Station Tours

[192khz]

Has anyone ever been to a radio station for a tour? I want to tour a radio station but I'm not sure how to go about it.

 

[DavidEduardo]

I began in radio as an AM DXer who tried to hear far away stations. That soon resulted in a desire to visit stations, just to see how they worked. One of them gave me a part time job 62 years ago.

But I visited hundreds of stations, including a trip through Central America when I was 16 where I took pictures, too.

There is no secret. Either take the risk of just showing up and saying you are a listener who is interested in the radio business and would like to see the station. Today, that's not likely to be successful unless it's a smaller station of a smaller market. Or, you can also email someone and ask for a tour; try to find a name of the program director or general manager and send a polite note to see if you might be given a brief tour at a convenient time.

Stations today are somewhat security conscious, and many won't give tours unless it is something formal like a college class or a Boy Scout project. "Solo" tours are harder to permit today as stations have limited staffs and lots to do.

Explain briefly your interest in radio and why you'd like to see their station.

I'd wait a few more months till the pandemic is even more under control.

 

[192khz]

I began in radio as an AM DXer who tried to hear far away stations. That soon resulted in a desire to visit stations, just to see how they worked. One of them gave me a part time job 62 years ago.

But I visited hundreds of stations, including a trip through Central America when I was 16 where I took pictures, too.

There is no secret. Either take the risk of just showing up and saying you are a listener who is interested in the radio business and would like to see the station. Today, that's not likely to be successful unless it's a smaller station of a smaller market. Or, you can also email someone and ask for a tour; try to find a name of the program director or general manager and send a polite note to see if you might be given a brief tour at a convenient time.

Stations today are somewhat security conscious, and many won't give tours unless it is something formal like a college class or a Boy Scout project. "Solo" tours are harder to permit today as stations have limited staffs and lots to do.

Explain briefly your interest in radio and why you'd like to see their station.

I'd wait a few more months till the pandemic is even more under control.

Thanks for that explanation I'm 15 and well I started out as well trying to listen to AM stations at night from far away.

Would my age benefit me at all?

 

[Deus Ex Machiato]

I went on a tour of a major market's "full service" AM station many years ago as a college student. It was cool because it was the station my parents listened to when I was growing up, and getting to see the news room and a few of the studios was very exciting.

The last station tour I went on was of a public station where I hoped to maybe get a job. I knew the engineer, and he was able to show me around. Very impressive.

The last cluster where I did work gave listener tours for a time. It was informal...a contest winner would show up to collect a prize, and we'd show them around if anyone was available to guide the tour. It was a perk for them, and a not so subtle ploy to build loyalty for P1 listeners. Tightened security put an end to the process, which was sad, because the people really loved to see the station and meet the on air talent.

Your age might be a benefit. A 15 year old interested in radio doesn't present much of a security threat, and it might be a nice post on social media for the station. Reach out to the Program Director, marketing or promotion people, and as David said, maybe wait until the pandemic has wound down a little more.

It can't hurt to ask, and there's a good chance the people you're asking were just like you at one point. I know I was.

 

[DavidEduardo]

Thanks for that explanation I'm 15 and well I started out as well trying to listen to AM stations at night from far away.

Would my age benefit me at all?

You might indicate that when you are ready for college you want to consider majoring in communications and media and want to get an idea of what it is about.

 

[192khz]

You might indicate that when you are ready for college you want to consider majoring in communications and media and want to get an idea of what it is about.

Okay, I think I'll give it a shot in a couple weeks. Hopefully it work out.

Also, I have some background on processors like stereo tool, breakaway one, and Omnia 9.

 

[Parttimer]

Jut be prepared, though... many companies haven't brought a lot of their staff back into the building yet, so their policy on any non-employee or business associate being in the building right now might be pretty restrictive. Don't take it personally.