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Novice- where to start? (seeking advice)

R

rbjones

I have been a passionate lover of radio since I was a child. It was my dream to be on the radio one day. I visited radio stations when I was young and got to be on the air a couple of times (this was in the late 90's). I went a vastly different career path as an adult but radio has still been a passion of mine. I've been a member of this message board [since I was a late teen] going back to the Radio-Info days- 20+ years now, and have read hundreds of posts, but have not commented often.

I would still like to get into radio and am at the point to where I would like to seriously explore my options in doing so. My question is, where can I start in radio as someone who is still "young" but does not have much experience? I am very tech-savvy, so I have that as a plus. I have also been told multiple times that I have a professional-sounding voice. I do not care about pay (I would be more than willing to gain experience as a volunteer or limited part-time as I learn) and would be willing to be flexible (work late evenings/overnights, etc.) Any advice anyone has would be very helpful.
 
You appear to have the proper mindset for following broadcasting as a vocation......Continue to visit stations and ask LOTS of questions!! Scope out all the info you can find on the latest technology --- ie., digital processing, AI, etc. --- and get some background on the "older" tech....Despite what you might hear on this board and elsewhere, AM radio IS STILL AROUND.....and WILL BE for some time to come....Read up on it, and older equipment that you're still likely to find in use at some smaller facilities (cart machines, reel-to-reel recorders, DAT players/recorders, etc.).....Offering service as a volunteer is admirable, but don't (literally) "sell" yourself short -- look for positions that pay --- just expect salaries to be low (it comes with the territory....!;)....The broadcast industry needs more devoted individuals like yourself. REMEMBER --- a well-oiled machine works best....Don't be afraid to apply some "elbow grease" to seek out and acquire the position you choose!! GOOD LUCK!!! Keep us posted on your progress!!
I'm now into my 53rd year of broadcasting --- both as an announcer and engineer. Although I've slowed down a bit (having trimmed my daily schedule)) I still manage to keep a Part 15 station chugging along on weekends....and I DO work as a volunteer at one of the local LPFM stations. At 72 years young, I won't be trekking up mountains at midnight in snowstorms anymore.....but over the years I did my fair share....But the funny thing is ---- I wouldn't trade ANY of it for any other career!!!
 
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Find a local, non-commercial, listener-supported, radio station near you and contribute time there in order to get your feet wet and learn something about the vocation.
 
First, good luck. You'll need it. I know that sounds condescending, but I don't mean it that way. No matter how good anyone is, everyone who has ever worked in radio, at one point, just got lucky. The telecommunications job I left in '01 for radio employed 78,000 people in a single metropolitan area of 1.5 million to 2 million people. At the time, I doubt there were 78,000 full-time on-air jobs in the entire country. Radio is a small business.

Now, what can you do to increase your likelihood of having good luck? Well, one thing I would do is look for sports. I mean live and either local or regional high school or college sports. Find stations that carry that programming and make sure they know you're interested. High school football season starts in three to four months. Start reaching out now, and keep reaching out. It's okay to reach out to stations carrying professional sports, especially with this being the middle of baseball season, but a lot of those professional games are automated now, too. You might find a small broadcaster who still runs those games manually and needs someone to push buttons, though the large companies probably don't need those people anymore.

Also, look at stations in or near your area that still have at least local talent, even if it's not live. Community or educational radio is fine, but my experience has always been that talent coaching there is lousy, and it's, at most, minimal help getting into commercial radio. I'd keep that option open, but I'd put most of my focus on commercial operators unless you just really like community or college radio. Where my mother lives, the iHeart stations are just computers and servers at the transmitter sites, but it still has two local broadcasters who do live and local. Granted, those two aren't as live and local as they were 20 years ago, but they still believe in it and still do it. Find those people, and talk to them. No matter how hard you try and no matter how good you are, you're not getting hired in anything other than sales by someone who doesn't do local programming. Unless you think sales is your thing and sounds fun, don't waste your time with those people. If you have an iHeart or Cumulus station that does local programming, it's probably worth checking out, but jobs are few there. My local Cumulus cluster hasn't added a single full-time local on-air position in 15 years, and it has very few local part-time on-air positions. If you have nowhere else to turn, get to know the handful of local employees those stations have and make sure they know you're interested. If nothing else, they'll know they have someone they can call if they need help in a pinch.

Finally, some of the best advice I ever got about getting into radio was to sell your reliability over your talent when trying to get that first job. I'm sure money was the driving factor and that it would've happened sooner or later no matter what, but radio talent is notoriously unreliable, and that undoubtedly hastened the push for stations to automate. Program directors really view reliable talent as worth its weight in gold, and that definitely got me moving up more quickly than I otherwise would have. No call/no shows were common, and every PD in the building knew Kent would pick up the phone and could likely come in during the afterhours or weekends. When I first took the job, there was talk of splitting the Sunday midday and Sunday night shifts between two people, but that never ended up happening because I was so reliable they didn't need anyone else. That also meant I had one less person in-house to compete against for the next job that came open. Granted, you open yourself up to being taken advantage of when you're that person, but radio has always been an abusive relationship. If you're not willing to hustle, take criticism, and put in long hours for low pay and no promises, it's not the business for you.
 
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Oh, and one last bit of advice: Learn how to network. No matter how good and talented you are, there's always someone better. The way you get that next job and/or move up to that bigger market is by knowing people. Few people, even with long resumes and great tapes, just walked into those big market radio jobs. Talent alone rarely cuts it. Most of them knew someone or were recommended by someone who knew someone. You will work with people who will move up, but you won't know who those people are. Get to know everybody, and make sure everybody knows you. If you have trouble with that, start working on it immediately. I recommend Dale Carnegie's book "How to Win Friends and Influence People."
 
If you can start a podcast. The ability to make mundane subjects interesting and any time "behind a mic" will serve you well. Set up an Internet station where you can get the hang of voice tracking. All things being equal you could have an advantage over another applicant with social media skills and PC knowledge. Kent is correct about networking. You might consider a proportions department job at a station. You will meet the staff and management. That might give you a shot at a weekend shift or even better yet an occasional fill in chance when someone goes on vacation.
 
secondchoice said:
If you can start a podcast. The ability to make mundane subjects interesting and any time "behind a mic" will serve you well. Set up an Internet station where you can get the hang of voice tracking. All things being equal you could have an advantage over another applicant with social media skills and PC knowledge. Kent is correct about networking. You might consider a proportions department job at a station. You will meet the staff and management. That might give you a shot at a weekend shift or even better yet an occasional fill in chance when someone goes on vacation.
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I was just going to say the same thing. I started an online internet station as a novice a few months back. Sometimes I find myself freezing up when the mic is turned on. So, I watch for late at night when no one is listening and practice talking about local news, subjects, anything for a few minutes to get more experience "on Air". If the original poster is interested, he is more than welcome to do some practice shows on my station if he thinks it would be helpful to him at all.
 
My advice is sales. Engineering is always in need but more often than not, a contract job. Most on air is voice-tracked these days. Few stations have warm bodies in the studio. I can almost guarantee if you walk in to a station and say you can sell (and can actually do so), you will be offered a job. Then you sweeten it with wanting to do some on air, production and copywriting plus tech work. If you can offer the whole package they might give you a piece of the ownership to just stay there and work. Sales is very difficult to fill because it takes somebody with integrity who will take the time to build relationships with business owners and sell them just what they need.

At the station where I do sales, they spent almost a decade or so as a revolving door of salespeople who hopped to the next gig in a year or less. You need that first year to built trust and relationships. The station I work for is having it's best years simply because I have been here 5 years and so many business people have shared about their business, gotten to know me and trust me. Based on what they shared I know what they want from their advertising and the image they want to project. They know I won't oversell them and I'll come back to look them in the eye. If you can do that, you'll be a big asset for a station and you'll be able to take your pick.
 
Kent said:
Oh, and one last bit of advice: Learn how to network. No matter how good and talented you are, there's always someone better. The way you get that next job and/or move up to that bigger market is by knowing people. Few people, even with long resumes and great tapes, just walked into those big market radio jobs. Talent alone rarely cuts it. Most of them knew someone or were recommended by someone who knew someone. You will work with people who will move up, but you won't know who those people are. Get to know everybody, and make sure everybody knows you. If you have trouble with that, start working on it immediately. I recommend Dale Carnegie's book "How to Win Friends and Influence People."
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Interesting that you mention "knowing someone, etc.". MANY years ago now, the local AM Station in my small Florida town hired a high schooler to fill in during summer vacations. I briefly toyed with the idea of a radio career so in anticipation of applying, at night I listened via skip, to WABC in NY to get the lingo, the rhythm, mannerisms, etc. of a big time DJ.

I went for the interview and thought I did well. A few days later the Program Director called me and asked me to come back in. I was all excited as I thought I was getting the job. Instead, he told me that I in fact did not get the job but rather a student whose father was an attorney in town and personal friends of the station's owner, got it. The reason he called me in was to tell me that he and several other people at the station thought I was a million times better but that unfortunately politics played a part in the decision but to not be discouraged and keep on pursuing my goal, as they thought I would have a successful career in broadcasting.

I never followed up and my path took me in a different direction but it's interesting that this still works in today's age. Good luck.
 
rbjones said:
I have been a passionate lover of radio since I was a child. It was my dream to be on the radio one day. I visited radio stations when I was young and got to be on the air a couple of times (this was in the late 90's). I went a vastly different career path as an adult but radio has still been a passion of mine. I've been a member of this message board [since I was a late teen] going back to the Radio-Info days- 20+ years now, and have read hundreds of posts, but have not commented often.

I would still like to get into radio and am at the point to where I would like to seriously explore my options in doing so. My question is, where can I start in radio as someone who is still "young" but does not have much experience? I am very tech-savvy, so I have that as a plus. I have also been told multiple times that I have a professional-sounding voice. I do not care about pay (I would be more than willing to gain experience as a volunteer or limited part-time as I learn) and would be willing to be flexible (work late evenings/overnights, etc.) Any advice anyone has would be very helpful.
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That is awesome! I have been in radio since I was thirteen, I am now twenty-two. I have been debating voice-tracking for my online station, it's classic hits (80s, 90s) would you have any interest in that for experience? I would provide the automation for you. Also feel free to listen and add me on Facebook, I would love to chat! Thanks.


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William Purdum

William Purdum is on Facebook. Join Facebook to connect with William Purdum and others you may know. Facebook gives people the power to share and makes the world more open and connected.
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Our Morning Announcer at Transtar/Unistar Format 41 worked at an auto parts store in his previous job, never had worked in Radio. Ted was his name, he was real good!

Radio Jobs come weirdly, just heard Keith Olbermann speak about this subject the day he joined UPI Radio News on a Holiday. Being in the right place at the right time
 


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