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So You Want A Career In Radio Huh?

T

The Voice of Reason

You have, or will this year graduate from college after spending thousands of dollars to earn that degree in journalism or communications, so now you want to get into radio.
Good luck!
If you like sales, then there isn't a problem because radio stations are always looking for good sales people. However if you goal is to be an announcer or newscaster, you would have a better chance landing a job in the manufacturing sector actually making something produced in the USA.
Most announcing positions are either already locked up or they are about as secure as Janet Jackson's wardrobe. Forget trying to break into morning drive, those slots are either filled with people who have been on the air for many years in a market, or individuals working their way up the corporate ranks. Local news jobs on the radio are viable as analog TV will be come February 2009. Most commercial radio stations either have their morning hosts read out of the newspaper, contract metro news (who also gets their information from the morning fish wrapper) or has a deal with a local TV station to air their newscasts during early mornings, noon and afternoon.
Some stations don't even bother with news anymore. It takes time away from playing the same song that aired 48 hours earlier.
In the 25 years that I've worked purchasing air time on radio and TV stations across western and central New York I can not tell you how many people I know have lost their jobs. The same goes for changes in management. Some good and decent people replaced with money-hungry pencil-pushers who could care less about the people working for him or her, just as long as that person gets their salary and bonus.
Then you have the take over of stations by huge media corporations that have proceeded to slice and dice jobs like they are making baloney sandwiches.
Some current radio veterans, if they are smart, have stashed away some of the money they've earned over the years because eventually their jobs will be on the line. Just this year alone how many people you grew up listening too are no longer on the air?
Remember the old broadcasting axiom: The longer one is out of the public eye, the sooner the public forgets them. Case in point Dee Alexander. Unless she surfaces on the radio soon, she will end up being " who?"
The point that I am trying to make here, especially to young people considering a career in radio is, find another line of work. If you don't believe me, ask someone who works in radio how they feel about their future. If their honest they will tell you the same things that I've written down here.
It's not too late to change your major in college.
 
"Radio"

The good news is that the skills that you develop while pursuing a journalism or communications degree translate very well into jobs in other media, or outside media itself. There is a dearth of people who can express themselves adequately with the written word. Those who excel at the task are in demand everywhere.

I suspect that the next generation of radio people will come from the source of the next generation of radio - the Internet. There are people who have a passion for music, the desire to communicate their thoughts to others, and the skills to create a show that is more than just a repetitive playlist of tired songs. There are people who know how to sell such a product. Sooner or later, they will find each other and create an alternative to the corporate crap that we are saddled with today.

We're on the cusp - at least in densely populated areas - of ubiquitous, affordable, high-speed wireless Internet. You won't need to spend millions to buy, and thousands to run a "radio" station. Live, local information and entertainment will take advantage of this new delivery system.
 
Re: "Radio"

SirRoxalot said:
You won't need to spend millions to buy, and thousands to run a "radio" station. Live, local information and entertainment will take advantage of this new delivery system.
Click to expand...

It's true you won't have to spend millions to buy an "online" station, but it WILL costs thousands to run - primarily in rights fees. And unlike terrestrial radio, those fees increase as listenership increases.
 
"...as secure as Janet Jackson's wardrobe." -Voice of Reason

Good simile and nice writing, VOR. This is one of the unique selling points of many posters on this board. They present their thoughts well. Roxalot, alw, Savage, 'Skulker, 'Cowbell, Yugiodar, Giardina, Phillip (Airtime & Dampier), Bob 1370, Scooter, Freebird, Doyle, Radknowski, Fybush, cee, Nick Seneca, Rob, Scooter, Jake, Sherlock and so many others contribute to the appeal of this board with diverse opinions, good shots and well-reasoned posts. There are so many good posters, even the youngbloods that "text post" to the exasperation of many. I'm sorry if I left any out.

Now that I'm done slapping backs and stroking people (I'd like your vote... I'm kidding), it appears radio, like the economy, has become so stagnant that many operators have become paralyzed. It's gone beyond "paralysis by analysis." Fear rules. Cutbacks are the order of the day. Mediocrity and similarity pervade.

"It's true you won't have to spend millions to buy an "online" station, but it WILL cost thousands to run - primarily in rights fees. And unlike terrestrial radio, those fees increase as listenership increases." -Rob Stutson

True, at least as we know it today. But Internet and eventually cellular-delivered talk radio is an option, especially talk radio that's targeted locally and differently than the conventional left and right wing guano that pervades the AM band.

Rox makes a valid point about the forthcoming technologies which may offer opportunities to young broadcasters and even older broadcasters that embrace new technology, have a mixing board, a microphone and a high speed Internet connection.

There may be opportunites for news coverage, editorial and on air, that differ from what's now being presented. Imagine: news-talk and radio that's targeted at women, minorities, retirees, mechanics, education professionals, doctors and medical professionals, attorneys, single parents... hell, even what we see on this board: media and radio people.

OK, somebody will take the preceding list of demo-types and respond, "there already is news-talk that's targeted to those people, it's called broadcasting, dummy.

Nyahhhh... maybe... maybe today, but not likely tomorrow.

The opportunities may be forthcoming, the waiting is the hardest part. Apologies to Tom Petty.

-9-
 
Buying a radio station is one thing, running it is another. I have been in the ownership seat in buying a radio station, and i have to admit, the thoughts that you folks have presented in this thread, is situations that i, myself had thought.

Let me make a few random points, as this COULD get very detailed. These are totally random.

1. Radio is a great career. You can make alot of money and have alot of fun.
2. The future of radio as we know it is scary. Of all the competitive media, i see the internet as the big problem, especially in cars.
3. The music stations we have will be the first to go.
4. You will be able to own a radio station online and the purchasing and operating costs will be far less.
5. You will need to be a superior marketer(for recognition of your station) and salesperson(for revenue of your station)
6. Think multi level. Like radio, combined with internet, combined with onsite, combined with outdoor, etc

Just some random thoughts. Nothing more. By the way, this will not all happen next week. This will take a long time and will effect bigger cities first, small markets very late. Bottom line, if you are not in radio as we know it now, and doing well, you probably will not see the radio that so many people have feed their families on for decades. It's changin folks!
 
Having spent more than 30 years in communications - radio, cable TV, newspaper reporting and editing, political PR (and with pretty much always being on the air) - I'd say that even for bright communicators there are few opportunities to make a decent living. Newspapers have and continue to cut way back, internet jobs often amount to paid internships and darn few people are going to feed a family (or even themselves) by writing, reporting or announcing for an internet outlet. Broadcasting and and mass media are dead or dying: no longer will a relative handful of media outlets at the local and national level dominate the ratings in such a manner as to reap huge advertising profits that can support high salaries for those providing the media content. Now it's narrowcasting and increasingly smaller pieces of the revenue pie for everyone. A few alleged "superstars" of broadcasting still continue to rake in unimaginable salaries, but the bulk of journeymen (and women) work at jobs that may pay less than they did 20 or more years ago. To be in media today is to realize that you generally will no longer have "a" job that will support but rather to realize that you will need to pursue several things at once. The good thing is, is that the deconsolidation of media power as made it easier to produce and distribute media content (isn't it ironic that most of us can still rather easily create better websites than Clear Channel ever has???).
 
I posted the following on the Nashville page a few weeks ago and think it fits in here, as well:

My suggestion for ANYONE frustrated in this business:

Find another line of work! I really mean it. Even though I have sporadically worked in the field part-time over the last 40 years, I depended on other sources of income to live on!!!

There is NO SECURE FUTURE for the VAST MAJORITY of those wanting to work in the "on air" side of the broadcasting business today . Forty years ago, armed with a 4-year degree and EXPERIENCE, I wanted to get into the broadcast news business. The problem back then was: For every opening, there were hundreds of applicants. This kept wages LOW for those who did get hired into the field. Over the years, I have worked (mostly part-time) in a variety of on-air jobs and even a bit of engineering. I never made a wage much more than minimum wage and the hours were rediculous (60+/week).

Benefits? You're kidding, right? Like the business today, there was no such thing as security, either. Fact is, there were so many people trying to get in the door, these job seekers would ACCEPT anything paywise. I once worked at a Major Market station (many years ago) where the average full-time jock with a FIRST PHONE FCC license was making $135/week. One day, a really talented guy came in looking for work. The PD was really impressed, but had no openings. At hearing this, the jock asked, "What do you pay your jocks when you do hire them?" The PD told him $135/wk. At this, the jock said he would work for $130! Guess what? The guy on the air at that time was LET GO at the end of his shift and the "walk in guy" got the job for $130 and started the next day!!! At many stations (but certainly not all), that's the way it was (and is) done. And things are much worse now. There are too many people looking for work and FEWER jobs available. Back then, we didn't have all the automation, Voice Tracking and Syndicated programming we have today, so stations had to be staffed with REAL LIVE people 24/7/365. Not so today.

The attitude of owners and managers is this: Why should I pay someone to run my station when a computer can do it?

About 10 years ago, I sought out a part-time position at an area station. The station manager bluntly told me that he did not need to hire anyone because his computer was more dependable than a LIVE BODY! He boasted that he didn't have to pay the computer wages, workman's comp, social security, benefits, etc. And the computer never called in "Sick" nor asked for "vacation time".

I recently read where the entire Broadcasting Field is one of the Top shrinking businesses for job seekers. The hand writing is on the wall. Broadcasting is a shrinking business for job seekers. I personally Hate all the Voice Tracking, Automation and NON LOCALISM that runs the business today, but it's not going to change.

Don't misinterpret what I am saying. I LOVE this business. I even wanted to make a career of it. But after a few years, it was obvious I would probably never own a NEW car, support a family, be able to buy a house and have job security in this business. I'll never forget the time I was "let go" from a job the day before Christmas, along with about half the staff of the station. Reason: Projected ad revenue after the holidays was "low", so cutbacks were necessary.

Fortunately, I found another satifying career path which has paid decent money, provided great opportunity and security. Now that I am nearing retirement, I may again seek out a part-time job in radio to get my "fix", because then, I will be able to afford a low paying job doing something that I like to do!

If you really like this business, seek out part-time work (weekends, etc.). Over the years, I've done this while always having another career path so I could "pay the bills".
 
Just curious... who are the "youngest" full time men and women on radio in Buffalo these days? Does that honor go to Kiss or is it The Edge? Are Shred & Ragan younger than Janet Snyder? It must be very difficult trying to reach 18-34 year olds if your jocks are 44. Or is this not the case
 
Where are all these people who want to work in radio? I don't see them. Most look at the money and laugh. What radio pays isn't even good gas money most places.

With the trend toward broadcast automation and voice tracking fewer people do more of the work so there isn't the need for big airstaffs.

Most of the young people I know are more inclined to be interested in TV also tough to break into but not as bad as radio...yet!
 
FORGET the idea of music being ANY commodity on radio anymore. People can get music anywhere, anytime, without DJs or radio stations, FOR FREE and without commercials. Gonna beat that? Really?

Radio's single most important commodity, now and into the future, is PERSONALITY. If you made it in under the wire, congratulations! Trying to break in to the biz today and go through the arduous development process given the lack of opportunities is near impossible, BUT....

If you have the ability to entertain listeners with your mind and words, then you hold the single most important element an air-talent can possess in today's climate.

If you have strong on-air talent, then you have gold. And I don't mean a good music-info backsell jock, I'm talking entertainers---whether it's music station morning guys or talk talent. This is the real commodity of the future---the ONLY commodity of the future in this increasingly uninteresting medium.
 
Notes from the Underground

I don't agree that music is finished as a programming element in radio. People can get free music from a number of sources, but they still have to program it, and there's no "value added" content. For example, I've tried to like Rhapsody, but their music selection doesn't jazz me. It's either too narrow, or I get stuff from left field that just doesn't work.

I like different music, from different eras, at different times. I also like to know what's going on with artists, who's coming to town, and how acts that came to town performed. I'd also like a live body there to let me know if something major happens in the world. I'd also like to be introduced to new artists who fit a particular "sound". Radio is still the best vehicle to deliver this type of content.

The problem is that I'm not getting the "value added" programming, or I'm not getting it often enough. Instead, I'm getting a pretty narrow selection of music, and a lot of promo material for the radio station, but little real content that I care about. "Voice Guy" and "Voice Girl" rarely tell me anything of value. Live jocks are better at that, but they're also delivering too many liners instead of content of value to ME.

Isn't it odd that most consultants and corporate programmers want wall-to-wall personality on the morning show, but burst a blood vessel if someone talks for more than :10 seconds during the rest of the day - unless they're reading another liner card? The next revolution in "radio" - which is likely to come via wireless Internet instead of broadcast radio - will be themed music sets, new music shows, interesting music segues, broad playlists, and cool, relatable jocks doing "audio blogs" about topics of common interest with the listeners. You old guys have heard this format before...
 
Re: Notes from the Underground

SirRoxalot said:
The next revolution in "radio" - which is likely to come via wireless Internet instead of broadcast radio - will be themed music sets, new music shows, interesting music segues, broad playlists, and cool, relatable jocks doing "audio blogs" about topics of common interest with the listeners. You old guys have heard this format before...
Click to expand...


I've heard this theory floated many times and NEVER agree.

The internet is far too splintered for any one person or "radio" entity to have an impact and become anything other than another page/blog/"station" in a vast sea of nonsense.

The infrastructre of broadcast radio is already there, easily accessed and FREE. The way to keep it alive and have it thrive is to play to it's strengths, that being the ONLY thing that really sets it apart from everything else: a coagulated center ring where persoanlity should be king.
 
So You Want A Career In Radio Huh?

I've been at it for 8 years now, full or part time, and finally this summer got a job at a 50,000 watt-er....SATURDAY, NOT PAID, and for only 5 weeks because they replaced the show I was producing with college football (for the revenue.)

As my radio pal says, it's all about the Benjamins. GAH! I hate the Benjamins! It is always money first, quality programming second. So if you're trying to get into the biz, do what the others have said and have a "regular" job, too. (Don't lose everything like I did a few years ago, doing a full time weeknight 10pm-1am talk slot for NO PAY because "they only paid for 6am to 6pm." And we did a great show. FOR FREE. I went BANKRUPT. Also lost a really important relationship. Don't let this happen to you. It makes for a great life story, but it messes with your actual life.)

So after my exciting fling with 50,000 watts, I guess I'll be happy in my 5,000 watt world, part time on the weekends for the rest of my broadcasting life.
 
This has been a very good thread. I hope we can keep it going, and keep it on target.

I'm a littler farther along.... or as Sinatra sang: reaching the autumn of my years. So, I have seen quite a few trends, successes and failures... FIRST HAND. Beyond that I have become a history buff, I have become very analytical about how we approach philosophy and religion, and have become something of a genealogy enthusiast. History tells me the future is alive and well among us right now, but we have no way to know for sure which of the pretenders will ascend to the throne. Latch onto the right one and you go for a ride like Bill Gates or Warren Buffet. Latch onto the wrong one and enjoy the buises and disappointments.

Books have not gone away. I'm thinking about writing my first book.

Pamphleteering, popular in colonial America, has not gone away. Today we call it Blogging.

I am thinking less and less about RADIO, and thinking COMMUNICATION. In my case I am strongly wedded to spoken communications. I find it very tedious to put the equivalent of the raised eyebrow in written communications... or a sly chuckle, or an occasional menacing growl.

Thinks of the kids who want to play major league baseball, NFL football, challenge Tiger Woods, etc. Radio as we have known it in the past may be reserved ONLY for major league caliber players. For the rest of us it will be a hobby that eats us alive. Chase your dream. But know when to walk away and look after your family and your retirement if the dream fades.

P.S. Radio? I'm betting on talk!
 
Wow, Sinatra, "It Was A Very good Year." Here's another one: "Turn, Turn, Turn," by The Byrds. Each speaks to the construct of this thread, or at least the turn this thread has taken.

Over the years we've seen Clint Beuhlman leave kicking and screaming, then return, only to sound older and more crotchety than we would have wanted to remember; we've seen the great Dan Neaverth leave, being phased out; Tommy Shannon appeared to leave on his own terms. Skip Edmunds was tossed after 30 years at WJYE; Harv Moor was respectfully shown the door at WECK; Mike Roszman died while doing his job; Jack Armstrong was out at the time of his death, but very much wanted to be back in. Other jocks have been less fortunate, simply disappearing, becoming the last two words in the sentence, "What ever happened to...?"

It's hard to know exactly what lies ahead in this business or when our time is up. We're not in control. Somebody else is calling the shots. Companies get sold, PDs come and go and formats change. Things that seem incidental often become larger and weigh more heavily when decisions are made. And then, there's the economy.

The best advice I can offer newbees and veterans is to do the job with enthusiasm, zeal and professionalism. When the end comes, you'll know you've been faithful to your ideals, given it your best and you'll be respected and credited for that by the people who matter most in your life.

Oh yeah, advice is always easier to give than receive. One of those universal truths.
 
You guys are thinking way too much. IF you are GREAT, you will make money, If you are not great, you won't. The truly great ones seem to alwwys survive and do pretty well. JOB SECURITY? Nope, not is your not great. By what career really does have job security, a few mybe, but not many.

It is what you put into it folks.
 
superset weekend said:
You guys are thinking way too much. IF you are GREAT, you will make money, If you are not great, you won't. The truly great ones seem to alwwys survive and do pretty well. JOB SECURITY? Nope, not is your not great. By what career really does have job security, a few mybe, but not many.
It is what you put into it folks.
Click to expand...

On the other hand there have been plenty of great radio personalities that have been shown the front door, some after many years of hard work and dedication, just because they make too much money.
It doesn't matter how good someone is in radio anymore; it all boils down to the bottom line.
Eventually on-air personalities will consist of part-timers and casual employees. I know of one early morning host who has a full time job, but goes into the station each weekday morning just because he wants to earn a few extra bucks. When 9:00 rolls around, he's out the door. The rest of the day the station is voice tracked and running syndicated programming. However the station manager and program director sit in their nice offices collecting their paychecks and having lunch paid for on the company dollar. Nice life if you can get it.
 
You guys are thinking way too much. IF you are GREAT, you will make money, If you are not great, you won't. The truly great ones seem to alwwys survive and do pretty well. JOB SECURITY? Nope, not is your not great. By what career really does have job security, a few mybe, but not many.
It is what you put into it folks.
Click to expand...

There really is no truth to this statement at all. Yes, there are people who are GREAT(well, define "great") and are currently making good livings in radio, but the idea that's it all based on what you put into it(I'm guessing he means hard work and commitment) -- well, that will not necessarily work out for you. This is not opinion, this is fact. Doing the math alone will prove there are simply not enough jobs available to provide suitable employment for all the talent out there.

Danny and Harv are great ones and have both been shown the door. Most of today's current crop of morning talent will get shown the door someday(with technology changing so rapidly, maybe sooner than they think). We occasionally get these posts on this board when this subject comes up. The poster insinuates we're a bunch of whiny losers and it's survival of the fittest and the strongest and all that crap. If you're making a nice living in radio and reading this string and feeling a little smug: ask not for whom the bell tolls, it tolls for THEE. You'll find out someday. No matter how great you are(or think you are) you're either in two categories in radio: someone who has been show the door - or - someone who will be show the door. Ask Danny and Harv.
 
Roxalot wrote - "The good news is that the skills that you develop while pursuing a journalism or communications degree translate very well into jobs in other media, or outside media itself. There is a dearth of people who can express themselves adequately with the written word. Those who excel at the task are in demand everywhere."

Absolutely true. In fact, you could compile a pretty good sized list of former Buffalo radio people alone who took their speaking or writing skills into more stable and better paying jobs today.
 
What we're really talking about here, is the sad state of radio programming and management, which has turned a great profession and career into a wasteland purely because some very large owners wanted to put immediate profit above the long term soundness of their businesses.

We know the results of that short-sighted approach...a company like Citadel trading like a penny stock, a Clear Channel losing 2/3 of its market capital before being gobbled up by an investment firm. There are signs of hope--that while it's divesting itself of smaller market properties, CBS seems to be re-investing in programming and the people who create it, in the markets where they're staying in the mix. And as you look at the renaissance of stations in their biggest clusters, you see signs that doing things the old-fashioned way seems to be working financially. I have to believe that sooner or later, as the profit-grubbers fall by the wayside and sell off to new owners, at least some of those new owners will bring new creative blood back into the medium and bring listeners back to it by bringing live programming with a human face and voice back. Radio still has the advantage of being by far the most user-friendly and most inexpensive way to get audio entertainment and information. That's an important inherent advantage to build on, IF we offer compelling programming to pull people in.
 
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