Breaking into the business

[oldschooler1]

I am meeting an S.U. Newhouse Master's graduate Wednesday morning for coffee, and to give advice on "breaking into" broadcasting nowadays. This would be radio or TV.

Way back in the stone age (the 1970s), there were so many opportunities for newbies -- overnight jocking, weekend news, part-time reporting, part-time producing, being just a writer...All of which were available to me. We all know the drill -- start small, in a small town, small station, make your mistakes there, do everything in the station, then just climb the ladder.

Does that formula still apply? With so many radio stations satellite-delivered, with no local news, and so many TV stations cutting back, what can this person do? I am not certain if they want to be on-air or behind the scenes.

What advice can I give this person nowadays (besides the flippant advice of "run away FAST!")? How do newbies get their start nowadays?

Thanks everyone!!

 

[Bob1370]

Obviously the most rational and compassionate advice for this broadcasting wannabe would be, "reconsider!" The job opportunities at entry level these days, unlike those in the past, are few, far between and more often than not insufficient to support both a decent standard of living and debt service on student loans, especially at a school like SU.

Corporate PR may be, to some extent, an exception to this--an opportunity for relatively decent pay and some measure of job security if this person is worried about such things. Another possibility is work within an advertising agency. Still another is to hook on with a website that puts out content for either a general or specialized audience and draws a large enough hit rate to generate decent revenue. And finally, if this person is aggressive and has a thick skin and high tolerance of rejection, perhaps broadcast sales is a possibility. There's huge turnover in sales but the best ones make a lot of $$$ even in today's economy and have an inside track toward the front office.

But if on-air radio/TV work is what this person MUST do, TV is a somewhat more promising venue than radio. TV news production on the local level, and program and news production (as well as PR and marketing) on a network level, are areas which will still need a certain number of new people to replace the retirees and burnouts.

There are things we don't know about this person, of course, that may make a difference. Does he or she have a really good, well-modulated, trained voice? Does he or she have good on-camera looks? Does he or she have a strong audition tape (a newscast aircheck, a break tape for a music show, and/or sample :30 and :60 spots with his or her face & voice) to present to an employer? Does this person have some part-time weekend or fill-in experience at one of the local stations? Pipes, looks and a good tape can get you a long way toward those relatively few openings that do exist...without those things, behind-the-scenes, sales, internet or PR/agency work is the best bet, maybe the only bet.

 

[aaronread]

Sales is one place where there's always openings. Especially at smaller stations and/or smaller markets. The reason why, of course, is that the quotas are hard as hell to meet without being a very good salesperson...which sometimes means being a less-than-ethical salesperson. You know what I mean...sell refrigerators to Eskimos, that sort of personality. If you're not good enough, you won't meet quota and you're fired within a few months. If you ARE good enough, you'll quit to make more money in a bigger market pretty fast.

Engineering is another place that tends to have a few more jobs and somewhat better stability...a very relative concept, but nonetheless it's better than talent or production. But of course, engineering tends to require a different breed of cat, and also tends to require a different path of schooling. Not always, but it tends to. I took the engineering path and it got me where I am today: GM of WEOS. But on the other hand, this is - oddly enough - my first FT gig in radio. I've worked a LOT of PT and consulting gigs for 10 years to get here.

In general, though, the advent of digital media has removed both the need and the opportunity for someone just starting out to "learn the ropes" in actual radio/TV jobs. If you want to succeed in radio/TV...start a podcast (remember to make sure it's done legally) and focus on building an audience that way. If you can succeed at that, it will go a long way to convincing a radio/TV manager to hire you. There also tend to be very few jobs out a smaller markets, more at medium and large markets...but the problem with that is that you're paying the higher COL while only getting entry-level pay. For an awful lot of these jobs, it's so "entry-level" that you can't realistically live off that money. Especially not, as Bob said, while paying off student loans at the same time.

Also FWIW, typically public radio tends to have better jobs than commercial radio. The pay usually is equally mediocre at both, but pubradio tends to be based at colleges, and colleges tend to have much better benefits packages and are less likely to lay you off. I can't speak too much for public TV vs. commercial TV, except to say that a frightening number of pubTV outlets are bleeding red ink and their parent colleges are jettisoning the licenses. (shrugs)

 

[TheBigA]

I would hope a Masters Degree graduate already had some work experience and an idea which part of the industry he/she wants to go into. At least in terms of general categories, such as sales, production, on-air, or marketing. If one simply got an advanced degree to postpone reality, and they have no experience, they're in for a rude reception, because they're now overqualified for most opening gigs.

Some big companies have management training internships, and that might be a way in. I know NBC had one at one time, and so did Time Warner. Education is valued in public broadcasting, so that's a good option. Going to a college-owned NPR or PBS station might give the grad the option of working and teaching.

Otherwise, with an advanced degree, the person should know enough to start their own company. Become the next Pandora or Spotify. All it takes is a good idea.

All in all, be prepared to wait at least three years to get a real job.

 

[Mike Sheridan]

If it's news you want NBC still operates the regional news hub in Charlotte. I don't know what they call it now but it started out as the NBC Newschannel. They used to do an overnight cast seen on many of the NBC affiliates. A friend's daughter interned there and got hired after she graduated. It might be an option.

 

[caveman-97]

What advice can I give this person nowadays?

Go over to 2900 Genesee Street in Cheektowaga and tell them your name is Mike Melody. See if they have an opening.

 

[Mike Sheridan]

What advice can I give this person nowadays?

Go over to 2900 Genesee Street in Cheektowaga and tell them your name is Mike Melody. See if they have an opening.

If you're a girl tell them your name is Melody Michaels!

 

[biggguy]

What advice can I give this person nowadays?

Go over to 2900 Genesee Street in Cheektowaga and tell them your name is Mike Melody. See if they have an opening.

If you're a girl tell them your name is Melody Michaels!

Male or female- remember, be big, be a builder!

 

[JimMcGrath]

What advice can I give this person nowadays?

Go over to 2900 Genesee Street in Cheektowaga and tell them your name is Mike Melody. See if they have an opening.

If you're a girl tell them your name is Melody Michaels!

Male or female- remember, be big, be a builder!

And learn to say the rosary twice a day

 

[Element9]

The WNIA bits are funny, but sad because there are no such opportunities available these days. Stations such as WNIA and others such as WKRT, WENY, WHHO, WUSJ, WJJL, WCJW, WBTA, WDOE, WBUZ and WENY afforded those seeking a career in radio the chance to get in on the ground floor and refine their skills doing sales, news, engineering or playing the hits (and in many cases, all of the aforementioned.) I'd advise your prospect to, well...

Truthfully? I really don't know. Perhaps, join the thousands who are podcasting but have nothing to say? Learn how to sell?

Seriously, good luck.

 

[aaronread]

I would hope a Masters Degree graduate already had some work experience and an idea which part of the industry he/she wants to go into. At least in terms of general categories, such as sales, production, on-air, or marketing. If one simply got an advanced degree to postpone reality, and they have no experience, they're in for a rude reception, because they're now overqualified for most opening gigs.

This is not an idle concern, either....having a masters degree or, god help you, a PhD can instantly DISqualify you from a lot of jobs because the employer will assume that you're too smart to easily snooker into working long hours for lousy pay. At the least, it will give employers pause because anyone with a masters almost certainly wants more money than some Average Joe who only has a GED.

I was lucky enough to attend BU and I managed to finagle my way into a work-study job at WBUR my junior year. When I was a senior (1997) I asked my co-workers about my idea to get a masters in radio at Emerson; some of them were Emerson grads themselves. ALL of them said that it wasn't necessary; I already had the "in" at a station, getting a masters wouldn't get me any real extra access to other jobs, nor would it increase my salary...worse of all, if I left for grad school, I'd lose my "in" at WBUR and have to claw my way back. Instead I stuck around and worked part-time there after I graduated and did consulting work to round things out. After a year I was offered a FT job but I turned it down; it was 1999 and I got a much better offer in the dot-com world. Oh well.

Obviously this comes a little late for your advisee, but it can provide a framework for how to move forward from here: don't say much, if anything, about having a masters degree. Not unless the job you're applying for requires one. Focus more on getting "in" to a radio station that has enough staff (at least 5-10) that conceivably they would need some volunteer help and could, maybe someday, have a job opening. This probably means working a "real job" elsewhere while volunteering in one's spare time....probably for a couple of years...and hope that when a job opening DOES occur that they'll remember the cheerful volunteer who's been there and is a known entity.