radio and higher in commercial broadcasting than in public broadcasting.

Median hourly earnings of wage and salary radio and television announcers in May 2006 were $11.69. The middle 50 percent earned between $8.10 and $18.62. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $6.55, and the highest 10 percent earned more than $32.98. Median hourly earnings of announcers in the radio and television broadcasting industry were $11.52."
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And the Avg. household median income in the U.S. is just about $49k. Obviously, there will be variances for cost of living in certain regions.

When you look at what's expected of radio announcers vs. the manual labor, and in comparison, the median wage is still twice minimum wage.

I know what you're saying. Salaries do suck overall in the beginning. There's a definate paying of dues. But, if you can hang in, and do your time, you're going to do not just fine, but better than fine.
 
min wage in MA is now 8 bucks an hour.

Didn't one radio part timer mention when this happened earlier this year it meant he got a raise

Not to make it personal, but one of our regular posters, who worked in the Boston Market at one time, and is now in a northern New England state and pretty much out of the business but trying to stay in, mentioned in a thread that he was offered a whopping 8 bucks an hour to do weekends at a station in Bangor.

Which brings me to another thought. Many people want to be in radio, there are fewer and fewer jobs to be had. There are certainly not enough jobs to go around, let alone ones that pay you enough that you are not DJ'ing C.Y.O. dances and weddings to get by. You'd have to be really committed, or need to be committed to an institution, to risk the best years of your life moving from market to market, station to station, in hopes of catching the big break, then spending the rest of your career worrying about books, PPM's, voice tracking, etc., etc., etc.. How some of these air talents manage to stay married and raise kids is beyond me.

I couldn't do it, which is why I ended up doing what I do instead of climbing towers for a living.
 
I wish I could come back to radio, the best years of my life....never felt like work!!!

9 years on air WESX
2 years on air WSSH
6 months subbing on air WRKO.

I've been on TV, both local and national, written books, etc.
I would love to come back to radio if only I could afford it.
It's almost an addiction rather than a career.
 
ZRXOA 5248 said:
If the FCC requires 24 hour staffing the trend might change IMHO, but I doubt it.
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The comments coming in from broadcasters on this proposal are overwhelmingly negative. Even if it's enacted, you'll probably see one staffer being responsible for every station in the building.

I just love how even the FCC has been hoodwinked by the rash of urban legends surrounding the chemical leak incident at Minot SD. You just simply can't make this stuff up.
 
Not radio, but local, and no urban legend... 1984 at WBZ-TV4:
a tanker truck did have an accident (on I-93, if I recall...),
the then-News Director comes flying into the newsroom. Let's have
an update, anchor on main set, reporter in newsroom, fire up the chopper, etc.
The then-union (IBEW) shop steward reminds him that there is
a skeleton staff scheduled, as it was a Sunday, and the management did
not want to fully staff the place. When he informed the ND that he could,
realistically, cover 2 of the 4 postions with the staff available, the ND was not
a very happy guy...

Staffing is always a trade-off...
 
weekend warrior at pixy 103 in the cape. even though its in the cape and i get paid poop, i LOVE it. Im doing what Ive wanted to do since i was 7 years old
 
I worked at WFTQ from 1979 to 1987, primarily on weekends as an announcer. I also worked briefly for WQVR/WESO in Southbridge. In high school and early college (1973-1975), I was a talk show producer for WAAB at night and on weekends. Radio was always complimentary to school and my full-time work in academia. I gave it up in 1987 to have weekends free!!! It was a good move to do that but part of me still misses it.
 
I'm backup engineer/afternoon producer at WVCH 740 Chester/Philadelphia during the week. Sunday mornings I'm producer at WNWR 1540 in Philly. Worked at the(then)WEZE 1260 Boston as engineer in '79, and was briefly the chief engineer of WCAS-740 in Cambridge in '84.
 
I'm currently "on the beach", but most recently was the Director of Marketing for the Cumulus cluster in Danbury, CT. I spent a miserable year as the promotion director for WRKO, 5 years in promotions at WTIC AM&FM in Hartford, and 3 years as the Assistant Promotion Director at KC 101 in New Haven. In addition to promotions and marketing, I've been on-air at I-95, Y105, and 98Q in Danbury, WTIC-FM, and Q105 in Groton, CT
 
ZRXOA 5248 said:
Action didn't you just get a raise?
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haha not that i know of, why do you say that?

I mean its my first year doing it "professionally" so I dont expect to be making howard stern money. I got nothing to complain about
 
I currently work part time at WZLX (3 years...wow I just realized I've been on air since I was a sophomore/junior in college) and was recently hired on to work at PIXY 103....Looking for my first fulltime gig although no bites

ActionJax said:
weekend warrior at pixy 103 in the cape. even though its in the cape and i get paid poop, i LOVE it. Im doing what Ive wanted to do since i was 7 years old
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I get minimum wage in Boston...so don't sweat it, and btw action...I'll probably see you around the studio soon.
 
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