Broadcasting Director

It's probably most gratifying to hear from listeners on how music to which I have introduced them as affected their lives. Of my broadcasting activities, I am probably most proud of the Homegrown Music series, which I produce and record each week, with performances by regional musicians in the station's studios, along with monthly live concert broadcasts. Homegrown Music last year marked its 25th anniversary as an uninterrupted weekly series, and has presented over 600 bands and artists, essentially creating an album's worth of music each week. It's encouraging to see a number of the performers go on to become well-known, and to see groups assembled specifically for the series. And it provides a lot of interesting music that is available in no other form.

☛ AM:

In 1922, all stations were assigned by the Secretary of Commerce to 360 meters (833 kHz) for the transmission of "important news items, entertainment, lectures, sermons, and similar matter."

Later that year, 400 meters (750 kHz) was added, with power limits raised to 1,000 watts. One frequency was set aside for music broadcasts, the other for news and other voice transmissions.

In 1923 and 1924, additional changes were made, opening up 550 to 1500 kHz for broadcasting (in 10 kHz increments) with powers up to 5,000 watts. (The band from 810-850 kHz was "left" for the stations on 833 to continue for a while).

In 1938, an administrative conference designated 1500-1600 kHz to be opened in May, 1941.

In 1979, the WARC expanded the band again, this time to 1700 kHz. The first station on the new band was WJDM, Elizabeth, NJ, which went on in 1995.

☛ FM:

The original FM band was 43.0 to 50.0 MHz, but unlike the present, the assigned channels were on the even frequencies (43.6) instead of the odd (98.3).

The band was originally to be used for experimental "high-frequency AM stations," where the channels would be spaced farther apart (200 kHz) and permitted to broadcast the full frequency spectrum. The idea was to relieve the congestion and skywave problems which would lead to the severe bandwidth limiting which would eventually doom the AM band to talk radio and poor quality radios.

☛ TV:

The original TV band ran from 50 MHz to 108 MHz and was designated channels 1 to 7. In June 1945, as part of his campaign against FM, David Sarnoff had it moved down to 44 MHz.

The low TV channels soon proved to be woefully inadequate for the expressed interest in TV broadcasting, so the FCC decided to go back and allocate more spectrum. They also decided to deal with some of the problems being seen with severe skywave on channel 1. Therefore, in 1948, channel 1 was officially dropped, with channel 2 starting at 54 MHz. (Channel 2 still has the skywave problem - or "benefit," if you are a TV DXer - of the early years, but since FM was moved up to the high-band no broadcast service was affected by the interference from TV.)

broadcast technician responsibilities are to report equipment problems, ensure that repairs are made, and make emergency repairs to equipment when necessary and possible; observe monitors and converse with station personnel to determine audio and video levels and to ascertain that programs are airing; monitor strength, clarity, and reliability of incoming and outgoing signals, and adjust equipment as necessary to maintain quality broadcasts;

control audio equipment to regulate the volume and sound quality during radio and television broadcasts; monitor and log transmitter readings; play and record broadcast programs using automation systems; align antennae with receiving dishes to obtain the clearest signal for transmission of broadcasts from field locations; set-up, operate, and maintain broadcast station computers and networks; preview scheduled programs to ensure that signals are functioning and programs are ready for transmission; maintain programming logs, as required by station management and the federal communications commission; select sources from which programming will be received, or through which programming will be transmitted; install broadcast equipment, troubleshoot equipment problems and perform maintenance or minor repairs using hand tools; determine the number, type, and approximate location of microphones needed for best sound recording or transmission quality, and position them appropriately; record sound onto tape or film for radio or television, checking its quality and making adjustments where necessary;

edit broadcast material electronically, using computers; substitute programs in cases where signals fail; set up and operate portable field transmission equipment outside the studio; schedule programming, or read television programming logs to determine which programs are to be recorded or aired; organize recording sessions, and prepare areas such as radio booths and television stations for recording; make commercial dubs; design and modify equipment to employer specifications; regulate the fidelity, brightness, and contrast of video transmissions, using video console control panels; give technical directions to other personnel during filming; instruct trainees in how to use television production equipment, how to film events, and how to copy and edit graphics or sound onto videotape; discuss production requirements with clients; produce graphics for broadcasts; prepare reports outlining past and future programs, including content; develop employee work schedules; produce educational and training films and videotapes by performing activities such as selecting equipment and preparing scripts.

Again, wide-ranging knowledge of news are going to be essential here. But you don't need to restrict yourself to current affairs. Having a broad knowledge of science, health, environment, lifestyle, arts and business news will let your potential employer know that you have the ability to cover a wide variety of topics. But don't just grab for the hottest event from the past year. Try to think of something which hasn't been covered as much as you would have liked, which affects the publication's audience at the grassroots level. This will show you're an original thinker. Also, suggest how you would have spun the topic. This will tip off your potential boss that you're ripe and ready to get to work with the confidence to pitch your own ideas.

Marie (Mrs. Robert) Zimmerman - The first woman to own and operate a radio station.

Sybil Herrold - Wife of pioneer Charles "Doc" Herrold. She was so adept at Morse Code that she taught courses at the Herrold College of Wireless in San Jose. She was also on the air at her husband's station, playing phonograph records and doing some announcing, as early as 1912.

Vaughn DeLeath - known as the "Original Radio Girl" because she sang for several of Lee DeForest's demonstrations of radio beginning in January 1920.

Eunice Randall - one of the earliest female engineers, she not only ran her own amateur station (which she built) but went on to be perhaps the first female announcer in Boston, on the AMRAD station 1XE (later WGI) around 1918.

Bertha Brainard - First female announcer in New York, she was on the air at WJZ in 1921, doing a nightly program of theatre reviews and commentary called "Broadcasting Broadway".

Mary Texanna Loomis - the first woman to become director of a radio school, she ran the College of Radio Engineering in Washington DC in the early 1920s. She was cousin to Mahlon Loomis.

Several women became program managers (what would today be called Program Directors), including Vaughn DeLeath (WDT in New York, in 1923) and Eleanor Poehler (WLAG in Minneapolis, 1922). Bertha Brainard was probably the first female network executive, being promoted to a management post with NBC Blue in late 1927.

The Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming, transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems, media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media, the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services, business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.

This is a differentiation question. What you want to tell them is: they'd be crazy not to they hire you.

Focus on them: You need to only share how you meet almost all the criteria they seek, and also have two to three additional abilities that they might not even know they need…yet. They need to know you are a candidate who can not only meet their needs now, but will also be valuable for where they want to go in the future.

Are they likely to need another skill set as they grow as a company?

Or maybe you have skills that you noticed are in another job description they are looking to fill?

You can help out with those deliverables until they find someone (or be a backup to the person they hire).

Have you been down a path already that they are currently starting? Having “lessons learned” to offer them is a very strong plus for a job candidate.

My official position is "senior producer/host," and listeners know me as an on-air person, but I do about much production, including music recording and mixing (studio and remote), writing and producing both short form and long form programming, and serving as non-classical music director for the station. Recently, I have also been producing a TV series based on the Homegrown Music radio concerts. I also do engineering work on projects such as studio and transmitter upgrades, and plant audio quality control. I do these different jobs, because I like to pursue by different interests, and the public radio environment allows one to do that. Commercial broadcasting generally does not allow one to pursue as wide a range of different activities.

Before 1910, there were no restrictions on who could build and operate a radio station. Regulation began following the Berlin Convention in 1906, which was where call letters were first assigned to individual nations.

☛ Department of Commerce, Bureau of Navigation: Original regulation fell under the purview of the Secretary of the DOC. The Radio Act of June 24, 1910 led to the creation of the Radio Division of the DOC on July 11, 1911. It quickly became clear the new medium was outrunning the legal system. Court challenges rapidly diluted the minimal control exercised by the Commerce Department.

☛ The Federal Radio Commission: The FRC was created February 23, 1927, by the Radio Act of 1927 to deal with the 732 stations now on the air. While progress was made, and some of the regulations tried to "catch up" with the fledgling industry, this Act did not close all the regulatory loopholes, leading toward

☛ The Federal Communications Commission: Further regulatory needs were filled with the Communications Act of 1934, when the FCC was created. It opened on 7/11/34. With some modifications by Congress, this has served as the basis for Communications Law ever since.

The story is how KYW went from Chicago to Philadelphia to Cleveland and then back to Philadelphia. In 1934, with the government quota for stations in the Chicago area full, Westinghouse was forced to move to Philadelphia in order to keep the clear channel frequency. Total mileage moved: around 1400.

Later, a swap between Westinghouse and NBC sent KYW to Cleveland for nine years, but it returned to its original Philadelphia facility in June 1965 after several court cases.

Another interesting story is how WTOP started its life in Brooklyn as WTRC, changed calls to WTFF and moved to Virginia, then finally landing on 1500 in Washington, DC, 215 miles away.

In 2013, the FCC granted moves for Channel 3 in Ely, NV to Middletown, NJ (2159 miles, more or less) and Channel 2 in Jackson, WY to Wilmington, DE (about 1828 miles) under order from the US Court of Appeals, citing a 1980s law that guaranteed VHF licenses to TV stations relocating to states without them.

Side note: We ought not forget the Portable Stations, a special class that existed until 1928. Some were used as demonstration purposes by manufacturers. C.L.Carrell had a half dozen or so portables, which he took to different cities and state fairs in the midwest. The FRC finally ruled that all portables had to become "fixed" in one location or lose their licenses. Most ended up in midwestern towns.