Help a brotha break in

[WannabeOnAir]

Sup?

I am workin my tail off y'all trying to make it in this city. Can't seem to get a shot at a shift NE-where! I am willing to buss my A#% an work ANY shift, in ANY format to get experience on the air. Goin to school in the day, tryin to find work at night. Been a club dj, and other stuff. NE1 got advice?

 

[rockcaptain]

Sup?

I am workin my tail off y'all trying to make it in this city. Can't seem to get a shot at a shift NE-where! I am willing to buss my A#% an work ANY shift, in ANY format to get experience on the air. Goin to school in the day, tryin to find work at night. Been a club dj, and other stuff. NE1 got advice?

Advice? Give up. As you are trying to "break in" many vets are losing their jobs. The market is flooded with way more experienced jocks. No one (in their right mind) is going to put you on the air with no experience in a major market. Not trying to be mean...just telling it like it is. Maybe try to get an internship at a station....maybe try to get on a street team. At least that way you get a foot in the door.

 

[ChrisNH]

I think if you contact The Connecticut School of Broadcasting (or any quote-unquote accredited school of broadcasting journalism) they'll tell you that opportunities abound and that the future has never looked brighter.

It's amazing what some will say if a tuition check is the prize.

 

[ZRXOA 5248]

My advice.... stay in school, get a degree in a field you can make a living at.

Radio... it may seem glamorous, but it will eat you up, and spit you out.

There are many radio vets who have been shown the door in the last 2 years. One guy who posts here posted not too long ago that after being laid off from his last full time gig, he was offered 8 bucks an hour to do weekends.

Everyone in Boston and the surrounding markets, big or small is shaking in their headphones right now... seriously. There have been major cutbacks at every cluster. WBOS canned everyone, CBS, Entercom.. some cuts... Cheap Chan. in preparation of the sale to Lee/Bain has been chopping with a chain saw.

Voice tracking, the Jack/Mike/Frank/ jockless format, are killing the business.
There is a trend to go jockless. Some people say that the PPM has proven as soon as the jock opens the mike people switch stations, get rid of the jock, people listen, the PPM numbers are god, the big radio companies make enough money to pay the notes on stations that are worth half of what they paid for them 5 years ago.

Getting in to radio now is as wise as getting your real estate sales license. Not a good time to get in the business.

If you are in school, and they have a station there, hang out their, hone your skills, get any side gigs you can, but above all get an education.

The glory days of radio are over, the suits ruined it, consultants started the slide, consolidation pushed it along, the money people plunged a knife in it.

Even the engineers are getting the ax. Hard to keep a station up and running without the technical staff.

rant over, good luck

 

[TravisWMLN]

there are so many bitter angry people on this board.....

 

[redbaron]

there are so many bitter angry people on this board.....

What? You're not one yet?!? As for "Trying to Break In Guy," join the street team or intern (have to be a student) to try to work your way in. After that, if you do get to crack the mic, take whatever they throw your way -- overnights, Christmas Day, New Year's Eve, the sh*t shifts. And whatever you do, don't complain. Many of the so-called "angry" radio people got their gigs for doing all that and then some. Working those sh*t shifts, sometimes for a year or two. If you're lucky enough to get a PD's ear for a moment, listen to what they have to say and follow through on-air. Get the basics down really, really well.
I was told by a wise (now ex-) radio guy, if you're at a place for a year and you don't move up, move on.

 

[redbaron]

Sup?

I am workin my tail off y'all trying to make it in this city. Can't seem to get a shot at a shift NE-where! I am willing to buss my A#% an work ANY shift, in ANY format to get experience on the air. Goin to school in the day, tryin to find work at night. Been a club dj, and other stuff. NE1 got advice?

Use the word anyone. That's my advice.

 

[pqgeorge]

there are so many bitter angry people on this board.....

And rightly so. Many corporate owners use people and ditch them like yesterday's trash. I lost my full time job as a combination Engineer/On Air Person/Chief Bottlewasher at an AM/FM Combo in the Greater Boston area some 17 years ago. I suffered a near fatal stroke and an subsequent aortic aneurysm on top of it. After 13 weeks of recovery/disability (after major surgery), I was called into the station's office on June 22nd, 1991, with my family in tow (including my 13 week old son) and was told that my position "has been eliminated". This directive came from high up (not from the Station Management). Well, the mucky-mucks in corporate did me a favor. After 4 years of therapy (speech and physical) I got out of the fulltime radio business and never looked back. Today, I'm doing what I love best... working with college students in Audio/Visual and yes, I still do engineering for several college FM's on MY OWN TIME. And I happen to operate nice little Class D FM'er as well. Do miss fulltime employment in broadcasting...... not on your life. To those of you out there who are "between jobs" or trying to get into the business, be assured, there is more to life than the broadcasting industry. Am I bitter? no way man! Oh, BTW: the man who signed my "death warrant" was quickly canned on the day the station was sold. What's that they say......"what goes around.....". Needless to say, I had a real s**t-eating grin on my face.

 

[argytunes]

Hi Peter!

I seem to remember working with you several years ago?

The saddest thing about the broadcast business (today) is that many of the talented people who used to be connected with broadcasting have either been "dismissed by corporate budget cutting"---or have voluntarily taken themselves out of the arena---in order to keep what's left of their sanity!

Like a few others have already said...it never hurts to get an education in a career outside of broadcasting! [The world will always need nurses, accountants and telemarketers]. But if your inner head keeps saying: I've got just as much talent as the idiot I'm listening to right now...be aggressive and seek out the radio station or group you would like to be connected with. Offer to work weekends, overnights, holidays. Then...reaccess the broadcast work you've done after a 3 or 4 months.

If you're happy with the results...keep pluggin! If not...give yourself permission to bow out and restore your body clock to a normal sleeping pattern! :

argytunes

 

[pqgeorge]

Hi Peter!

I seem to remember working with you several years ago?

The saddest thing about the broadcast business (today) is that many of the talented people who used to be connected with broadcasting have either been "dismissed by corporate budget cutting"---or have voluntarily taken themselves out of the arena---in order to keep what's left of their sanity!

Like a few others have already said...it never hurts to get an education in a career outside of broadcasting! [The world will always need nurses, accountants and telemarketers]. But if your inner head keeps saying: I've got just as much talent as the idiot I'm listening to right now...be aggressive and seek out the radio station or group you would like to be connected with. Offer to work weekends, overnights, holidays. Then...reaccess the broadcast work you've done after a 3 or 4 months.

If you're happy with the results...keep pluggin! If not...give yourself permission to bow out and restore your body clock to a normal sleeping pattern! :

argytunes

Chances are, Argy..... we have crossed paths! When I lost my job some 17 years ago, a certain shock-jock that a few of you Miami-Dade listeners in South Florida might recognize, Neil Rogers, wrote to me on an autographed photo that said (quote) "Hi Pete. Do yourself a favor..... get out! Save yourself!" . (unquote) I took his advice and never looked back. I'm still here and loving life, without the baggage of radio! 73!

 

[TSBench]

Sup?

I am workin my tail off y'all trying to make it in this city. Can't seem to get a shot at a shift NE-where! I am willing to buss my A#% an work ANY shift, in ANY format to get experience on the air. Goin to school in the day, tryin to find work at night. Been a club dj, and other stuff. NE1 got advice?

Yes. On the off-chance that this isn't a put on, I'd suggest that positioning yourself as a semi-literate seeking a job in the communications industry is probably not the best strategy.

Regards,
TSB

 

[WannabeOnAir]

Yes. On the off-chance that this isn't a put on, I'd suggest that positioning yourself as a semi-literate seeking a job in the communications industry is probably not the best strategy.

Regards,
TSB

don't trip... aint no cause to be hatin!

 

[ZRXOA 5248]

There is one person I've seen who posts here, college graduate, on air at the college station, has done overnights on the weekend on a classic rocker owned by a major player, that is still looking for their break, even with a pretty decent resume. Now granted it isn't the most glamorous air shift in the world, but it is major market, and at one point in the not so distant past would have been a ticket to say Providence, Worcester,or Manchester, and eventually back to Boston. Consolidation and technology have ruined the business.

There is a back way into the business, a way to get your foot in the door, or in my case keep it there, and that is board op'ing. That can lead to producing, and other opportunities. It isn't glamorous, but you will learn the ins and outs of the business, if you can learn the software packages used in the industry it's even better. The more adept you are at technology the more employable you are. I can think of another person who posts here that has done very well professionally that started his career behind the glass in a support position.

 

[dumber than a box of hair]

Yes. On the off-chance that this isn't a put on, I'd suggest that positioning yourself as a semi-literate seeking a job in the communications industry is probably not the best strategy.

Regards,
TSB

don't trip... aint no cause to be hatin!

He's not "hatin." He just gave you some of the best advice there is. Too bad you don't recognize it.

"Sup," "workin my tail off y'all," "buss my A#%" and "aint no" positions you as a semi-literate. If that's the same stuff you present to a potential employer, you're screwed the instant you open your mouth in an interview. Clean up the street talk. The people you're going to be asking to hire you are business men and women. If you come across like a refugee from the ghetto, your interview will consist of "let's not waste each other's time" and a secretary showing you the door.

Having said that: The posters who said that radio has somewhere between few and no opportunities right now are quite correct. A quick glance at the news over the past two weeks will tell you that. The major group broadcasters are in the middle of massive layoffs (this time, even sales managers and engineers are getting the boot), and in general stock prices for radio companies are plummeting. This is, plainly, not a good time to be looking at a career in radio.

 

[12 In a Row]

Agree, cut the street speak, get an education and look to the future.
For better or worse, the industry has and will continue to change.

Voice tracking is the future.

If you love the business, embrace it and strive to be one of the best trackers in the nation.
If you're REALLY good at it, you could find yourself with numerous clients and many checks to deposit every month.

 

[TravisWMLN]

There is one person I've seen who posts here, college graduate, on air at the college station, has done overnights on the weekend on a classic rocker owned by a major player, that is still looking for their break, even with a pretty decent resume. Now granted it isn't the most glamorous air shift in the world, but it is major market, and at one point in the not so distant past would have been a ticket to say Providence, Worcester,or Manchester, and eventually back to Boston. Consolidation and technology have ruined the business.

Stop...you're making me blush....

even with learning all the audio programs...it's tough....I put my demo together using both adobe and pro tools...I know (well sorta know) selector...and it still hasn't helped get that fulltime gig...at least not yet, but I still am always on the lookout and annoy my contacts...i guess that's the only way to do it

 

[12 In a Row]

Consolidation and technology may have ruined the business that once was, now there are new and different opportunites.

The really good buggy makers learned a new way of life and went to work for the auto industry.
The really good auto workers studied hard and are heading up IT departments.
Same goes for radio engineers, who are now computer specialists.

If you are holding out for that full-time one city-one station gig, you're likely to be waiting a long time.
There is a demand now and even more so later, for the best of the best voice trackers.

Take a look at the best voice/image people. They are great at what they do, fast, friendly, professional and very successful.
I put Jim Cutler at the top of the list.

Embrace the new way of doing things or move on.

BYW, annoying your contacts is a fast track out the door.

 

[TravisWMLN]

BYW, annoying your contacts is a fast track out the door.

I was being facetious

 

[Finn]

Personally, I find "Sup," "workin my tail off y'all," "buss my A#%" and "aint no" somewhat affected in the same way I find Severino's hyper-articulated "nineTy-six nine."

But I gotta say, it is somewhat amusing to see people in a town where multiple hosts on the air at this moment can't (or don't) pronounce the letter 'r' properly go after someone who spells his slang perfectly. My initial reaction was that this was a classic case of the salt calling the sugar white (haha, but I digress..).

Here's more on accents, regional dialects, etc.: http://www.pbs.org/speak/about/

• Media exposure can spread new vocabulary and give people in different regions an understanding of the "standard American" broadcasters use, but it does not make listeners speak that way themselves.
• People cling to local speech patterns, such as the distinctive speech of Pittsburgh, to give them a sense of place and belonging. As one linguist, Carmen Fought, puts it: "People want to talk like the people they want to be like."
• Due to huge migration to the South and Southwest and the national appeal of Country Music, Southern speech is now the largest accent group in the U.S.
• The dominant form is what linguists call Inland Southern, deriving from Appalachia, with the final "r" pronounced in words such as mother.
• The Plantation Southern of the coastal plains, with its r-less pronunciation, is dying out. Southerners are now pronouncing their "rs."

and

• White Americans and many blacks consider Black English or street talk bad or lazy English or even "gibberish." Since many teachers share that view, language is a major obstacle for black children at school.
• Paradoxically, white America continues to borrow black language as enthusiastically as ever, as it does black music, most recently in the huge Hip Hop craze among white teenagers.

In other words, only blacks, Bostonians, and white teenagers say "brotha." How ironic.

Wannabe, you just gotta show you can go back and forth. And, if you can, you've got a leg up on Finneran and McPhee, for starters, because they can't.

 

[TSBench]

go after someone who spells his slang perfectly.

That was the giveaway that wannabee is, shall we say, not what he pretends to be. Reading the original post, you could see the wheels turning "ummm...how would I compose this if I wanted to come across as some ghetto-ite loser looking for a gig?"

I believe the expression is 'too clever by half', Sistah.

Regards.
TSB