Broadcasting Director

Again a high level question I’d ask a researcher or producer really but it helps me find out how much you are familiar with the show and again I’m genuinely interested. You are a viewer as well as a runner. Be honest but not scathing!

Don’t answer “because I want to be famous or spend time with famous people”!

I have always had a dual interest in both music and electronics. I was better with the latter than the former. Years of piano lessons during elementary and high school years did not make much of a musician out of me, since I hated practicing. But it did give me a basis in the fundamentals. But I was good at electronics. My father was a TV repairman, who inspired the interest. I was also a real hi-fi enthusiast in high school, and built and tinkered with a lot of systems.

Many accounts would begin the story of broadcasting with the grant of the "First Commercial License" or the "First Limited Commercial License" issued by the Department of Commerce in 1920 and 1921, specifying operation in what was to become the Broadcast Band.

I have the ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem, see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer), listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences, read and understand information and ideas presented in writing, apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.

Contrary to popular belief, AM does *not* mean "Ancient Modulation." It refers to the method of modulating the amplitude, or strength of a fixed frequency carrier to allow detection of the program matter. The Standard Broadcast Band (using AM modulation) in the USA runs from 540 kHz to 1700 kHz in 10 kHz steps. In other regions of the world, there are different spacings (often 9 kHz)..

CONELRAD : Conelrad (CONtrol of ELectronic RADiation) was set up in 1951 to provide warnings to the public during the Cold War. Upon alert, most stations would go off the air. Each remaining station was to move to either 640 or 1240 kHz, and alternate with other such local stations, supposedly so no enemy Direction Finding equipment could lock onto locations in the US. Or course, most stations were not really that far apart, in air miles, so it was not a very useful system. Actual activations were apparently very few.

RPU - Remote Pick Up : An RPU system is used by radio and television stations to get programming back to the studio from a "remote" broadcast. This may be a news story, sports event, or "personal appearance" at a clients business. RPU frequencies normally run in the 160 or 450 MHz band, TV in several GHz bands.

At KDKA it was Harold W. Arlin. He also was the first play by play sports announcer there. The famous Graham MacNamee was the first announcer at WEAF, New York, rivaled at the time by Norman Brokenshire at WJZ.

The First African-American announcer was Jack Cooper on Station WSBC, Chicago, in 1929.

If we want to talk "part time", then we are probably talking about Some of the early people like Doc Herrold, Frank Conrad, or folks from WHA. As far as first female announcer, it was likely Cybil Herrold.

This is somewhat similar to the “what is your greatest strength?” question and can be handled along the same lines. You want to pick an accomplishment that shows you have the qualities that the company puts value in and that are desirable for the position you’re interviewing for.

The fact is you may have several accomplishments you could pick from. Pick one that will have the most impact.

The FCC has a library and information on all current broadcast stations, available in the Public Referene Reading Room (CY-A257) at the FCC offices in "The Portal" at 445 12th Street SW in Washington, DC (Metro: Smithsonian or L'Efant Plaza Stations). However, for most individual station files, you must make a request the materials in advance of the date you wish to see them.

It is probably a greater degree of freedom than many other Public Radio stations, and a much greater level than any commerical operation.

In radio, people just starting can expect not much more than minimum wage. The same can also be said of entry-level jobs in the recording field, in most parts of the country. The salaries generally increase with time, but unfortunately, in commercial radio, there is not much job security. If one reaches the level of a hit record producer or engineers, six figure salaries can be achieved, but they are rare, and when becomes an independent producer (which most of the "big names" are) then your employment can be fickle -- a hit one year, and considered out of style a couple of years later. Engineering is more stable, but high-level positions are relatively few.

It is a definite plus, but experience is probably the first thing a potential employer will look at in a resume.

Highly unlikely question but hey it happens and I may be interested in how you would deal with a potentially difficult situation. Whatever your answer it helps me to see how your mind works.

Be honest about wanting to get a foot in the door but show an interest and a knowledge of the show and the company you are applying to. You have, of course, checked out their website and watched the show at least once, right?

For recording engineering, there are good programs at the University of Miami, the College of Music, and Tennessee State. Many colleges around the country offer good communications departments which can be good for learning broadcasting.