I am a sophmore in highschool and I am very interested in a career in TV/Radio is there anything I can do now to give me a jumpstart into the field?
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- Thread starter futuredjwerd
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I started out by sending the old fashioned tape and resume out while I was a teenager. I wanted to stay in Tallahassee, so I limited them to that market.
No response. No nibbles. Nothing.
I got a little smarter. I became friends with some of the DJs at the country station. I met the PD. He let me audition, but still no work seemed to be forthcoming.
One of the country DJs told me I should try for the soft AC AM station, which ran Larry King overnights. I sent them another tape and resume.
I didn't hear anything, but the GM and morning host at the soft AC was doing a remote at a theater.
I had my mom stop by the remote, and, between breaks, introduced myself to the gentleman.
"Why, Alan!" he said. I just took over as manager and found your tape in my desk. You've been trying to get into radio for a while now, is that correct?"
"Yes, sir."
"Well, I have a one-night-a-week overnight on Friday nights. Want it?"
So I began by running the board overnight one day a week. Within two months I was also doing music shifts.
That was in 1979.
I think the secret is to meet people and network. It's not as easy to hang out with folks at the stations anymore, because you can't hardly get past the receptionist.
But, this is how I personally did it.
No response. No nibbles. Nothing.
I got a little smarter. I became friends with some of the DJs at the country station. I met the PD. He let me audition, but still no work seemed to be forthcoming.
One of the country DJs told me I should try for the soft AC AM station, which ran Larry King overnights. I sent them another tape and resume.
I didn't hear anything, but the GM and morning host at the soft AC was doing a remote at a theater.
I had my mom stop by the remote, and, between breaks, introduced myself to the gentleman.
"Why, Alan!" he said. I just took over as manager and found your tape in my desk. You've been trying to get into radio for a while now, is that correct?"
"Yes, sir."
"Well, I have a one-night-a-week overnight on Friday nights. Want it?"
So I began by running the board overnight one day a week. Within two months I was also doing music shifts.
That was in 1979.
I think the secret is to meet people and network. It's not as easy to hang out with folks at the stations anymore, because you can't hardly get past the receptionist.
But, this is how I personally did it.
Thank you guys so much ;D I plan on following your advice.
upstate
On the education side of it, I can tell you to not bother with Del Tech if you're mainly interested in radio. They dropped radio production from their curriculum and are focusing more on Internet related stuff (website creation, digital video, etc.).
U of D may be a better option if you want to stay in state once you graduate high school.
U of D may be a better option if you want to stay in state once you graduate high school.
Learn some production skills with the computer and put together a show and offer it to the internet stations on a barter basis. Having realized what its gotten like for someone to start in this business, I've given a few a shot at going on via Oldies Radio 1620. The days of doing that Sunday morning sign on shift to play the religious programming or overnights on the weekend or just 'on call when needed' days are pretty much history.
I am not in radio but knew some radio people over the years. Here is what I learned....be ready to move all over the US at a moments notice, don't buy any real estate, try to rent month to month, save as much money as you can for the moving expenses, keep your expenses low (don't have kids), travel light, prepare to work graveyard shifts, keep smiling, consider radio rehab because it gets in your blood, don't quit your day job, keep a focus on what direction you want to go but be ready to take detours, get into any related work fields, be flexible to be involved with rock, country, religion, spanish, hip hop and sports, get a good education (but keep those student loans low) and pray for luck. Now you see why I do not work in radio. (but I love radio)
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